In the Words of Andrea...

That was the "hotttttest runnn everrrr!"

Here's me getting ready to pass woman in pink shirt. (I've blurred her identity).

Here's me passing woman in pink shirt. Yeah!

Okay, so let's start with the statistics

The race started a little after 7:30 at about 87 degrees and I finished up at a little after 10:00 am somewhere in the mid-90s we believe. My time was 2 hours 30 minutes and 11.26 seconds. That's exactly 7 minutes and 11.26 seconds slower than my first half marathon last January. That's not too bad considering the heat. I finished 46 out of 95 women in my age group which is about the 48th percentile. I finished 615 out of 994 runners (62 percentile). For the first 4 or so miles I was running a little under a 11 minute per mile pace. Then it got hot. I walked quite a bit at the end, about a half a mile to a mile total overall. Katrina beat me by about 7 minutes. Immediately after the run, I drank 4 bottles of water 2 bottles of Powerade and split a large cherry slush with Kevin. I was still thirsty the rest of the day.

Discuss the feel
I was hot from beginning to the end. I had the "chills" for about half of the race even though I was sucking down Gatoraid (electrolytes) and water like there was no tomorrow. If you've ever been on a long run and you've had water or an athletic drink during the process, you know there is that certain amount you can swallow without getting a cramp. Sometimes you can drink more because it's hot, sometimes you have to drink less because your body doesn't need it. Yeah, I don't remember having to limit how much I took in. It went straight through my stomach to where ever it was needed. No cramping involved. I was sweating so much that my hands were prunes by the end.

Prune:

That said, I don't think I pushed my legs hard enough. I was able to sprint by like 4 or 5 people during the last 100 meters or so. So what was limiting me?

It was my head and heart telling me "you are burning up, you better not go too fast or we'll put you in a world of hurt. We will make you pass out. You will have the biggest headache you've ever dreamed of. You won't be able to drive home."

So I listened. Kind of had to because the racing coordinators ran out of water and Gatorade towards the end and I had to run without additional liquids during the last 4 miles. That was highly undesirable and not exactly helpful for setting a PR (not that I was expecting to, mind you).

The Sun.

When I passed the finish line, I couldn't find the finishers drinks or the family. So I'm walking all over the place and I just start to cry I was so hot.

[Editor's note: Katherine has never cried after a race before. That's darn crazy!]

Then I find the buckets of water bottles. Grabbed three bottles. Downed two immediately. Poured one over my head. Grabbed ice from the bucket and shoved it down my sports bra...front and back. That felt good. So I dried my eyes and looked for the family peoples.

I found them shortly after. I remembered them cheering for me right before I crossed the finish line. Then I cried a bit again. Then I was fine.

Sounds horrible, right? Nah. I was just thirsty and tired.

Thirst.

Normally I would be scared to death of having the world's worst headache after this type of run. Didn't happen. Whether it was the cold drinks during and after the race, my pace, the short nap on the car ride home, or my training, I'll never know. But that makes me so proud and excited. Plus, my pace wasn't too bad. By comparison, I think Kevin finished 10-20 minutes slower than his target. Keep in mind, Kevin's slower pace is still faster than Katrina's and all of the family members who were running that day and he finished in 2:00:38, 210th overall, 24 out of 80 in his age group.

Overall, we had a great weekend with the family, a new racing experience, and a good base for training for a marathon this fall. Would I have run this race knowing what it was going to be like? Yes. A lot of what I experienced was expected. Thanks, Trina! Will I do this race again in the future? No. There's a good chance Kevin and I won't be running this race again unless we're just doing the 10K.

And end with the consolation
I still hold the fastest half marathon time (female division) out of Kevin's immediate family. My first half in January was in 2:23:00! Sorry Trina. :) I know you were hot and I know that achilles was hurting. But there it is. Good luck next year! I'm sure you'll beat my time at some point.

And besides that, I'm an Aunt now! And Kevin's an Uncle! Welcome to the world little Cameron!