And that fact was in doubt at one point — at least before it started. You see, I came down with a something that seemed like the flu less than 48 hours before the race. I had an aching body, a high fever, tingling fingers, and a sore throat. The fever was largely gone by the morning, however, and the rest of the symptoms (except for being a little tired) were gone by Friday afternoon. I guess it was a 24-hour bug.
So I saddled up for a 7am start on Saturday morning under gorgeous conditions (slightly overcast, low 60s, humidity not noticeable). By the time I finished almost 2 hours later, things had warmed up a bit, the clouds were gone, and you could tell I had run in the heat and humidity (shirt and shorts were soaked). I think I noticed some general weakness in my strength and energy because of the flu (I had lost 3 pounds alone just from Thursday morning to Saturday morning), but I pushed through. I took a few more walk breaks than I wanted in the last 3 miles (as I said, energy was a bit down), but I also ran faster than I expected.
I broke my goal (1 hour 55 minutes) by running a 1:54:11, even with the slowdown in the last few miles. All things considered, I’m happy about this one and I’m looking forward to my next half-marathon in November. I think I can chop a few more minutes off that time with the right weather conditions.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I’ll share official pictures in the future (once they are released).
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