I will write much more later (tons of photos as well), but let me ClifNote it for you:
- POURING rain the entire time. I take that back. It was only sprinkling while we were in our corrals and not 40 yrds once I passed the Start mat, it started coming down. I was like WTF? Really?
- 40 deg w wind
- I honestly didnt make the decision until I saw the sign for the split. Had I made the decision earlier I would have pushed the pace more in the middle miles to go for a PR, but it was too late but I am happy with the outcome (2:13ish; my Garmin doesnt match the results and of course I made the course longer than 13.1). Far off of my PR for sure, but given that I was soaked to the bone and freezing my ass off (not to mention my clothes and shoes weighed about 10lbs or more), in my mind I recited Coachs email: If the weather is bad I ENCOURAGE you to DNS or just do the half and save it. I looked to the sky and asked Momma what I should do and I found myself turning right instead of left and that was that.
- I'm thankful I did what I did as I know from 2 of my friends that went on to do the full that around the lake it was way worse.
- I still am not warm and I've had 2 pairs of socks and 2 long sleeve shirts on since I showered. However I will say that I fared better than at USAFit half in January. I wore TWO shirts and leggings with shorts and still froze. Anyone who knows me knows that normally this would send me into a heat stroke, but today it was like I was full on naked for 13.1 miles.
- Casualties: 1 umbrella, 3 shirts, 1 light rain jacket, a visor (dumbest move ever while in a corral when it was just sprinkling) and an earband. Oh and my shoes as I left them in the hotel room. On purpose.
- Now I have to do 20 miles on Saturday and all I can say is "please no rain'.
- Much more later
- Peace out.
7 comments:
Holy crap those conditions sounded bad! You made the right decision in pulling off for the half. it is much better to do what you did instead of risk your health. Hope you warm up soon!!!!
You know, I cannot ever remember going to Dallas in December, for a race or otherwise, and not had to deal with rain and cold.
You survived and that is all that matters.
I have been there many times to race; usually in Dec and March. Never rain. Always cold as hell though which I love. The rain, had it even been light, I would have continued on. I was suited up and Gu'd up; ready for it. There was just no way I was going through 17 more miles of that knowing full well that I didnt 'have' to. :)
I was wrong about the forecast, it did rain! I was pacing my son and left him behind in a porto-potty at mile 21. He eventually did finish. After the race I found a friend from the Woodlands who had just been released from the medical tent with hypothermia. Epic....
Thats horrible Vince! I saw a few people being treated inside afterwards for hypothermia. I never experienced what I did back in January but I gotta say I sure wish I would have splurged for those $46 waterproof mittens at the expo!
The temps were awesome obviously, it was just that cold ass rain that was killing everyone out there. Thankfully the 7 day here in Houston shows NO RAIN for this Saturday with temps in the 30's. I'm a happy girl.
hey - it's your houston friend from our fav site ;o) hahah
dude, that weather was awful. i woke up that day expecting it to be postponed or that we would do the half. we got the split and my friend was all..."let's just go for it!" - i obliged. around mile 19? she was like..."maybe we should have done the half." yeah, ya think?!
here's hoping houston has decent weather!
congrats on making the right decision and having a good race still! come join us at B7 sometime.
Really the wind chill was 35?! I ran the full and it didn't seem that bad. Don't get me wrong, I could have used a lot less rain. Maybe, I'm just a cold weather marathon, because I suffered at Chicago the last two years.
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