The Hottest Half: Sometimes You Have It....And Sometimes It Is 85 Degrees At Race Time.

The Hottest Half Marathon was very accurately named, however, I have renamed it The Hottest...Race...Ever. I have run this half before and did the 10K one year, but I know that it wasn't this hot on those days. The forecast was calling for the hottest day of the summer and the 16th consecutive day of 100+ degree weather. Perfect! Let's go run a half marathon!

Erik and I arrived early and milled about the start area. We quickly found several of our runner friends: Che, Ben, Liza, DeAfton, Warren, and Rustin. The topic of conversation was, of course, the heat. It was already 85 degrees at 7:00 AM and only promised to heat up from there. Daunting conditions for any run, but especially when you have 13.1 miles staring at you. I was quite happy to see Paula and the Heels and Hills tent and I knew that she would have cold towels and other treats for us at the end.


At The Start Line

The starting horn blew very quickly and we were off! I tried to focus on settling into a comfortable pace, but it was hard from the start. Erik had been sick with a sinus and upper respiratory infection and I was worried about him and could hear him coughing as we started. The first bridge we crossed was so tricky--imagine hundreds of runners passing over a bridge at the same time. It was very bouncy and sometimes it would steal my momentum out from under my feet.


Big Smiles At The Start

I felt okay once we got past the bridges and again tried to focus on a steady pace. It was great to see Libby just before mile 2. I had my eye out for her and the other folks who would be out for the Heels and Hills cheering party. I was moving along at a decent pace, but knew that it was going to be a long race when I saw the mile 4 mark and thought "dang, we are only at mile 4".

Somewhere around the turn around for the 10K race (which was really sounding like a good idea at that time) I heard my name being shouted by two cyclists. Imagine my surprise when I saw Mary and Jan on their bikes with pretty pink pom-poms! I must admit, they kept me on my pace for a while because I wanted to appear strong whenever I saw them.


My Cheerleaders

I saw Mary and Jan again a half mile or a little more before the half way turn around point. This was when I stopped and took their picture--which they found funny, but I was beginning to realize that I was looking for any reason to stop for a minute! I still felt pretty strong at the turn around and took comfort in knowing that I was now headed in the direction of the finish line. It was at the turn around point that I realized that Erik wasn't be behind me. I really began to worry when Mary and Jan said that they hadn't seen him. Erik has had a rough summer with appendicitis and then the sinus infection. I was hoping that had decided to turn around at the 10K point, but I did have that worry that he had fallen out somewhere on the course.

After the turn around I really began to slow down. I took some walk breaks (something I typically do not do) and hoped that my heart rate would come down a little bit. The end seemed impossibly far away and the sun was beating down on me. I knew that we would be running on the sunny side of the lake and that sun was shining so fiercely down on us. I realized that I might be able to get a PW (personal worst) and thought that might be a good goal for the day...haha. I did lots of running/walking intervals until I ran into Erik around mile 11. He was helping a girl who had passed out during the run. I stopped to make sure that Erik was okay and to see if I could help the runner. She looked pretty bad and tried to stand up on wobbly legs. Erik had turned around at the 10K mark and was helping Libby and the Heels and Hills cheer team. I can't tell you how relieved I was to see him! I also stopped to talk with Libby for a bit and enjoy some yummy, sugary gummy bears. Her presence was a huge pick-me-up and I am glad that she braved the heat to cheer for everyone.

More running/walking (ok, maybe more walking than running at this point) until after mile 12, when I ran into Mark O. who was looking for someone to run in. I am glad that Mark was there because who knows how long that last mile would have taken me otherwise! It is amazing how I was suddenly able to run when I had a little bit of support/peer pressure. We heard a couple of sets of sirens as we headed toward the finish line and there was an ambulance less than a half mile from the finish. Mary and Jan were waiting for me at the finish and I managed to find a little bit of a kick for the finish line. I have to finish in style, right? I got some water and some of those wonderful cold towels from Paula and posed for a few pics with Mark. I began to feel a little shaky and really needed to sit down in the shade. I usually don't feel that wobbly after a race, but it usually isn't near 100 degrees at the finish either.


Mark O. Helped Me Finish

My official time was 2:20:28. Was it a new PW? Well, almost, only my 1st half marathon in November 2008 was slower. And today was a full 30 minutes slower than my personal record set back in May. However this was a whole 'nother kind of race. I started to think of it as my "social race" and had fun telling friends about my journey--taking pictures, talking to friends, walking, etc. All things that I would never do during the typical half marathon. I suppose that I should consider myself lucky that I was able to run across the finish line and was still able to smile after the whole ordeal. I can't wait for a fall half marathon--in fact, I am almost giddy thinking about that first crisp fall run. It has to happen soon, right?


Happy that I'm not running anymore!