Why on earth did I sign up for this race? Oh yes, it was that $10 discount code that made the race only $10. And the fact that Karen’s momma was going to do the race as well. I was going to be at my mom’s the weekend anyhow, so heading 20 minutes south for the race wouldn’t be a big deal.
I started second guessing my decision when I saw that the high on Sunday was going to be 92 degrees. I was REALLY second guessing my decision when I drank too much wine with my mom and her friends. And I was hating life when my alarm went off at 6:45 am. Why am I doing this again? But I sucked it up and 20 minutes later I was on my way to New Smyrna Beach.
I was lucky and ended up being able to park pretty close to the start. This was important as I had to do packet pickup that morning and was hoping to be able to run my shirt and such back to my car before the race. While I was waiting in line to pick up my stuff I found Karen’s mom. Hooray! I had enough time to run (literally) back to my car and drop off my stuff and chat with Lise for a bit before the race.
About 7:55 am we headed to the race start for the 8 am start time. It was already starting to warm up and I was getting a bit worried about the next 3.1 miles. I wasn’t going to be able to stick around after the race, so we said our goodbyes and both took off!
When I could feel the sweat running down my face less than 1/4 mile in I knew I was in for a rough race. It was hot, it was SUPER humid, and there was no breeze. I didn’t have a goal time in mind but I sure walked more than I had planned. I was hoping it would be a little cooler when the course moved to the river for the second half, but no such luck. At least the view was pretty and it helped me get to the finish line. I finished in under 40 minutes and was perfectly fine with that.
I grabbed a bottle of water and powerade at the finish (I was SO thirsty – one water stop was NOT enough for this hot race) and made my way through the “after party.” I saw a sign saying that Dunkin Donuts was there and was on a mission. The post race good was nothing to write home about. If the race organizers are reading this, PLEASE provide more food next time. I know its a small race, but goldfish and fruit leathers just don’t cut it! Thankfully the Dunkin Donuts tent had donut holes and sweet tea, so I was a happy Meghan. Oh yeah, and I may have grabbed a beer too – it was hot man!
All in all it was a fun race and I’m glad I did it. I got a couple miles in, I got to see Lise, and it made me feel a little better about all the yummy food I’d been eating over the weekend. But it also made me realize that outdoor runs will now need to be done VERY early in the morning for the next couple of months. Summer is officially here in Florida.
Summer 5k 🙂