Then we headed North to Sheboygan, Wis where we met up with JWim and Mike and swapped more stories, and then the four of us ran the Full Moon Half Marathon.
This was a well-coordinated, friendly volunteers, nice course. The course was about 99% protected from traffic, as you ran along a paved recreation path. Blacktop, except for a small amount of cement running. You park at the mall, and a bus takes you to the start line, which has porta-potties, drink, and shade, to wait for the 6:30 pm start.
This was a well-coordinated, friendly volunteers, nice course. The course was about 99% protected from traffic, as you ran along a paved recreation path. Blacktop, except for a small amount of cement running. You park at the mall, and a bus takes you to the start line, which has porta-potties, drink, and shade, to wait for the 6:30 pm start.
Sometimes when I first start running, I get this awful, awful burning pain. It's in both legs, where my legs turn into feet, in the front. I'm going to ask my podiatrist about it on Tuesday. I had to take a couple of walk breaks the first 2 miles because this awful, burning intense pain ceases abuptly somewhere between mile 2 and 2.5 - after that, I ran continuously, the first time I've ever run continuously in a half marathon. WOOT!
The humidity was high - I'm not sure how much, but as the sun went down, and the temperature drops and approaches the dew point. It was forecast to be 89%, quite damp for us peeps from the dessert. By the time I finished my clothes were heavy with moisture and my hair was soaked. It wasn't hot, just very, very humid.
Nice countryside with lots of "Queen Anne's Lace" growing along the side of the road. Apprently, it's a weed here, but I looked it up, and it has lots of cool medicinal properties, as well as an edible taproot. Oh, and corn. There was lots of that.
Now, about mile 4, I noticed that, for the second time, a dark blue (I think, it was dusk) suv-type vehicle was parked by the time of the highway, and people were standing up near the fence. A mile or so later I saw it again, and saw a woman refilling a couple of bottles, and then I got it: Someone ahead of me had their very own aid station, following them around which of course is cheating. So I knew what I must do.
Must. Beat. Cheating. Person.
Eventually, I saw that the person ahead of me whose family was following her around, giving her fresh bottles, was a girl, so then I knew what I must do.
Must. Beat. Cheating. GIRL.
Which I did.
At one point, I came upon the family, and gave them a withering look. But then the next time I saw them, looking past me, waiting...I'd summoned the courage to asked them, "Did you know that what you are doing is cheating?" and they laughed, and replied, "Oh, yes."
Nice.
Anyway, I beat cheating girl, who wore a white shirt and black shorts and whose number may have been 351, but I'm not positive about that, and I felt really good, too. I ran the whole race, with an average pace of 12:05, which is phenomenal for me, a PR. I met Baboo, who'd finished nearly an hour before me, at the finish line, and he gave me a G2 and cookies. Then we cheered in Mike and J-Wim.
Nice little race, I recommend it! If you're a slow runner, like me, get one of your fast friends to snag you some cookies in advance when they finish. They go fast.
We got back to the hotel about 11:30 and hit the sack...and then got up at 4:30 to catch our early plane. So now, I sleep.
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