How to NOT hit the mental 'wall'

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I had always wondered what "the wall" was because I'd never hit it in any half marathon I'd done. I hit it, and I hit it HARD, at mile 19 of the full this year at Goofy.

Part of the trouble was that I had to stop at every single porta potty for the entire length of the race. I had no choice - ladies will understand and sympathize. It was pretty terrible. I went into WWOS and was struggling because each time I stopped to use the bathroom, it was adding time to my finish (and putting me closer to the sweepers). I used a REAL bathroom inside of WWOS (I ended up using the men's because I think there was something like 20 women waiting in line to get into the women's side, no line for the men's, and I just couldn't wait) and right after I washed my hands in a REAL sink (my god, that felt glorious), the wall hit. I was done.

I had friends waiting for me at 19.5 and I did a sad little trot up to them, and I kind of fell into one of my guy friends there and hugged him, was bawling my eyes out saying that I couldn't go any further, and I was simultaneously apologizing for how bad I smelled (I know I reeked from sweat and the bajillion porta potties). I'm not kidding, I was a hot mess at that point and couldn't stop crying. My friend got all teary eyed and said that I came this far, I didn't have much further to go, and I could do it. He ended up jogging on the sideline just a little ways (we knew that's a huge no-no, but he did it anyways) and kept cheering me on. Bystanders saw me crying and were encouraging me and yelling out my name saying I was doing a good job (and in my messed up state, it took a day for me to realize that everyone knew my name because, duh, it was on my bib) and to keep it up.

If that group of friends weren't there at 19.5, I would have quit. Not kidding. I was that mentally out of it and I had one final small mental struggle when I came out of WWOS onto Osceola Parkway and saw that no one was going INTO WWOS anymore. It scared me to death, and I thought the sweepers were right behind me. I later found out there were about an hour and a half behind me and I really had nothing to fear, but it got me moving again. Slowly, but moving.

I'm going to go into Dopey this year with a much better mentality and know that it's likely going to hit, and have some steps to help me avoid it.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Oh, and haha - the photographers didn't give a rat's behind that I looked miserable. This is when the wall hit:

Words cannot express how happy I am that someone snapped that pic and it's forever on the internet

 

[goofeygirl]

Oh, and haha - the photographers didn't give a rat's behind that I looked miserable. This is when the wall hit:

Words cannot express how happy I am that someone snapped that pic and it's forever on the internet

Lol. That's how I must have looked! Angry, miserable and over it! Now I did not cry nor had the intention to quit. I went all that way to do the Goofy and darn it I was going to finish it if it were midnight!!!

But I am with you on the pop thing...I am one of those cannot pass one because I have to go...I am like that in real life too...like that commercial...gotta go gotta go gotta go....yup that's me.

We need to come up with mental attack plans for this so it NEVER happens to us!!! We need to enjoy this darn thing..because I too am doing the Dopey!

Now I have hit a mental wall in a half...at the beginning believe it or not but that's normal for me...I start out in a lul for some odd reason but it lasts only for a mile and then it goes and it doesn't return...so it is normal...and I don't care it happens at the beginning because I am normally at the back with all the crowds so I cannot really move anyway.

NO MORE MENTAL WALL!!!

 

[Bookwood]

don't plan on not hitting the wall- just plan a way to get over it! You have no control about hitting it, it's how you handle it that will make you feel better about it.

 

[StarGirl11]

90 percent of the time my run ins with the wall have to do with sweepers and other race related things (like under supplied drinks at my first half). The other 10 percent is usually something that can be blamed on my body.

Technically the course was closed by this point. Part of the reason I hit wall back at mile 23 was because I caught sight of the sweeper police cars and naturally freaked (though me feeling a little too good during the first half and going way too fast in retrospective didn't help either). I had come so close to finishing and I wanted to finish. Well if you ever want a race that isn't extremely strict about enforcing time limits once you clear the bridge, then San Francisco is your race. It's risky and the water stations are closed by this point but you can run on the sidewalk once the sweepers pass you up. And it was also part of the reason why I was surprised there were still some photographers still on course by the time I came through the last 5k of the course. And thus I have photos of me in full post-wall glory:

I should note I saw the photographer and tried to run. Thus the expression on my face in the second photo.

What makes it funny about this one is I completely missed this photographer. I had no clue there was another one after the first one. I was too focused on going "Where's the Finish?!". This probably couldn't have been oh maybe a mile or two out from the finish.

What's funny is looking back it never once occurred to my brain that they might not be still handing out medals. I was so determined to prove everybody wrong that I could finish 26.2 miles that the thought that since I was passed by the sweepers possibly meant that everybody might be gone by the time I came in never occurred to me. I know better now adays for most racecs but this was my first year of running so I have an excuse.

For anyone wondering yes I did get my medal:

By the time I came in most of the finish line was packed up. But the two announcers were still there and so were a decent crowd of people cheering on the last of the runners coming in. And trust me when I saw I was one of the last runners. But not the last person. Somehow there were still six people behind me. The course was only supposed to be open for six hours for the full there was someone who took nine hours to complete it (which means they had the timing mat down that entire time)!

 

[bumbershoot]

stargirl, your story and pictures made me cry. The expression on your face when you have the medal is just...I don't know, you look like you're about to cry both happy and OUCH tears, it's just a wonderful picture.

Or maybe it's b/c today I did 11 miles in the rain, having to split it in two (getting chilled between) because of a lightning storm that rolled through (SCARY!), I finished like an hour after I thought I would, I made my family wait for me, and I was wearing clothes that were fine in the daytime but made me nearly invisible when I finished in the nighttime....and I"m tired and sore and emotional b/c I've NEVER run that far before...

Or maybe because it's pretty cool.



The other stories are getting me, too.

 

[goofeygirl]

Congratulations Star Girl on proving people wrong about you. That's the best is when you do what no one thinks you can. You know yourself better than anyone else. That race in San Fran is something I would love to do someday..maybe a half version of it.

Well for me, my mental wall had nothing to do with sweepers or abandoned water tables. They were still in full force...it was really just me. I think when I went up the ramp and could clearly see the sign for mile 21 I think I was still feeling good. I thought DHS was just right around the corner. I thought that was entrance way to DHS and it was homefree from there...loaded with entertainment from there on in...but it wasn't. When I got up to that sign I looked forward and all I saw was more highway, endless , long, dark and hot highway (it was very hot that day). I think that did it for me. I thought I would see someform of life that wasn't tarmac...but no. Even though I had only 5.2 miles left from that time...that was a VERY long 5.2 miles.
I stopped and stretched by a road barrier...blasted Rhianna on my mp3...I actually was moving faster because I was so over it. The roads, the endless dark roads and it was hot.
I think that is what did it for me...perhaps it was another LONG two miles before we got to the DHS entrance but it didn't matter, I was so bloody over it by then.
I remember going through DHS with my head down just wanting to get through it...then down that lovely walkway towards Epcot and how pretty that is...but I just pressed forward, not even looking up. Geeze, Epcot was miserable for me, I just wanted to get to that finish line...it seemed like they moved it further back with each step forward I took. When I finally crossed the finish line I felt fine, it was over but I realized I didn't enjoy the best part of the race which is the last part of the race.