Today's miles: 13.1
Week's total miles: 22.5
Dear Mother Nature,
I'd like to express my gratitude, again, for the fine work you did in Chicago three weeks ago. Really, you couldn't have been better. I'd like to thank you, too, for allowing my weatherman to sleep through the night all summer long with no impending hurricanes (although we missed the hype and the hurricane parties and Home Depot reunions where you see everyone you know). I'd like to thank you for not calling yesterday - if you know what I mean - probably a race first for me. Heaven knows, I needed that spare time, because I certainly didn't have any hustle in me.
I'm writing to remind you, as it appears you haven't noticed, that it's October. Or it was yesterday anyway. I understand a Florida girl takes her chances when she books a race in late September, but October 31st? That should be a slam dunk. It should not - ever - mean humidity in the 90s and temps in the 80s. Not that I am telling you how to do your job, but it's not what we've come to expect from you. When the family and I headed to visit the fort in the heat of summer, I waxed poetic about the flat and fast trails of Ft. DeSoto and how after a marathon 3 weeks before, and perfect Florida fall weather (hint, hint) I should rock the Halloween Halfathon. I'd blame it all on you, Mother Nature, except for the fact that I made a declaration on this very blog 10 days ago that I wasn't going to take this race seriously. It's an unwritten rule in the land of runners that excuses only count for a race when you make them ahead of time. So though you have some responsibility, we can also blame the fact that I was in a polyester Cinderella costume for the miserable time I had yesterday. Okay fine. And that my training was a little lacking the last 3 weeks. I guess I have to take one for the team, too.
Sincerely,
Kathryn a.k.a Cinderella a.k.a Belle
My group of running friends met at Starbucks at 4:45 Saturday morning. Cherise, the other fast Jenny, Carin and me. My eco-conscious pals weren't too pleased that we weren't actually carpooling, but caravanning. I had to have my own car, though, since I had to scramble back to get to Emily's cheer competition. We had been out the night before to a dinner, and hadn't returned home until 1am. So I got all of 2 and a half hours of sleep, though I had slept well Thursday night and knew that was enough. Jeremy had asked if he could come with me, since he loves to go to races. I was pretty impressed he was up at 4am to watch his Mom run! (He had no idea we were stopping at Starbucks or I'd be suspicious of his real motivation).
Our trip to the race was just over an hour. The temperature gauge on my car read 77 degrees so I knew we were in for it. After getting dressed (me, in my costume) we lined up at the starting line. I went ahead and got out my iPod even though I've been trying to use music less. I knew this was going to be hard and I needed all the distractions I could get. I had butterflies for the first time in a while before a race, and I think it was because I knew that it was going to be plain hard. Between the costume, the heat, the humidity, the lack of spectators, my lack of recent training, my time constraints, and the bright morning sun ... I knew all of the elements were in place for a solid butt-kicker.
This race was harder even than the marathon, for me. Usually half-marathon miles click right along, and before I know it I am at mile 10. I actually usually "forget" the middle miles, as I'm comfortably tucked into that "zone" that runners live for. Not yesterday. The first three miles were actually comfortable and easy, and I was pleased to see 8:58, 8:49 and 9:02 on my Garmin. Mile 4 felt okay so I was surprised to see I was slowing down to a 9:19. At mile 5, I knew I was just going to have to fight to the finish. I was losing steam, quickly. I started to contemplate removing my costume but decided I didn't want to lose that time. I kept it on for 2 more miles and then finally shed it at mile 7, with some help from other runners. I then had to run with the dang thing in my hand for the next 5 miles (I put it back on at mile 12 so I could finish in it - and get it out of my hand). Mile 9 was the longest mile I've ever run in my life. It felt like 6 miles. I thought I would never see mile marker 10.
As bad as the race was - and that had fully to do with the weather, as it was a great location and wonderfully staged - there was a spirit of cheerful camaraderie among my fellow runners. It was the very definition of misery loving company. I saw a friend I'd made on the plane on the way to Chicago - she was wearing a hospital patient costume with a big plastic butt hanging out of the back. I told her her butt had gotten a lot bigger since I first met her. I passed another girl and as she moved out of my way I told her to not worry, she'd be passing me in a few minutes. A group of us would exchange our leads - we'd walk, get passed, run again, pass them, and on and on it went. There was one girl I recognized somehow, but couldn't pinpoint how. She probably thought I was a freak because I kept looking at her trying to figure it out. Finally she said to me, did I hear you ran Chicago? and it CLICKED. She was the
writer of one of the blogs I follow. I'd started to read her blog because 1) I am jealous of all redheads (my Mom was not kind enough to pass her beautiful auburn hair down to me 2) I realized she was semi-local and 3) she also ran Chicago. She and I became BFFs immediately as trauma victims do (yeah, I can be a little dramatic). We'd run some, walk some, run some, walk some more. Finally (freaking FINALLY!) we saw 12 and I put my costume back on. I decided the only way this was going to end was to get to that damn finish so I pushed off to get the whole thing over with. I was honestly really surprised to see 2:09 on the clock when I finished. It's not even close to a PR but I wouldn't have been surprised if the clock had said 2:30 or 3:00. And I honestly wouldn't have cared, either.
Jeremy was waiting for me at the finish, and Cherise, the other fast Jenny and Mark were cheering all of us in. Mark had PRed by two minutes (and won 3rd place master), Jenny had broken 1:50 and was off running four more miles (she's amazing!). She got second in her age group.
My thoughts on the race: This was very well organized, in a great location. It had the makings of a fun time with costumes encouraged and a great post-race party. I love this series because it's full of experienced runners. I love races with newbies, too, but one of the beauties of these particular races is the sheer number of experienced racers. Because of this, "runner etiquette" on the course is excellent - you don't see runners stopping in the middle of the course to tie their shoes or spitting on the course itself (I understand runners need to spit, but please - do it where I'm not going to run through it *vomit*). Runners "pull over" to the right to let faster runners go by when they stop or walk - an especially good rule yesterday with so many of us walking. We may not all be BQers, but we all know a thing or two about running. The biggest issue with this race - and far beyond any human control - was the weather. Hot and humid on an island in the middle of Florida late in the morning is not at all fun, no matter how big the beer truck is waiting for you at the finish line. I will definitely do it again, though. Hopefully Mother Nature will take my complaint under advisement.
