hothouse flower

Who complains about heat and humidity in March in Minnesota AND getting a PR? That would be me. 

I ran the Get Lucky 21k today and got my most unsatisfying PR ever. Definitely not my lucky day. TenacityChris gave me a goal of 2:10 which seemed doable. And it would have been achieved if I hadn't totally bonked in the middle of the race.  

I made sure I got enough sleep this week.  I hydrated like crazy because I knew it was going to be warm, and though it's a real chore for a carb whore like me to have to load up on carbs, I was a good soldier and did it.  I had my yummy Honey Stinger jots before the race and was ready to go!  The race started well and I felt GREAT for the first seven miles. During mile eight I started to feel a little dicey so I slowed down a little bit, but the crappy feeling continued so I slowed down even more in mile nine.  

And then the wheels fell completely off.  I was dying out there for a while. I ended up walking a fair amount and swearing at myself for being such a delicate flower when there's a little humidity.  And it was was SOOOOO humid! 72 degrees and 91% humidity. In Minnesota. In March. No shit. And I was completely unprepared for that. I know 72 isn't hot but it sure felt like it today. I don't remember the last time I generated this much sweat. I was a salty crusty mess.  It sucked because it wasn't the pace that was killing me, it was how my stooopid body reacts to the heat.  

Looking salty and celebrating my PR

There were only 4 water stops on the course (not enough in my oh so humble opinion) and they ran out of cups for the last one. I almost cried when the volunteers said they didn't have any more cups so they couldn't give us water. WTF??  A fellow runner (savior) shouted, "Does anyone want to share my cup?  I only drank out of one side!" I was all over that and said I'd share.  No cooties worries here!  I think she saved my life! Ok, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic (moi??), but this was one of my toughest runs ever and I needed some water in a big, big way.  Bless you, woman in green.  You are wonderful.

Anywhoo, I was seriously wondering if I was going to be able to finish.  It was that bad.  But you know how I am about the bling.  It would take more than THIS to keep me from getting that damn medal. After two incredibly slow miles, I decided I was going to frickin' RUN the last couple of miles. NO walking.  Time to put the big girl pants back on.  

Racing side note: The Minneapolis and St. Paul Police officers who work all these races are usually very stoic and silent.  I always toss out something along the lines of "Thanks for being here!" because I do appreciate them keeping us runners safe during these races. Usually I get a head nod in return, or the more extraverted ones might go so far as to give a little wave.  I must have looked pretty rough today, because the cop at mile 12 looked at me and said, "You can do this! Stay strong!" That made me laugh out loud, and it did give me a little extra boost.  A little later a volunteer yelled to me, "This is STILL a good idea!"  Another laugh to keep me going.  

Here are my splits.  See if you can tell where the wheels fell off.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:15:01.7	13.19	10:14
1	9:48.4	1.00	9:48
2	9:44.0	1.00	9:44
3	9:42.8	1.00	9:43
4	9:39.6	1.00	9:40
5	9:55.4	1.00	9:55
6	9:47.8	1.00	9:48
7	9:45.7	1.00	9:46
8	10:27.8	1.00	10:28
9	10:32.3	1.00	10:32
10	11:41.8	1.00	11:42
11	11:44.6	1.00	11:45
12	10:07.0	1.00	10:07
13	10:19.1	1.00	10:19
14	1:45.3	0.19	9:20

So though it was a swing and a miss for my 2:10 goal, I still managed to finish with a pretty decent PR (exactly 8 minutes!), and I got my f-ing medal. That makes it all worth it!