Hospital Hill Re-Run {5k & Half Marathon} Recap

The good news coming out of the Hospital Hill Half Marathon is that I didn't pee my pants when I crossed the finish line (as was the case at the finish line of the Long Beach International... Yikes)!

More good news... I finally met up with two ladies I believe I can genuinely call my sole sisters: Amie and Marcia. With these ladies we met up, had drinks and food, and carried on, chatted and laughed, like we'd known each other (in real life) for years. We have so much in common, we didn't miss a beat anywhere we went. AND, they love a good drink and a good run as much as I do. Without them the weekend would have been missing a key component of awesome.

On the flip side of all the good, there was a bit of a dark cloud. Literally. The morning of the half marathon the skies were ominous, and thunder and lightning crashed through the sky. I wasn't sure what I was dreading more, a cancelled event (all the time spent training!) or an event run in the rain (13 miles doesn't sound like much fun when you're a soggy mess).

After a 30 minute delay, the skies cleared a bit, the rain lifted, and the event was on. Hallelujah! Just before the gun start the announcer forewarned us that more rain was headed our way... Awesome.

Before the half. All nice and dry.

Miles 1-2 were great. They passed quickly and without a single rain drop.
Then, as soon as I passed mile marker 2 the skies opened up. For the 11 remaining miles we ran it rained and poured.

By mile 4 my shoes were totally saturated, and added at least an extra five pounds to each foot.
At miles 5 and 7 I thought the hills were going to kill me. Then, at mile 9, for TWO SOLID MILES, we ran up a steady and very difficult incline. I thought I was going to die. And, let's not forget the gem of a hill at mile 12.5. It's basically like running straight up a flight of stairs, no exaggeration. Shoot me.

I've run through light rain/sprinkles, but never for long, and certainly not for 11 miles. But, I crossed that finish line, and I didn't die in the process. Successful half marathon right there.

By the grace of God, the race actually seemed to pass quickly. While I didn't PR, I did finish sub-2, which was what I was hoping.

The three of us after the half. We were so cold and wet that we needed to change clothes before we got a group shot. 

In 2008 I ran HH in 2:17:31, and in 2009 I ran HH in 2:03:49. This year I crossed the finish line at 1:56:52. Between the rain and the hills I was more than pleased with that time. It's about 5 minutes slower than my PR, but hey, I finished, and I'll happily take it.

Oh, and did I mention Scott surprised me Thursday night by flying home?

Together we all ran a 5k the night before the half? I think we might be crazy. For real. And, when I say, "we ran together," I mean Scott smoked us all.

After the 5k Race. Look how NICE and NOT RAINING it was the night before the 1/2?!

***

After all of our races were said, done, and run, Amie, Marcia and I headed out for a celebratory dinner - with drinks, naturally. Because I was too busy downing wine and stuffing my pie hole with cheesecake I totally failed to get one last picture of the three of us, whoops.

I'm still not sure whether or not I loved or hated the race, but what I do know is I loved  the feeling of crossing that finish line. And spending time with two ladies - who I've been hoping to meet forever -made every sloshy step worth it.

The half marathon medal is seriously two to three times bigger than any other medal I've ever received. GI.NOR.MOUS.

And the medals... The THREE HUGE medals were a pretty sweet bonus, too.