This past Sunday was my final race of the season. Here in Florida it is just getting too darn hot for races, or really running outside when its daylight, and I probably shouldn’t have even done this one – but it was for my Gators. The Romp in the Swap 5k is an annual event hosted by the Central Florida Gator Club. How could I pass up the change to run in head to toe orange and blue while supporting the CFGC’s scholarship fund?
The race was in Baldwin Park around Lake Baldwin which is a beautiful spot for a 5k and to start your Sunday morning. Unfortunately even at 7 am when we arrived it was already hot and muggy. We got checked in, put on our race bibs, and put our things in the car before taking a short walk over to Publix to pick up some Gatorade. By the time the race started at 8 am I was already starting to rethink my decision. I just kept telling myself it was a good cause, only 3.1 miles, and I got to see my friend Andrea. Ok, let’s do this!
It was a very small race which was nice and Andrea took off ahead of me like she normally does. The race was an out and back to keep us off the roads, so I saw Andrea coming back towards me just before/after the turn around point. She was bright red and I knew I was in for a hot second half of the race. I grabbed some water at the turn around and it really did nothing for me. Finally around mile 2.3 I threw in the towel and walked most of the rest of the race.
When I could finally see the finish I took off because I was just so happy to almost be done. It definitely wasn’t my best time ever, but I finished upright which is ALWAYS a good thing. I met up with Andrea and joined my bottle of water before we both made a speedy exit. It was just too hot to be sticking around when we both had cars with AC waiting for us.
I’m glad I did the race but it definitely reminded my why come May I just don’t like running, or racing, outside in Florida. We made sure to let our CFGC peeps know that they either need to move the race earlier in the year or earlier in the day because it was just too much. I want to keep supporting them, but I don’t want to be miserable for 3 miles either.
So what is next for me? I’ll be spending my summer, indoors, working on my endurance and hopefully my speed. I have a lot of races coming up in the fall and I hope to be a little more prepared than I was last fall.
