So I decided pretty much last minute that I wanted to run a half marathon. I had this feeling that I just had to do it. There are slim pickings out there for half marathons that are not already closed due to overwhelming participation and of course I wanted to stay fairly close to home. After talking with my Dad, he took off work and was my "coat hanger" Hehehe. I spent Friday night in Charlotte with my parents. I woke up pretty early, had all my items together and got on the road to downtown. I found my race bib, race tshirt and waiting for an hour until the race started. Dad took my stuff and went to go meet me at the 7 mile marker. (I thought it was more around mile 5.5 but o well) I told him to meet me there at a certain time to get my running coat from me and then find me at the finish line. Here is a run down of the things I saw before, during, and after the race...
A man had a bird poop on him, a guy putting fire down his mouth, a juggler, someone on stilts, a man running in docker shorts and a polo, some crazy colored pants, a homeowner handing out pancakes, lots of cheerleaders, 2 bands, lots of cops, and someone running with a crying kid in a stroller. I think I was mostly shocked by the fire eating man. Never seen that in real life before!
During the race I was well aware of my hydration until I got somewhere around mile 9ish because come mile 10, I got the hydration cramps. grrrr!! I was doing SO GOOD up until then.
Regardless, I finished the race. My garmin said 2:19 with a running of 13.23miles (not 13.1) but the chip time said 2:20. Its better than November, not as good as last Charlotte race. Also, a very hilly course. Overall happy with the time, but I was most happy about the amount of volunteers and how organized the race was. It was by far the best organization I have seen! So big high five to all the volunteers. They make ALL the difference!!
My next goal is to focus a bit more on hills and sign up for a race in April and get a faster time on the next race.
No comments:
Post a Comment