32 seconds

Remember how I thought the race on Saturday would go pretty well? Ha, I was wrong.

Saturday morning I woke up early, took my time getting ready, and left right on time. I made it to teh stadium with about 30 minutes to spare. I hustled to the bathrooms, and waited and waited. As I was waiting, the rain rolled in. That's right, the 20% chance of rain turned into 100% of rain. It wasn't a gentle rain either. It was a freaking downpour that lasted for a good 15 minutes. Thank goodness when it was starting to rain harder I was close to the front of the line. After I hit the bathroom, I sprinted to the overpass for some protection from the rain. However, by that time I was soaked and shivering. The rain stopped just in time for us to line up at the starting line. This meant I didn't warm up at all. I usually jog for a bit to warm up the muscles before I stand at the start. Not this time. I had to start cold with wet socks and shoes. After a canon blast start (it scared the crap out of me), I tried to go slow like I had in training runs. I guess the adrenaline kicked in though because I started faster than I wanted. I was trying so hard to go slow, but my body wanted to go faster. Overall the course was really nice. It went through a neighborhood that I haven't seen much of so it was nice to take in the sights. The last few miles were along the river which was beautiful, but it meant running into the sun. By this time, the sun was up and the temperature was in the 70s. I experienced an odd combination of being hot and shivering. The wind was coming off the water which gave us a nice breeze, but it made me cold. There was also a pedestrian type bridge we had to cross around mile 11. It was steep so I walked all of it, and then the downhill part was a circle ramp. I walked a lot at the end. My body crashed. My mind crashed. I was done. I knew at mile 10 if I wanted to make my B goal I would have to push it, and I just gave up. I am so mad at myself. I gave up. I could have pushed it. Physically I was tired, but I could have done it. In the end, I finished 32 seconds faster than my last half marathon. So technically it was a PR, but I was pretty disappointed. Looking at my splits, I can tell where I started to lose it mentally.

I have no idea what happened, but I struggled. I don't know if it was the cold start, too fast of a start, the fact I had to pee starting at mile 1, or I need to toughen up mentally. I am pretty sure it is the last one. Although I didn't meet my goals, I did finish so I will take it. Half marathon #2 is in the books. #3 is in about 5 weeks when I will run Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon. (Woohoo! So much food to eat.)

Did I mention that the finish line was in a park that had become a mud pit? Good times.