Louisiana Missions Marathon 2011

This was a trail marathon on a single track mt. bike course in Shreveport, LA. The starting temp was around 55 with some mild winds. There were a mixture of half marathoners and 50k racers in this event. I started out trying to keep it under control and to allow the gravity to assist me on the downhills. I settled in behind some half marathoners and worked really hard to mix in my walk breaks. I decided to take in a gel every 45 minutes, that worked well for at least the first half. I came through the first loop in 2:16 and thought to myself, "I shouldn't have a hard time finishing under 5 hours". Once I hit the first section of the trail again, I began to realize that the first section of the trail was going to be the end to my momentum. I struggled to make myself take in gels in the back half, I drank gatorade, ate skittles but did not take in enough glucose, so by the time I hit 20 miles, I was feeling so nauseous. I pushed through and came across the finish line at 5:08:34. By the time I finished the nausea was gone and I was feeling much better than I had in recent races. Rob and I jumped in the car and drove back home. Rob did 80% of the driving, which I appreciated. We made it back late Saturday night and had a good recovery day on Sunday. State #17