Kim versus the Half Marathon - The Hottest Half

Well...it was a personal worst, but I did it.

13.1 is far, y'all.  For reals.  13.54 is even further!  I don't know about you, but there is nothing that agitates me more than seeing the distance I truly traveled in a race you only get credited for 13.1.  Usually I can look back and see where I did some weaving (or...um...getting lost), but since I put myself at the very back and walked The Hottest Half, well...there wasn't much weaving at all.  =/

So, it would be VERY easy for me to tear myself apart with regard to this race.  I mean I hadn't trained for it except for a few longish walks and a couple of weekday jaunts - none of which ever attained my goal pace and none of which lasted more than 8 miles.  As I've mentioned before, I've gained some weight back and I just haven't been eating as well as I should and I haven't been moving as much as I should.  To bottom-line it, I'm out of shape.  I thought about opting out of the race altogether and/or knocking my registration down to the 10K (which also would have granted me a medal upon completion), BUT I decided I was to be punished for my wayward lifestyle as of late and that come hell or highwater (in Houston?  in Dallas?  in this drought?) I needed to complete this race and use the blood, sweat, tears, and pain to catapult me into getting back on the right track.

I will say that this was one of my most humbling experiences of all time.

After splitting a peanut butter and honey sandwich with That Pink Girl, we headed out to White Rock for our race.  On a side note, I think I liked the PB&H over oatmeal as a pre-race breakfast.  This was a smallish race in that there were 1375 finishers.  My goal was to not be last.  haha!  Well I had more goals - although I wanted to finish in legal time, I knew my lack of training would probably not allow it.  I was right.  So my other goals were to not dehydrate and just to finish.  Pretty simple, right?!

I had a hydration plan.  I was going to take water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out (it was an out and back course) and then drink from my Camelbak (filled with G2) on the way back.  It became clear pretty early on that this plan wasn't going to work for me.  It was hot y'all AND I'm one sweaty girl AND seeing as I was walking the course (not in the best shape), I knew early on to avoid cramping calves and other symptoms of dehydration, I needed a new plan.  I ended up grabbing a water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out while sipping on my Camelbak in the interim.  On the way back, I alternated between water and Powerade at the stations.  This all paid off - by 10.5 miles, I had drained my Camelbak.  By mile 11.5, the twinges started in my left calf.  Some volunteer had offered to let me re-fill my Camelbak around 9 miles, but silly me thought I still had plenty left.  =/

Mile 1 was pretty smooth sailing save for the bridge located around 0.5.  Now, I'm not one of those chickies afraid of a bridge, but I am a chickie with some equilibrium issues and many runners/walkers and bike riders trampling over a bridge makes for quite a bouncy experience.  Can you believe there was another bridge around 1.5 miles?  In my head there were two more, though I might be mistaken.  The one that was located right before mile 5 (and mile 8 on the way back) was by far the worst.  Coming off that cRaZy bridge was a hill.  We all know how much I love to hate hills.  My legs felt disoriented from the bridge and it was just a bad feeling all the way around.

I still felt strong Miles 2-5 as there was quite a bit of shade along the course.  During Miles 4-5 I practically had my own cheer squad.  As the runners on their way back passed me, many of them would high 5 me or clap or shout out encouragement.  It truly brought both a smile to my face and some tears to my eyes.  It was extremely heartwarming that people were so awesome to take the energy out of their own race to help motivate mine.

Miles 6-8 were okay.  At some point, I made a friend.  He was walking the race, as well, and we just chatted along for a couple of miles. 

Miles 9-11 were rough.  I wanted to quit half a dozen times, but I reminded myself that punishment isn't supposed to feel good.  I wasn't hurt, mind you, so there was really no reason to stop...I was just tired (well except for that stupid left calf that started acting up right past mile 11).

Miles 12-13 felt like they took an eternity.  The aid vehicles kept passing me and the girl in front of me.  She was struggling with a hurt leg, so they asked her a time or two if she needed help, but she declined.  We both just wanted to be done.

Around 12.9 miles, TPG came from around the corner and I swear to you that she was the best thing I'd seen all day.  She instantly put a huge smile on my face before she put her coach face on told me to start running to the finish line.  I tried for a few hundredths of a mile, but that lame calf was threatening me.  I started walking again and I was telling TPG about a dude who almost knocked me over around mile 4.  He was coming in the opposite direction of me and stopped to tie his shoe - without pulling to the side.  Some girl told him to get off the course and without looking, he scooted over onto my side of the course.  I girl-screamed in fear of falling over and somehow managed to avoid him and the ground.  TPG pointed out that if I had enough energy to tell a story, I had enough energy to run the rest of the course (I love when she goes all coach on me), so I started running and as I neared the finish line, the MC shouted my name and where I was from.  A fairly large group of spectators cheered for me as I crossed the finish line. 

The Hottest Half peeps handed me a medal and I thanked them for allowing me to finish and giving me the medal even though I didn't finish in legal time.  She laughed, congratulated me, and told me she was proud of me.

Nice people rock my world!

After some much needed water, TPG and I headed towards the car.  A nice aid guy stopped us and offered us a ride.  I didn't want to take him up on it because of pride issues, but then he said if we didn't let him take us, he was going to have to go back and become part of the clean-up crew.  We laughed and thanked him for the ride.

I will say that this was one of my favorite races as far as organization, staffing, and hydration stations go.  It was the absolute best race as far as my fellow racers go. AND if I could ever get my act together...despite the heat...I would consider doing it again (the right way).

I will leave you with a couple of pics and my stats.

This is a pic of my fingers after the race (no, they were not painful, but definitely uncomfortable)...

These were my fingers 24 hours later...

This was my post race AWFUL pic, but hey...it's me with my medal and TPG was kind enough to take it...

Time - 3:57:57
Calories Burned - 1989
Finishing Song - Lady Gaga's Paparazzi
Next Stop - Beach Palooza (5K obstacle course) in Galveston on September 24th.