The weather leading up to the event was quite hot - upper 90's and triple digits with heat indexes to 115 and higher. The event organizers made the decision to shorten the event to 5 miles rather than risk health issues of the runners. At first I was very disappointed because I had been training and really wanted to knock this off my bucket list. As the week progressed and I tried running outside, I began to come to terms with the decision.
I went to pick up my packet the night before, and was happy to learn that at random, every bib number ending in a 7 would win a free pair of Fit Sox! Yay!
All prepped and ready for the race, I headed to bed around 9:00 as I needed to get up at 4:30. Needless to say, it was hot, and because of being the 4th of July fireworks were going off around the neighborhood all night. I fell asleep sometime after 12:30.
I awoke at 4:30, and checked the temperature. Here is what I saw:
What? 4:30 am and it's already 81 degrees? And to top it off, I looked out my window and learned that it had rained as the streets were wet. That sure wouldn't help the humidity at all! Time for a cold shower and I got ready... boy, I looked tired!
Off to the race! As we were waiting in line to start, I was already sweating. I could see those around me with sweat dripping off their faces already. The horn sounded, and we were off. I kept a decent pace for the heat, but it was still quite difficult. I couldn't have properly prepared for these conditions. Around mile 4 I was getting tired, but kept plugging away. I crossed the finish line at 54:01. Clearly not my best time, but I didn't want to go out so hard to put my health at risk in the heat.
Here I am after cooling off a bit after the race - the race ended by running across this Stone Arch bridge.
So although I didn't get to run the full half marathon, I did complete another race which is always a good experience. On Friday this week, I learned from a co-worker that I was on the NBC Nightly News! Just a quick clip of me walking by, but none the less, I'll take that one second of fame! Don't blink or you'll miss me!
