Half Marathons # 2 and #3

 I'm way behind from my many training runs this summer, so I'll make this quick. I did a total of 3 half marathon races to prepare for my big full marathon I just did in November.

In August I did a Ricer City half marathon race down in San Antonio that was race #2. Yes, it was as miserable as it sounds. 1,000 degrees, + 1000% humidity did not make it a fun or enjoyable race. On top of which I was not well hydrated before said race, and I didn't eat anything either. Yeah. This one was rough. And it was absolutely my own fault for not preparing properly. I know better.

As further punishment, I felt pretty sick the following week. Heat exhaustion is not fun. But I did finish and got my medal. San Antonio in August sucks.

The other run I did was in October, and it was a Ghost Town half marathon out in Manor. Sigh.



















The idea was pretty cool. You start and finish at a ghost town and people are encouraged to dress up as this is a Halloween run. However, I don't know if this is a brand new race, or brand new organizers, but it was a disaster.

The pick up packet email said 8-5 the day before. So I got there at 8, and they proceeded to say it was too early to have everything ready so they had to push the start time back to 9. So we'll just have to hang out and wait an hour. This should have been my first clue.

Race morning:

The race is supposed to start at 7:30am. Because parking is always a nightmare, and this is out in the countryside, I got there extra early, and I'm so glad I did. The very nice guy directing traffic to park directed me into this very small circular gravel opening. It could maybe fit about 15 cars. He packed in 30. Yes, many cars were blocked with no way to get out. He then directed the big trucks and suburban's to park in the muddy field adjacent to this gravel opening.

Guess what happened? All those big cars ended up sinking in the mud and couldn't get out after the race was over. Turns out the organizers had put the parking signs in the wrong spots, directing people to park in the wrong places. Super.

It's getting pretty close to 7:30am start time and there is a massive line of cars still lined up down the road trying to park. Finally the guy announces that the race start is being delayed because there was trouble with parking, as well as the barriers and race stuff isn't finished being set up along the course. They didn't realize they needed to get going early to be ready on time. He has no idea when the race will actually start, but he'll give us updates every 15 minutes.

I'm so irritated. It gets hot quickly in Texas. 30 minutes can be a 15 degree temperature increase, which isn't pleasant. The race finally got started about 8:10am. They said the course was flat. Nope. It had some pretty good steep inclines. The total race was about 13.5 miles, not 13.1, and there were 2 finish lines, which they neglected to mention.

I don't think I'll do this race again. But I am glad I finished and got my medal.