Race Report: Palos Southwest Half Marathon

shorts seemed like a good idea at the time.
not so much by mile 10.

Back in January (or maybe the end of December), I got the crazy idea that I should run a half marathon. Why, I don't know. I had never done a race longer than 5K, so the next logical step would have been a 5mi or 10K race. But no, 13.1 miles seemed like a good idea.

Well, today was the half marathon, and I survived in one piece. I started off with what I thought would be a good pace that I could maintain, but gradually slowed. Somewhere between miles 8 and 9, I realized I would have to walk if I wanted to finish. So I did. And the water stations were running out of cups. And I was chaffing. Badly. And being passed by the few people still left in the back of the pack with me, including an 85-year-old gentleman. But you know what? I finished.

Official time: 2:48:53, 12:54 pace
Overall: 1,351 / 1,428
AG: 113 / 119

At least I wasn't last, right?

My thoughts/observations on the experience ... it truly was an "experience":

- I heard somewhere (probably RunnersWorld.com forums) that just getting to the starting line is an accomplishment. That was the case this morning. I am NOT a morning person, plus, honestly, I was slacking on my training during the past 3 weeks. So when my alarm went off at 5:15am this morning, and it was still raining outside, I tried to think of every reason NOT to put on my gear and go. But I went. Because I hate giving up.

- I saw Lynn and Jaime Parks! Lynn is in a wheelchair, and Jaime is a marathon runner. He pushes her through every single one of his races. It's inspiring. And he's actually really fast! According to the official results, he finished in 1:27:38, a 6:42 per mile pace.

- About 2 miles from the end, I noticed that my fingers were the most swollen I have ever seen them in my life. It was really freaky. After about a liter of water post-race they started going back to normal.

- I have never seen such a long line for port-a-potties, and I've been to the South Side Irish Parade.

- This might be the first time I've ever had sweat dry on my body and actually leave salt behind.

- There were port-a-potties along the race route, yet I still saw people duck into the woods. Also I think because they were available, I didn't have to pee. I think if they hadn't been there, it would have been a different story. Plenty of people stopped though, even 1 mile in ... those might have been the people that were still in the mammoth line before the race and just gave up.

OK, well now I really should go take a shower. I think I've rested enough that I can go stand for 20 minutes.

* note that I said "first" half marathon ... who knows I might lose my mind again in the future and sign up for another one.