Let the Music Play

Let's just say that I'm never doing another summer race.

The Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon was a race I enjoyed and hated at the same time. I woke up for the race at about 4:30 after a night of not sleeping well. But that's not unusual. I opened the door to the hotel and the air just kind of hit me in the face. It was 800% humidity out there. Great.

After getting ready, we headed over to the start. Our hotel was just a block away, so at least getting to the start wasn't stressful. I was pretty excited once we got to the start. I just love the atmosphere at race starts. You can feel all the emotions, it's great.

At about 6:45, John left to go to his watching point along the course. I did a short warm up and headed over to my start corral. As I get there, I see a familiar face: Maddie! Maddie and I worked together at Fleet Feet. We caught up for a little while and then got ready to start.

The race started at 7:00 and it was about 7:10 or so by the time we started. I felt pretty good at the start. But by mile 2 I started feeling really sick. I was feeling dizzy and light headed and thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't believe this was happening again! I vowed then and there not to do another summer race. I was seriously considering going to the next medical stop.

I managed to get through the dizzy spell and keep going. But at this point I knew I wasn't going to have the race I wanted and it was really all about getting through and finishing. It was so hot and humid, I was soaked and feeling awful. And I wasn't the only one. There were tons of people dropping like flies. When I started seeing people that you could just tell were fast and used to doing really well, stopping and looking they were going to puke, I didn't feel so bad that I was having a bad race too.

The course was really flat, which was nice. There was a bridge to cross, and it was a little steep, but it wasn't as bad as some of the other bridges I've run over. The only real gripe I have with the course is that we ran through Camp Pendelton military base and I couldn't really figure out why. Regardless, there was no shade and we just winded through the base. It was silly.

Anyway, once we got to the beach area, the crowds started picking up and that is always helpful. We made our way onto the boardwalk and that was fun. Actually, the whole course was fun with the bands and cheerleading squads along the course. Spectators were really everywhere and there was hardly a moment where you felt alone.

Finishing was great. I thought it would never come. This was a really hard race and not because of the course, but the weather just killed me. When it's that humid I can almost feel my life and energy just seeped out of me. Like air being let out of a balloon. It sucked. But I can't blame the race for that. It was a really fun, well-organized race and I had fun. I just wish it was held in October.

After the race, we got cleaned up and went to breakfast. A woman there was stranded and couldn't get in touch with her husband. So we gave her a ride home. She was really nice. She only just started running this past June and now she has a half marathon under her belt. That's awesome. I love hearing stories like that.

We headed back to Williamsburg and hung out there for a while. We had a yummy dinner and then headed home. And now we have today off from work and school. Yeah, three-day weekends!