Today's run was changed to a "fun run" and wasn't being timed due to the weather. Even though I was using this race as a training run, this was still a little disappointing.

Today was not a great run for me. I was not prepared for the conditions, but nothing I could do about that. I could have pushed a little harder at a couple particular points. But, at least for the second half of the race I practiced paying attention & listening to my body and I can say that I definitely learned a lot here. I also learned/rememebred today that there are very little shady areas on this course.

The first couple miles was super congested, it eased up a bit by mile 3, but still crowded for the remainder. The heat got to me pretty early on, and my mind was flooded with negative thoughts & wondering how I was going to push out another lap. But, I was still managing to hold a 9 min pace or slightly below. Around mile 6 I realized that I'd turned into a salt lick....no wonder I didn't feel so great! I took a gel when I got to the next water stop, and from there out I started walking through the water stops & alternating between water and gatorade. I normally don't drink gatorade during races but I figured I needed to work on replacing some electrolytes. The next mile or so was a long and gradual uphill, plateau, uphill, plateau, uphill. My legs were starting to get tired and heavy, and all I could think about were the 2 big hills between mile 9 and 10. The first of the hills wasn't too bad, and on the downhill decided to take the salt pack. Slight problem....I'd been sweating to much, the packet paper had just about fully disintegrated. Enter genius idea...I licked my finger, stuck it in my pocket and licked the salt off my fingers. Yes, this is gross, I know that!! But, desperate times call for desperate measure. And I know it's always a bad idea to try new things during a race....this was the first time I've tried taking salt. It made me feel like a wilted flower come back to life!!! I don't think winning the lottery could make me feel as good as that salt did! But before my new favorite miracle drug kicked in I succombed to mental weakness and walked the last half of the second hill :( I'm really disappointed in myself for this. I ran the first half, and there was no reason I couldn't have kept running. Started running again when I got to the top of the hill. By mile 12 I was feeling really good, and finished strong.

Remember to put on sun screen. Use body glide....it's my friend; chafing is not! Work on mental toughness and stay strong!

Had some Endurox, and got stretched out by a personal trainer....totally worth waiting in line for this.


The weather


Lots of great volunteers as always! One of my favorite moments....in the last 800m there was a volunteer who yelled out (sort of like a drill sergeant) 'If you're questioning yourself, STOP! Put one foot in front of the other, and keep moving!' Some people don't like this sort of thing, but I eat it up.

There were 9,000+ people in today's race. This is far, far too many people for a 6 mile course!!! The race should have been capped lower.