A view of the Bay from Tydings Park, Havre de Grace, MD
Um, NOT. Yes, not having to defend your personal space from a million other people was nice, but that Sunday fell right smack in the middle of a freak heat wave that hit the east coast. It was 70 degrees at 7am, not a cloud in the sky, and muggy. In short, not very nice running weather.
I felt great throughout the first mile and was shocked to hear that I'd run it in 8:45. I was stoked! Unfortunately though, at that point, I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain that pace...it was just too damn hot. The one and only water station was lousy because the coolers had been sitting out in the sun and the water was less than refreshing. So I figured I'd just have to suck it up and get through it.
I was pretty aggravated with myself roundabout mile 2 because the heat really started to get to me...there was no shade along that stretch and with not being hydrated well enough, I knew I'd have to take a break or risk passing out and really pissing off the cops who were directing traffic...they had more important things to worry about than catering to some cream-puff, wannabe athlete who fell ass over head in the middle of the road. So I slowed to a walk. Twice. :-( I'm still really mad at myself for not toughing it out, but I learned my lesson and won't let it happen in the next one.
Of course, the last half mile was quick because I wasn't about to let anyone see me struggle. So I turned on the afterburners, got yelled at for trying to pass someone in the finish chute and had no idea what my finish time was because a group of retards were standing in front of the clock. At this point though, I didn't even care - all I wanted to do was walk off the nearest pier straight into that nasty, brackish bay that Josh got to stare out for a half hour while I was killing myself. But when all was said and done and they got around to posting the results, I was pleased to see that I'd made it in 30:03...not as quick as I would've liked (damn those two walking breaks!), but still five minutes better than my previous best. Not too shabby for a girl who couldn't even run a mile two years ago. I can only imagine where I'll be in another two years if I keep this up...Boston, anyone? ;-)
Sorry, I know I'm a little late in posting this, but I just haven't felt much like it. On Sunday April 26th, I had my first official road race since I started training for the half-marathon. I'd never done the Women's 5K by the Bay, but it appealed to me for a few reasons: 1) it's relatively close to home and in familiar territory (Havre de Grace, Maryland, which is a cute town once you get away from Route 40); 2) I figured that with the race being held at the end of April, the temperature would be cool, if not downright chilly, and possibly rainy; 3) it's exclusive to women, which leads me to 4) it's got a really small field. There were only 350 entrants in 2008, and this year, I think about 390 participated. As exciting as it can be to run with thousands of other people, you all know that crowds aren't my thing and I avoid them whenever possible. So this was going to be my first test of my new running prowess in what I thought would be ideal conditions.
Um, NOT. Yes, not having to defend your personal space from a million other people was nice, but that Sunday fell right smack in the middle of a freak heat wave that hit the east coast. It was 70 degrees at 7am, not a cloud in the sky, and muggy. In short, not very nice running weather.
The day they come out with completely sweat- and waterproof makeup, I'm so there
The start of the race
I felt great throughout the first mile and was shocked to hear that I'd run it in 8:45. I was stoked! Unfortunately though, at that point, I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain that pace...it was just too damn hot. The one and only water station was lousy because the coolers had been sitting out in the sun and the water was less than refreshing. So I figured I'd just have to suck it up and get through it.
I was pretty aggravated with myself roundabout mile 2 because the heat really started to get to me...there was no shade along that stretch and with not being hydrated well enough, I knew I'd have to take a break or risk passing out and really pissing off the cops who were directing traffic...they had more important things to worry about than catering to some cream-puff, wannabe athlete who fell ass over head in the middle of the road. So I slowed to a walk. Twice. :-( I'm still really mad at myself for not toughing it out, but I learned my lesson and won't let it happen in the next one.
Of course, the last half mile was quick because I wasn't about to let anyone see me struggle. So I turned on the afterburners, got yelled at for trying to pass someone in the finish chute and had no idea what my finish time was because a group of retards were standing in front of the clock. At this point though, I didn't even care - all I wanted to do was walk off the nearest pier straight into that nasty, brackish bay that Josh got to stare out for a half hour while I was killing myself. But when all was said and done and they got around to posting the results, I was pleased to see that I'd made it in 30:03...not as quick as I would've liked (damn those two walking breaks!), but still five minutes better than my previous best. Not too shabby for a girl who couldn't even run a mile two years ago. I can only imagine where I'll be in another two years if I keep this up...Boston, anyone? ;-)
