DECEMBER 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

I went to bed early on Friday night, but couldn't turn my mind off, so didn't sleep well or much at all. Then, the alarm went off at 3 am and I got up at 3:30 am. That is way too early for me. One good thing about staying where I am is that there is a fenced in back yard so I just had Tippy go out there for her morning constitution, so I didn't have to take her for a walk.

I ate a McDonald's sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit (breakfast of champions), had coffee and got all of my stuff together. Unfortunately, as much as I tried to have my normal routine, the potty thing did NOT happen. I was worried about that, but managed to go at the port-a-potties before the race. TMI?

I left here about 5 am and got parked on the skid strip, where the shuttle orbiter used to land, at about 5:30. Then the adventures began.

The race organizers had some issues. If it weren't for sentimental reasons, I might not run this race again, but, for now, I do plan to continue to try to come every year.

The main issue, again, was getting everyone to and from the race start and finish area. I originally thought they were going to do better, because there was a bus picking up people at the parking area and they had parked the first people there at the far end, where we would be closer to the drop off after the race, supposedly. They had done the opposite last year. Anyway, I got in line for the bus....and that was an issue. It was THE one and only bus running and it wasn't clear, until you actually got on the bus, that it was just taking us to the security check point that we could have walked to, had we chosen. Instead, I stood in line for 30-45 min to catch THE bus only to get off of the bus, do security check, and get onto one of the many buses waiting to take people to the drop off point. The line of runners waiting for THE bus was growing by the minute, and all were waiting. It turned out they had to delay the start of the race by 20 min so they could get everyone there.

They did drop us off at the same place as last year. I strolled, so as to not tire myself out, but turned my watch on just to see how far it was. It wasn't quite as far as I thought, only 0.55 miles. But, I still don't understand why they wouldn't drop us off at the start line as there is room for the buses to turn around there. But, maybe that is the issue. They don't want to have to back up and potentially hit someone who isn't paying attention.

To continue the transportation saga, after the race, I headed for the spot where we caught the bus back to the parking area. I saw one bus that was leaving. People were walking back toward the parking area. I asked about the buses, and someone said the bus that had just left was the only bus they had seen in 3 hours, so everyone was just walking back. I joined that bandwagon, and, again, turned on my watch to see how far it was. This time, it was 1.03 miles back to the car.

Then, during the run, at least one station, at around 7 miles, had run out of cups, so were offering water through a hose if you wanted it. It felt like there were fewer water stations toward the end than there were at the beginning. I hadn't taken my water this year, because I had remembered I didn't really use it. I will need to rethink that next year.

Things they did better were: They did have more porta-potties at the start line, which was a big help for everyone. Humm. I thought there was something else, but if there was, I can't think of it at the moment.

For the run itself: Like I said earlier, they started about 20 min later than planned.

When I walked after the first 3 min run, my calves both felt like they were cramping up. I remembered then, that they did the same thing last year. The feeling went away after I started running again and didn't come back.

After that, it wasn't too bad for the first 3 miles or so. I did manage to continue the 3/2 run/walk plan for 4 miles. I had hoped to do that for at least 5 if not 6 miles this year, but it was getting pretty hot by then, so I switched to a 2/2 run/walk. I did allow myself to walk half a mile after 5 miles, to see if it would energize me. It did a little, but by mile 7 I knew that I wasn't going to beat last year's time and it was just so darn hot. I decided to not push it and hurt myself and did more walking than running from that point. At about mile 9 the organizers came by and told us to slow down (not that I could go much slower), due to a red flag heat condition. So, I just decided to walk the last mile. But, I did manage to have a decent sprint for the last tenth of a mile or so...racing a couple of other people. I think I came in second of the three. At least it made for an exciting ending. LOL

I looked up what exactly that was when @SummerSkier asked me on Strava. I knew it meant that you shouldn't be outside doing strenuous exercise, but not sure exactly "what" it was. So, according to a government website (Marines to be specific), "Red Flag (WBGTI of 88 to 89.9 degrees F): All PT or very strenuous work will be curtailed for those not thoroughly acclimated by at least 3 weeks. Personnel not thoroughly acclimated may carry on limited activity not to exceed 6 hours per day." The WBGTI is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature which is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover (solar radiation). This differs from the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity and is calculated for shady areas. And that is your meteorology lesson for the day. LOL

I know it sounds like the entire day was miserable, but it wasn't. I met some really nice people. There were a couple of men running together that would pass me and then I'd pass them almost the entire way. We were both doing run/walk, but were not synched. When I stopped to take my picture with a shark at about 8.5 miles, they got ahead and I never passed them again.

I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment, even if I didn't make my goal of a PR. When I was getting into my car later, this young man walked by and said, "Looking good." to me and then, to himself "Now that is an inspiration right there." I guess he thought I was looking good after 10 miles for an old lady. I'm taking it as a huge compliment.

And, as always, it was just nice to run on the Cape and park on the skid strip. I fantasize about having my TransAm out there from back in the day, no cars, no rules, and just see how fast I could go.

first snow for us!!! I love snow. Was a surprise since before we went to bed last night I checked the weather and it only said it would continue raining.