As you already know, I woke up at 5 am. I was suspiciously calm and not at all nervous. Reportedly, lack of race day nerves is actually a negative thing. The fact that I wasn't nervous wound up making me nervous, so then I was in good shape. I ate a leftover sweet potato and pecan pancake (these things are awesome), then we were out the door.
Angie and I got to the site by 6:30. As we were wandering around, Topher came up and said hi. We chatted for a while about the looming KC Marathon, and how we cope with long Saturday runs. It was great running into him and getting to know him a bit.
My dad called and said he couldn't find a parking spot, and would miss the start. That was okay, because the finish is way more important to me. I lined up, and we were off. The 10K folks were running with the half-marathoners for the first part of the race, and it was amazing to look ahead and see the sheer number of runners. A woman I passed had a bib pinned to her back that said "Lie to me and tell me we're almost there." I thought about telling her exactly that, but we were only half a mile in and I didn't want to be a jerk.
Mile 1 was easy, but after that I quickly found out why they call this thing Hospital Hill. I'm quite sure that first hill lasted approximately 50 miles. It took for.ev.er. Finally, I crested the top and picked up the pace.
So, like Forrest, I just ran. It was humid, hot, hilly, and hard. The 4H club of doom. I'm really exaggerating- it wasn't that bad. Around mile 5, it turned into a downhill race, so I ran faster. I arrived at the finish line not wanting to pass out or puke, which was a nice change. My time was 1:03:13. My goal was 60 minutes, so I came up short. I'm not upset, though, because the terrain and humidity were definitely factors. Next year I'll do better!
I'm sorting through some pics and video, and I'll be sure to post some of that as soon as I get it together. Now it's time for a big salad and a cupcake!
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4 comments:
Way to rock that thing! 1:03 is an awesome time, especially considering the weather. I can't believe how dang hot it got. Here's to 20.1 additional miles in October!!!
You'll have to post your sweet potato pancake recipe because that's sounding really good right now (or have you already done so and I missed it?), probably even better than the free cookies Panera was giving out.
Hello, it's me, the moron again. I just noticed the sweet potato pancakes was actually a hyperlink to the recipe. Look at it this way, now you got two comments out of me.
Tremendous performance at Hospital Hill. A lot of us saw our initial time goals evaporate with the heat, humidity, hills -- and yes, indeed, it was hard too. My goal suddenly switched to finishing and not winning a trip to the medical tent by overheating.
Hello ~ a friend on PeerTrainer.com pointed me to your blog, because I also ran the Hospital Hill ~ I did the half marathon (but by mile 10, I was envious of people who opted for the 10K!) You got an outstanding time, especially for a tough race on a hot, humid day! It is fun to read other people's experiences of races that I have run! Thanks for letting me pop in and read your race report! ~Sarah (the14thclock@blogspot.com ~ Sarah1234 at PeerTrainer)
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