Miles 20-26.0

AP and I said goodbye to the wives and my sister and headed north to the finish line. This stretch included some really pretty parks. Almost all of the run was along blacktop or concrete, but there was a stretch along a paved trail in a park. Luckily, there was not very many people running with us because the path was narrow and there was a dropoff to get around people.

At this point AP looks over at me and says, "Brad, you're not sweating anymore." For those of you who have played sports with me know that nobody sweats like I do. I rubbed my forehead and it was like sandpaper with salt, but very dry. Also at this time, I started seeing spots. When I would look at something white or shiny (like a street sign), the image of it would last for several seconds like I had image burn in. I'm not doctor, but that can't be good.

I feel like the spots were a result of low blood sugar. I ate a light pasta dinner Friday night and skipped breakfast that morning. This stretch is around 12:30-1:15, so I had gone 18 hours with no food other than jellybeans and GU. Maybe the decision to not eat was a bad one. I was so scared of an ugly "bathroom" incident that I wanted a clean system before I ran.

Clearly the lack of sweating was a result of dehydration. I just couldn't replace fluids at the rate I was losing them. I drank 1-3 cups of water at every water station (and there were about 20), but clearly I need more. There is one more common issue that accompanies dehydration....cramping. Suddenly, I start hopping on my left leg as my right calf clenches up. At one point, I don't stretch out the cramp just to show AP, there was a deep "hole" in my calf from the back of my knee down to my upper Achilles area where the muscle just tensed up. For the rest of the race, I could no longer jog more than 60 seconds without stretching my right calf.

In all my days swimming, playing basketball, volleyball, and all my training runs, I've never had a cramp...ever. I proudly stated that I never stretch, because I never needed too. Well, leg cramps are for real! So now I am trying to run more on my heels to force stretching as I run. Sadly, I couldn't enjoy the downhill part of the race. When running downhill, you don't stretch your calf, because the slope reduces the stretch, so I cramped up more during the "easy" part.

Meanwhile, I am trying to stretch every 60 seconds, and AP is really wanting to go. He is still staying with me. I can only imagine how frustrated I would be with someone if I was being slowed by them to this extent, but he wouldn't desert me. I must have said it 10 times, "just go ahead, I'll be OK." - I lied. By now, I was carrying a Gatorade bottle that we would fill up at every water station, but I was too hobbled to carry it, so AP was carrying it for me. If you carry a half full bottle, the water sloshes and makes it twice as heavy. Not usually a big deal, unless you are 23 miles into a run.

Finally, AP and I limp past the 25 mile mark, 1.2 miles to go and he finally takes off without me. I was fine on my own. At this point, we we in downtown and you could see the crowds start to cheer for you. Then I get to the 26th mile. 0.2 miles left.

The last .2 miles and post race next....