I knew this was going to be a hot and humid run. I started out conservative and aimed for 9:30/miles. Within a few miles, my hip started bothering me (which hadn't bothered me at all during training). I saw our family a few times out on the course. It was nice to have them out there supporting us. Kari passed me around mile 6 and she seemed to be in great spirits. I knew Jeff and Brad were running together and I hoped they were doing ok.
Running felt progressively harder and I think I just threw the towel in mentally. It was hot/humid and pretty miserable, but no worse conditions than we've faced in some other races. I tried to switch to a run/walk interval of 8:2 and kept that going (with the exception of hills).
Around my mile 15 or so, I noticed we were being diverted. I learned that they shortened the course due to the weather. I wasn't sure how much was cut off of my race and was confused to see mile marker 20 and then 22. I learned they cut a few sections off the second half of the course and my run would be 6+ miles short. Once my run was cut short, I decided to just run when I wanted, but was mostly walking and trying to enjoy myself.
The out and back on the highway was pretty boring, but it helped they had a DJ out there. I kept waiting for Brad and Jeff to catch me, but it ended up they turned around before the finish line to get to a full 26.2 (they were only 2+ miles diverted).
My hip never got worse and it seemed it was the worst off in the first half of the run. Perhaps it was better the second half because I was walking more. I was happy to have run with my iPod. I didn't use it for the first 10+ miles, but once I got to the highway, I put in the ear buds.
The finish line seemed non-momentous...maybe because my race was cut short. I was upset in the beginning to hear it was shortened, but figured there wasn't much to do about it so I needed to get over it. Plus I had later learned at least one person died during the race. The race organizers advertised things for the weather (cooling buses/stations, more ice, etc). I didn't really see any of that and the volunteers weren't handing out ice at the aid stations...I had to go into the bags to get some.
In the end, it was a nice running tour of the city and was a fun experience with Brad, Jeff and Kari.

Perhaps slow down earlier. Or start a run/walk sooner. Not really sure. I felt I was properly trained going into this race, but heat/humidity are my Achilles heel.

I sat on the curb for a few minutes and had some chocolate milk. Brad's family found me and I joined them along the finish chute where I got to see Brad, Jeff and Kari finish.
We then grabbed the free beers from the beer tent, got our free race jackets and walked a few blocks back to the car.



100% humidity


The race certainly had it's faults. It started late, they didn't train the volunteers to hand out ice, there was a lack of communication on the course about the shortening. The post race things were nice...free beer and a free jacket, but the signage was awful and we didn't know where anything was in the finishers area.
We received a free entry to another RNR race due to the shortened course.