best (or worst?) damn race 2016

Damn you, Best Damn Race people!  Why do you have to have such amazing medals with such a crappy course?

I PR'd my half marathon last year at BDR Orlando, once week after running PHM.  1:48 was my time, and I've been using that as my proof of time for all races since then.  I didn't want to run it again- the course was boring, I didn't like the Nuun drink they served at the water stops, and there was lots of uneven roads...brick streets with potholes and everything.

Then, I saw their 2016 medal with a flamingo and a spinning wing and thought OMG I HAVE TO HAVE THAT.  So I signed up.  I could handle 2 hours of suck for that piece of bling!

On the same weekend as BDR, I had to teach a test prep class at work.  This class, which I do every 4 month or so, goes from 6-10pm on Friday night, 8am-4pm on Saturday. and 9am-1pm on Sunday.  Well, the Saturday schedule would have to be changed, since the race started at 7:15am, so I changed it to 11am-7pm.  

So....working til 10pm and not getting into bed before 11:30pm only added to the suck on Saturday morning.  I was awake at 4:45am. I was tired.  I was irritable.  I did not want to be standing in line for a porto potty at 6:45 in the morning at Lake Eola.  I was stressed because I needed to finish in 2 hours so I'd be able to leave, get to work, shower up, and roll into class at 11.  I got my car parked with the usual delays getting into the garage in downtown Orlando, met up with a couple friends who were also running this race, and we tried to squeeze into the starting area.  It was so crowded that we ended up in the back with the walkers and strollers.  Ugh.  Seriously, the start line had pace markers but they were spaced about 10 feet apart for 7m/m, 8m/m, and 9m/m.  Seriously?  Not far enough!  I wasn't excited for this run, I was really dreading it.  Not that it was going to be difficult, just that I was about to trudge along bored for the next 2 hours.

 Pretty sunrise from the parking garage!

We're here and we're as ready as we're going to be!

Someone counted down, an air horn went off, and we all shuffled forward.  It took forever to get across the start, but once I did, I moved along as quick as I could.  I tried not to weave around people, but to keep a fairly straight line by the curb.  I was already running into issues with the uneven brick street, I stumbled once but thankfully didn't eat it the way I did at the Space Coast half.  

I forgot how hilly this route was!  Not like, people who run in hills would find it hilly, but it definitely wasn't flat.  It was more of those long, subtle hills that you can't really see but make you wonder why it's so hard to run right now.

The 3 of us stuck together for the first 10ish miles, slogging along, trying to keep the conversation to pass the time.  I had a side stitch I couldn't get rid of, which made me more irritable.  We didn't really take any walk intervals but hung on to around a 9:30 min/mile.  I saw one of my customers from work out on her morning walk around Lake Underhill when we neared Mile 6.  I knew she'd be out that morning on the path we were all running, so I was ready and called out and waved to her.  

The suckiest part of this race is that is pretty much parallels the 408 east then went for several miles.  It's not scenic.  There's no one around, there's water stations sure, but this race isn't a big enough deal for people to be out of their homes in the neighborhood areas we run through, so no one was out watching or cheering.  It's just like going for a normal training run.  With 800 other people.  I definitely used my music for this one.  

Around Mile 10, my knee started hurting.  The stitch had disappeared but now my right knee didn't want to play anymore. I kept pushing, adding in my interval walk breaks.  This caused me to fall behind the girls, but I was riiight behind them.  I could clearly see them, but couldn't catch up.  That will really suck your enthusiasm, assuming you have any left by this point.  They were a minute ahead and I was trudging down the road with them like a mirage in the desert up ahead.  Couldn't catch them, but needed to so much.  I was thinking a lot to myself in the time I was running alone about how I didn't want to be there and I wished it was over.  For the first time, I realized I was running a race and that my heart just wasn't in it.  I don't always have to be entertained, I don't always need big crowds, but from before this race even started, I didn't give 2 shits about it.  I didn't want to run too fast because I didn't want to feel so dead I wouldn't be able to continue with my work day afterwards.  I had no records I wanted to break, I had no goals I wanted to meet.  

I must have looked pissed because when I finally got to downtown, a man walking on the sidewalk hollered out "Smile!!!!" at me as I ran past him.  I tried.  I looked at all my free photos they took near the finish line and found one where I managed to fake it:

I didn't feel elated or excited to pass the finish line.  In fact, as soon as I was about to cross, some guy jumped right in front of me waving his arms for the photographer and ran in to me.  I took my medal and went to get some food.  The whole thing felt very anticlimactic.  

What almost made the whole race worth is was the kiwi popsicles at the end.  Man oh man they were delicious!  One of the sponsor booths was handing them out and it cheered me up a little.  I snagged a piece of room temperature pizza and a couple of fun size chocolates before I had to bail and head back to my car.

 New Sparkleskirt!

Found out it glows in the dark! That's pretty cool

Then it took me 25 minutes to wind my way down from the 6th level of the parking garage and out on my way to work.  Another 15 minutes to go 2 miles to the school.  I rushed in for my class 10 minutes before it was supposed to start and ended up getting going about 15 minutes late because I had to go shower up first.  I finally got some real food in me when we ordered lunch and when I realized I was going to feel okay and not too tired I managed to relax a little.  Scot and some of our friends and I had all planned to go to Epcot to the Flower and Garden Festival on Sunday afternoon, so with that in my focus, I managed to get through the next 2 days of work alright.

Best Damn stats:
Overall: 165/435 (37%)
Age group: 39/136 (28%)
Chip time: 2:04:56