3 races, 24 hours=Tour de Pain Finisher!

What an exhausting 24 hours! I did it though, I completed my first Tour de Pain! When I first signed up I really didnt think it would be that hard, but I was dead wrong! I'll break down how the races went for me:

Friday-4 mile beach run: Toughest race of my life! Within 5 minutes I was cramping and it never went away. I have never really had to walk during a race, but I would say I walked alot of this one! I would slow down and the cramp would go away and once I started running it was back. It was more than frustrating. Once I finished though, I could not catch my breath and I felt nauseous for awhile. For a minute I had decided I didnt want to run Saturday morning because of how bad I felt, but naturally thats feeling didnt last.

Saturday morning-5K: Much better than the night before. It was incredibly hot and humid, but thats typical here. I started to feel a cramp come on in the beginning, but I knew if I made it to mile 1 I could finish. I stayed back behind my mom most of the race and in the end had the energy to sprint to the finish! I was hot and tired, but overall I felt 100% better than the night before.

Saturday afternoon-1 mile Sizzler: I thought this would be easy, but by the time 3 heats had gone by and it was time for mine I knew a 10-12 minute mile wouldnt cut it. I decided to push myself and see what happened. I started and immediately my legs felt heavy and the mental and physical battle of the past 2 races was very present. At this point it was all I could do not to stop and crawl to the finish. I crossed the line at 9:15 and couldnt have been happier. I was happy it was over and I had done all 3. I grabbed my medal and ran off to find Cody and my family.

Overall, I loved and hated every minute of these races. I dont think theres any way to prepare mentally for this series. The distances dont seem far, but it really is alot on your body physically and mentally. I plan to continue running in the Tour de Pain, but it will probably be one of the toughest races of the year. Running in this makes me feel accomplished, but also like I want to be 100% prepared for the Marine Corp 1/2 marathon this October!