My best half-marathon time yet!*

[cthulhia]

I ran more of the last 3 miles than expected. Mostly because I didn't want to stop unless someone was handing me water and gatorade. The water stations, which were sparse all along, were especially so off of Mem drive. I am spoiled by the Boilermaker, which has at least a water station every kilometer, ice stations, a mid-point popsicle station, and more than enough food at the end even for pokey pacers like me. Not to mention that they throw a block party for the neighborhood with the most spirit, so... the spectator turn-out is awesome, and, you get things like Ice Station Zebra, where all the volunteers are clad in zebra-print.

If I do this race again, I may insist, on penalty of doubting whether I have any real friends, assigning folks to various mile markers with extra water, and sunscreen. Since the bag check was not secure, I tried to get my T-shirt after the race, when they'd (1) shut down that area and (2) only had Ms left. I may need a person to hang out and be my bag check, too.

However, they win points for irony. The race is formally in honor of deceased police officers, (in Boston). The starting gun song was from The Departed. (Yay Dropkick Murphys! but... *snicker*)

race	year	pace	total (chip)	total (gun)	5 miles (gun)	10 miles (gun)
Run To Remember	2008	12:39	2:45:46	2:47:42	1:00:08	2:04:40 (ish)

fangirl715 may be able to confirm the 10 mile time. We walked over the bridge together. I was underwhelmed by the food that was left for us late arrivals, and ended up taking up her brunch offer instead. I was insanely hungry, but... post ravenous. I managed to not gnaw off an arm while waiting for a table & then food at JohnnyDs, and couldn't come close to finishing my meal once it came.

I had weird running stress dreams like I used to always have the night before the Boilermaker. Yesterday's double dragon boat practice, and then Earthfest all day (it's odd how draining just being in the sun can be), left me so exhausted I could barely stay awake long enough to get my laundry into the dryer (much less visit drinkin' island, alas). So, I could've actually gotten a solid 8 hours. But, I had vivid dreams where I woke late, and then couldn't get to my basement to get my running clothes. There was some elaborate good-luck ritual going on with my not-really-my neighbors, they called it "Russian Bowling" and involved having trinkets laced all over everything with wires, which couldn't be disturbed. And they also moved my laundry, since it affected their ritual. Then dreams where my cell phone/alarm clock stopped functioning, and parts where I was aware it was a dream, since the room layout was completely wrong. But I'd wake myself up by nervously feeling around for my real phone.

Or, as I elaborated to fangirl: No, I didn't so much as get up at the asscrack of dawn to run this race, more like the ass-dimples of dawn, but the weird dreams caused me to wake up a few times around the taint. This then led to waxing nostalgic about how many Memorial Day weekends we've spent listening to ad lib awesomeness of paat, and... wondering if we should hit a strip club tonight to make it really feel like a NinCon weekend.

We then watched a lot of the parade, and were especially amused by the street cleaner trucks following all the horses.

I wisely booked a massage this afternoon, and discovered that my chronic lower back pain is really chronic upper hip pain. Shit. "I totally do stretch out my hip flexors." "What about your IT band?" *guilty look*

Have I mentioned how much my IT band makes me HATE foam rollers? My IT band rarely hurts until I try to stretch it, so... I avoid doing so, right? THAT has to change. meh.

Now to summon the stamina to walk another mile for really good cheese.

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*also my only half-marathon time, if you MUST be technical, killjoy.