Playing DS with my kids at the hotel room
The sour part of it was the heat (oh and the fact that we ran out of gas on the way up, but that's a whole other story). Given that it's the middle of June I knew I was most likely going to be warm running weather, but the heat yesterday made the race downright nasty.
I knew I was in for it on Saturday when we waited to get a table at Olive Garden for my carb loading. As we stood outside for a good half an hour I couldn't help but notice the thickness of the air and even doing next to nothing, how sticky you feel. Having lived in the D.C. area for quite a few years now, I've become quite accustomed to the humid heat we get in the summers, but it's for sure not my idea of fun to run in it.
The race started right outside Penn State College at Grings Mill Park and with an 8am start I got to sleep in a little, but it also meant the temps were already taking off. Standing at the start line I noticed a woman in front of me who already had sweat pearls on her upper back. I thought to myself, that can't be a good sign. Heat concerns were a part of the pre-race announcements and the option was given for people to finish the half marathon even if they had registered for the full if they wanted. With close to 800 runners, 300 were registered to run the full. As I found out after the race, only 171 finished the 26.2.
I was blessed to get to run with my friend Becky, who I'd met earlier this year at the Garden Spot Village Marathon in PA. I wrote a blog post about Becky a few months back, as she and her 8th grade student's held regular bake sales to help raise funds for the children of 25:40.
We started out and I tried not to think about how hot it was going to get. Within the first few miles I was already feeling soaked. Well hey if nothing else maybe I could sweat off a couple extra pounds today right? That was my positive thinking at work! With temps reaching into the 90's and humidity at about the same level, I knew we had a long hard day ahead of us. Neither of us enjoy running in the heat so we had a pretty even outlook about the conditions. All the same it was going to be 26.2 miles and we made the most of it.
Early in the race and already hot
The park made for some pretty sights along the way and several runners and volunteers had taken to dressing up for the German theme in lederhosen! I found the whole German aspect of the race very charming. Lager Beer was offered at seveal aid stations along the course, along with the usual Gatoraid and water. One of the aid stations also had homemade poundcake that was beyond delicious!
I loved her outfit!
Fraulein volunteers keeping us hydrated
Big pretzels were perfect to go with the beer!
We took our time and the heat took our speed, but it was great having a friend by my side and we both motivated one another along the way. We passed under several bridges with lots of local art and buildings with grafitti. I am a huge graffitti fan. I'm amzed at the amature art that some people can produce and I had to get some pictures.
Graffiti wall
Awesome art!
Even a wall of runners! Although as Becky noticed, they are all
guys and there's something just not right about that!
I was surprised at how quickly the time passed. Even though it was miserably hot, the distraction of having someone to chat with along the way and the fact that we were taking it with an easy pace made the day that much more enjoyable. We talked along the way and took walking breaks when we needed them.
Little bridge crossing
So thankful for any shade we could get!
Jeremy and the kids met me on the course a couple of times to motivate me and cheer me along. At one point I gave Jeremy my camera as the weather was shifting and I was worried about it getting rained on. We did get a little rain, but certainly not enough. We saw people swimming in the Tulpehocken River along side of us and it was so tempting to want to join in!
Perfect view of the river
All in all I felt pretty physically good until the last couple miles when my left knee decided to share its objection to my plans. As we stopped at the last aid station before the finish line I grabbed another slice of pound cake. After remarking to the volunteers about how good it was, one of them told me I could take a loaf with me if I wanted. I looked down and they had a box of loafs wrapped in foil. Apparently one of the runners that had stopped just before us had taken one with him to take home. I thought that was hilarious! As much as I liked the pound cake, I didn't want to have to carry it for the next two miles to the finish. We set off again and of course Becky and I came across the runner with his loaf. I wished I had still had my camera with me! He said it was a lot heavier than a "pound" cake. They were really big loaves, and from what the volunteers told us, they were all made by Stephan Weiss' wife.
We finally came up to the bridge we had to cross for the finish! 5:42 minutes after starting we crossed the finish line, seriously soaked from sweat, but glad to be done!
Becky and I coming up to the finish!
After finishing! We beat the heat!
Great medal!
I headed over for some fuel and got a plate of traditional German food: bratwurst, sauerkraut and potato salad. Normally I'm not much for that kind of fare, but I happily tried it all and the crumb cake to top it off was awesome!
German finish line food
And desert, including that awesome pound cake!
Maizy - all smiles!
The race benefited Toys for Tots and the proceeds were being used to buy toys. Many toys were donated by runners and The Marines came to pick up the boxes of toys at the finish. I watched as they loaded them into a large van. It was great to know all of our hard work on the course, all the sweat, was going to make make the day not only for Maizy, but for so many needy children. This day was going to bring a lot of smiles for kids all over the place.
And that made me smile! :)
Because all kids should have smiles like these!
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