Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon - 2012

I considered a few different options when it came to this post. 

Option 1:

Never again. 

The end. 

Option 2:

The complete opposite of last year's race.

Option 3:

Wow.  Amazing how the weather can make or break a race.  All the hard work, training, proper eating/resting/etc. all for nothing when it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity at 0700 on race morning.   

I won't' lie.  Laura M. and I went into this with hardly the excitement and enthusiasm we felt last year, but we had paid our money, done our training, and, after hitting up the expo to pick up our schwag, were feeling (kind of) pumped up and positive about the whole thing.  "We're just going to go out there have fun!"  Right?  Right??  RIGHT?!?!? 

I'm sorry to report that not one single ounce of fun was had on that terrible morning.  It was nothing but a hot, soupy, mess with 16,000 hot, sweaty people. 

 

 

I think the only words that were spoken during the first few dreadful miles were:

Mile 2 - Me:  "I'm drenched in sweat already."

Mile 3 - Laura M:  "That breeze feels great.  Yeeee-ah-ah."  (There was no breeze.  Ever.)

 

I'll pass on going into the play-by-play details and just summarize it by saying, IT SUCKED.  I felt really bad when I broke away from Laura M. at the 8 mile marker, but I was just so ready to be DONE and have this horrible experience behind me.  (Not that she wasn't as well.) 

Surprisingly, this was not my worst half marathon ever.  That award goes to 2008 when the conditions were exactly the same only, the sun was shining. (We at least lucked out this year in that there was cloud cover for the majority of the morning.)  As a matter of fact, of the 4 Rock n' Roll VB races that I've done, this one was the second fastest...by a mere 14 seconds. 

2007: 2:19:40

2008: 2:33:29

2011: 2:08:54

2012: 2:19:26

Splits (because I'm a geek like that): 
Mile 1: 9:59
Mile 2: 9:44
Mile 3: 10:34
Mile 4: 10:10
Mile 5:  11:50
Mile 6: 12:34
Mile 7: 12:44
Mile 8: 12:56
Mile 9: 9:47
Mile 10: 9:48
Mile 11: 9:42
Mile 12: 9:52
Mile 13: 8:54 <--- sprinting to make it in under 2:20

In closing, I'd like to pull from last year's race recap:

"Hands down, this was my favorite RNR event that I’ve done thus far! Having Laura M. as a training partner was such a blast. I can’t wait to do it again next year!!!" 

 

And this year...

 

 

"Hands down, this was my least favorite RNR event that I’ve done thus far!  Having Laura M. as a training partner was such a buzzkill.  I will never do it again!!!"

 

HAHAHA!!!  Just kidding about the buzzkill part, Laura M!  So not kidding about the never doing it again part. 

 

Who's ready to take up Tai Chi with me?!?!