I survived the Area 13.1 Half Marathon

Last week I completed the Area 13.1 HM.  It was the inaugural year for the race. I delayed writing this because I didn’t want to come off too angry and frustrated.  To start the event didn’t begin until 6:30pm. It was my first night half marathon and I was both excited and nervous about it.  I ran an easy 3.5 miles that morning with USAFit. For the remainder of the day, I tried to stay off my feet and make good food choices so I’d have a good race. I decided to leave early in order to pick up my race packet and find a decent parking spot. I wasn’t familiar with the area and went alone so I really wanted to park close.  Ha ha ha

I got turned around trying to find the location and didn’t arrive until 30 minutes before the cutoff.  Only to find the parking lots were full. Had I been thinking, I’d have parked on the grass next to the parking lot, but the thought didn’t occur to me. I was directed up the street and around the corner to the nearest church to park. Finally, I found a parking spot, walked back to packet pickup and got my number with maybe a half hour to spare.

I met up with a few friends, gave hugs and had a bit of conversation. So far, so good. The runners lined up and the race started a little after 6:30. I didn’t wear a fuel belt due to the water stops every 2-3 miles  so I would be good. Or at least I should have been.  The problem was that the water stations weren’t setup. The course was decent and I was off to a good start.  It was pretty warm/humid out also. I poured water across my shoulders to cool off.  Unfortunately, by the time I reached mile 6 or 7,  there was no more water.    I thought, I would be ok as long as I paced myself.  There will be water at mile 9 or 10.  Jokes on you. There is no water, but I would experience a light rain and a lot of darkness between mile 7 and 10.  God's looking out for the slower runners.  I thought wow! There really isn’t any water. There is loud music at mile 10, some light, (we’d been running in the dark the previous mile), but no water. Mile 10 was the turnaround. Between miles 10-12 it was pretty dark. By this time, I was less concerned with water and more concerned with falling or stepping in a hole.  I met up with Dee and we finished the race together. By then I’d decided, no more evening half marathons and this would most likely be the first and last Area 13.1 HM for me.

I crossed the finish line at 3:05. This is not the time I had in mind when I started.  I was pretty pissed off. At myself for not training enough, for not bringing water, for not being more prepared. I didn’t want to speak with anyone either. All I wanted was a bagel, banana, orange and some water.  Only thing is they only had water and granny smith apples.  Are you kidding me? Tart ass, granny smith apples. I tried to suffer through eating one but couldn’t. After three bites my stomach started to hurt. I tossed the apple. Figured I’d eat something after the hour ride home. I picked up my goody bag, hung out with friends a little while, then decided to walk back to my car.  It had been a long day and I was ready for this part of it to be over.

One week later, I overheard a few conversations about this race and participated in a few and most had the same experience as me.  Listening to those conversations made me feel better.  Although I still have no plans to participate in another Zulu race.