Myrtle Beach, SC | March 5, 2022 | Time: 2:15:16
Well, that sucked.
I was ready for a solid half – maybe not a PR but close. I felt good coming into the race, I had completed all my long runs and speed was going ok. But the weather… the weather showed up and screwed me over (among a few other things).
It was mid 50s at the start and cloudy, slight breeze. I thought this feels pretty good. I was surprised at all the people around me in long sleeves and pants considering I was in shorts and tank. I had forgotten to factor in humidity. And it reared its ugly head at me by mile 6 of the race.
But let’s go back for a second. My plan was to stick with the 2 hour pacer and if I felt good toward the end kick it in. I felt good about this, thought I could execute, and was excited about running a real race again. Well, upon arriving at the start line the 2 hour pacer was nowhere to be found. Finally like a minute prior to race start she appears but it messing with her flag and doesn’t start on time. Myself and a few others started with the gun and tried to keep between the 1:45 and 2:15 pace groups. Then a few minutes in the pacer appeared. I thought Oh good- now I can stick with her going forward. Except instead of sticking with a pace she was all over the place trying to make up time instead of staying with a 2hr pace from when she crossed the start line. This really messed with me. I think I used up too much energy trying to stay with her instead of sticking to my pace. It was about at mile 3 when I noticed how hot I was getting.
I was not carrying water (which I’ve done in the past) was I hadn’t trained with it and knew I could run 14 miles without carrying. This proved to be a mistake. Should have brought my handheld to help keep my temps down. By mile 6 I was picking up water and splashing my face and neck to try and help.
I did see Maleah run by during this stretch which was a total boost. I was trying to look for some other Oiselle runners but it was hard with so many people (definitely more than I thought were racing).
After I crossed mile 6 I realized my toes were going numb a little too. Now this happens on occasion but I can usually work it out while running. So I’m not sure if it was due to running faster, or the heat, or a combo of both but my feet were in a dark place.
Thankfully I saw Kristi around mile 10 (she wasn’t running due to stomach issues) but came out to cheer! It was another nice boost but after that my feet hurt so much and I was so hot that I was having to take walk breaks through the water stops and pouring water on myself to cool down.
I finally got to the finish line but it was so far off goal- I almost cried. I wanted to walk off the course so many times after halfway. Not me at all- I just did not have a good day.
I’ll be nursing my wounds, and trying to figure out what happened with my feet. And oh- not registering to run a spring race in the near future if I have a goal in mind. Fun runs are totally fine but don’t expect any PRs out of me in the warmer months. On to the next!
chasing every adventure 