It is no secret that I am not a big fan of running.
You would think that even though I know that I detest running in hot, humid weather that I would avoid signing up for races in the heat. Hello, I'm looking at you 4th of July run & the Greek Fest 5K this past weekend. I mean, it's August. Of course it's going to be hot outside.
It was 80 degrees at race time and the humidity was suffocating.
But Hannah and I were all smiles and high fives and thumbs up prior to the race starting.
We were even still great a mile into the race! See? Happy runners.
& then we turned the corner and the race went uphill. Are you kidding me? No. You cannot advertise your race as the flattest, fastest, expect-to-PR race in all of Charlotte if you throw in a long, slow, gradual hill.
Whatever, race course designer, whatever.
I'll keep running.
Until mile two when I cannot breathe thanks to some massive cramp on my entire right side. What? Note to self: figure out a way to prevent this in future runs.
Anyway, I completed the first two miles at a 9:45 pace {on track to be under 30 minutes!} before I had to stop to breathe/walk for a couple of minutes.
Hannah and I kept up with each other for pretty much the entire race. We rounded the corner back onto East Boulevard for the final stretch of the race and could see the finish line. Hannah nudged me and pointed to a clock. 29:15! We could still finish in under 30! RUNNNNNNN!!!!!!I
But then we realized that the finish line was a whole lot further than we thought and we were still no where near it, even after sprinting our hearts out. So this happened:
Then Hannah took off running without me! No ma'am, sorry Hannah, it was going to be a tie or nothing. I cannot wait to see the pictures of us hauling it at the end of the race to cross the finish line. We both crossed the finish line at exactly the same time - 31:54.
August 23, 2014: 5K
& in less than four months, we'll run our first half marathon together.
... I have a loooooong way to go before then!
Running uphill when it's so hot is the WORST! Congrats on finishing with your friend and a smile though :)
ReplyDeleteWay to go Chesson! Running in the heat and humidity is so much harder! I think it's great that you ladies finished together and I can't wait to see those pictures either! Kiawah really is flat and its gorgeous - you will love running that half!!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, hot running is the worst. I got back into running this spring after a 2 year hiatus, but I have not run a single mile all summer long. I absolutely refused to do anything after a 10k in Asheville in June (which was an awesome race, but so hilly. I couldn't figure out why it was so hilly then was like, duh, Asheville is in the mountains).
ReplyDeleteI love following your running adventures!
Congrats on the race and finishing strong! Best of luck with the half marathon and training! I did the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach several years ago and it was one of my favorite races!
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