Day 9 - Race Day!

I had a pretty good night’s sleep with the usual one or two wake ups in the middle of the night thinking that I’d overslept.  I got dressed, had breakfast, wished I had access to coffee (I didn’t) and walked down to the start line.  It had stopped raining and you could tell it was going to be a scorcher.  I knew it was going to be an interesting race when I heard Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” playing at the starting area.  Nice choice of a song…having not had any coffee, I felt like I could use some right about.  HAHA!  I’m kidding, of course.  I was cursing myself for making the decision to run this thing, though.  What the hell was I thinking?!  I’ve spent the last 8 days eating and drinking my way through Costa Rica and now I’m supposed to run 13.1 miles???  This is going to suck.  BAD. 

First off, need to find a port-a-potty.  I was expecting the massive, 30 minute wait time, lines that usually occur at events like this in the states.  HA!  I waited, for like, 2 minutes at which time I met a couple of Americans that were here from Florida and were running the full.  They were telling me how they usually do the Rock n’ Roll every year, but they skipped it this year to do this one.  How cool?!  I wished them luck, took care of my business and it was time to get this party started! 

It was still pitch black outside when the gun went off.  The temperature was probably in the low 80’s if I had to guess, but it was VERY HUMID and the temp would start to rise very quickly once the sun came up in about half an hour.  2 km into the race, I was in a full on sweat. 

Water stops were every 2 km and I’m pretty sure I grabbed water at each one.  Instead of the water being in cups, it was sealed off in these long, tubular, plastic baggie things.  It’s typical out here for juices, and other beverages.  You have to bite the corner off to drink it, but if you do it wrong, the whole thing will explode all over you.  Luckily, this did not happen to me, but I witnessed it happen to others many times throughout the race.  There was also Gatorade on the course, orange – the best kind!   I was shocked when I grabbed a cup of Gatorade and it had an ice cube in it!  They all did!!!  WTF?!  That is awesomeness right there! 

Not much to say about the race itself.  It was very crowded in the beginning and trying to maneuver around people was difficult.  It was MUCH hillier than I’d anticipated.  MUCH HILLIER.  I checked my watch at the 5 km (3.1 mile) marker, 30:33.  Definitely not on track for a personal record, definitely not on track for a sub 2 hour.  I certainly was not anticipating a personal record (as awesome as that would’ve been), but I won’t lie, I kind of wanted to finish this thing in under 2 hours. 

At the 10 km (6.2 mile) marker I checked my time again, 58:25 – I’d picked up a little bit of speed.  I was going to have to pick up more if I wanted to finish this thing in under 2 hours.  I don’t know if I had it in me.  My quads were on fire from the hills. 

After the 10 km marker, the km markers just disappeared…so I had no idea at what point I was in the race and that sucked.  Up ahead I saw people turning around to look at a sign in the middle of the road.  It was the 10 km turn around point, so I knew I had 5 km left.  I checked my watch, 1:33 and some change.  I would have to run the next 5 km in less than 27:00.  I’ve barely been able to do that with fresh legs, let alone the last leg of a hot, humid, hilly, half-marathon. 

The last 3 miles, I just blew it out.  Running as fast as my tired, sweat drenched legs could go.  The crowd started to grow thicker and I could hear music and the announcer in the distance.  I was absolutely drenched from head to toe.  There was so much water and Gatorade sloshing around in my stomach, I felt like I was going hurl.   I saw the finish line, I looked at my watch.  I started sprinting.  At 1:59:39 I crossed the finish line.  My second best half marathon time.  I seriously felt like I was going to pass out.  The Tamarindo Beach Half Marathon will go down in the books as being the hardest race I’ve EVER completed. 

I grabbed a Gatorade, a slice of watermelon, a banana, and my finisher’s medal and walked limped back to my hotel room.  After snapping the obligatory Laura Z half marathon finisher photo, I walked waddled back out to the finish line to snap some more pics. 

Gettin' good at this self portrait thing.

Finish line

The second place men's marathon finisher whizzing by.

It was shower time.  I took the longest, hottest shower ever and realized I needed food and I needed it soon.  I did not feel like going to a restaurant, so I walked right around the corner to the supermarcado, bought some cereal and milk, and proceeded to eat about three bowls worth.  I had a couple of beers in the fridge, but my belly was so full from all the water, Gatorade, and cereal that I was not the least bit interested in drinking one.  Crazy, I know.  The sun was shining bright, perfect for a mid-morning siesta on the beach! 

I laid down on my stomach and as soon as my head hit my make-shift pillow, I was OUT.  I have no clue how long I slept for, but when I woke up I could definitely feel the effects of the sun on my back so I flipped over and passed out again!  I was so exhausted. 

My poor, tired legs.

It was my last night in Costa Rica and the only night while I was there that it did not rain.  That meant I would get to experience the sunset!!!  Around 5:30 I walked out to the beach with my camera and a beer and was shocked to see just how many people there were out there.  Everyone comes out to watch the sunset. 

Still a little bit more to go...

This was the best shot I got before the sun slipped behind some clouds.  Doesn't get much better than that.  Truly amazing.

Living on the east coast and having never traveled to anywhere on the west coast, I’ve never experienced a true sunset before.  It was breathtaking.  Even though there were a few clouds in the sky obstructing the view, it was still one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.  An unforgettable ending to an unforgettable trip. 

On the way back I was snapping a shot of this guy surfing.  I had no idea he was going to leap off the board like this at the exact moment I took the shot.  This is one of my favorite pictures of the entire trip.  It makes me laugh everytime I look at it. 

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do my last night in Costa Rica.  I was spent and Tamarindo just wasn’t my cup of tea.  I stumbled upon a bar called Kahiki, American owned like most of the places there.  They had college football on, so I saddled up to the bar and had a beer.  There were some folks sitting at the bar, one of which had run half that day, so I chitchatted with them for a while until my tiredness really sank in.  I picked up a salad to go from a cute little bistro and called it a night.  I had no plan on how I was going to get the airport in the morning and knew I would have to get up early to figure it out.