I flew in that Saturday afternoon at which time Adam picked me up from the airport and we headed straight to the race expo to pick up our race packets. The first thing I noticed when getting out of the airport was the humidity...having just arrived from Washington DC where we had been having a very cold and dry winter this humidity was quite uncomfortable for me and I was already having doubts of how well I would perform in the half.
The race expo was located at the Tampa Convention Center and despite being much smaller than other expos I had been to back home it still had a decent amount of vendors. Adam and I had a great time trying out the different free samples and looking at the different merchandise. We didn't stay too long as we needed to check into our hotel and get lunch.
When we checked in at the Westshore Embassy Suites the concierge informed us that there would be a manager's reception that evening with free alcoholic beverages for all the guests. My first thought was we probably shouldn't drink but after lunch and a while of relaxing at the pool we decided that one drink wouldn't hurt ....about three hours and several drinks later we decided to call it a night since we knew we had definitely overdone it especially with a 4:30AM wakeup call and 6:00AM half marathon awaiting us the next day. We chugged as much water as possible and went to bed around 9:00PM. The next day we awoke both feeling like we'd been hit by a train but we did not let our painful state stop us from heading to the race.
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| The first beer that started it all |
We arrived at the convention center around 5:00AM and proceeded to drink more water, use the bathroom, and attempt to throw up while we waited to head to the race start located a little ways away from the convention center. I definitely knew I was not going to perform well but I would try.
We located the 1:45:00 pacer....this was my goal time prior to considering the humidity and drinking the night before.... Both Adam and I were excited and nervous. The temperature that morning was somewhere around 70 degrees with about 90% humidity...much different from what I had been training in back home. Once the race began I felt pretty strong for the first 3 miles and Adam was doing great. Then my stomach and muscles began to cramp and as my body temperature rose my pace started to steadily decline. Each step harder than the next I could now really feel the humidity. As I continued to slow and fall back I could see Adam and the 1:45:00 pace group get farther and farther away from me.
The course was very flat, no hills like what I was used to back home and once we neared the water it began to smell like a backed up sewage drain which did not help my already queasy state. There seemed to be water stops and porta-potties at about every mile or two which was wonderful for me. I'm pretty sure I stopped at everyone of them to douse myself with water and drink water in a desperate attempt to cool down. I also threw up yellow stomach bile a few times....
I finished in 2:00:18, way slower than I had hoped but hey at least I finished. Adam did a wonderful job finishing in 1:46:12! He said at mile 10 he stopped for some water and once he tried to get moving again to catch back up to the pace group his legs had a tough time getting going again.
Overall this was a great race with a flat course, lots of race support, and a really cool medal. I would definitely do it again but next time I would definitely not drink the night before and hydrate a lot more in anticipation of the humidity.
Awesome pirate finisher medal
Adam and I spent the rest of the day recovering and catching up on sleep. The next day I flew back home where I continued to recover. Tuesday morning I got up at my usual 4:40AM and had a nice 5 mile run in 30 degree low humidity temperatures...I will no longer complain about it being cold and dry...just about it being icy and snowy ;)
2014 1st Quarter Race Schedule2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon 2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler
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