The Hottest Half:

I ran "The Hottest Half" on Sunday, August 14th.  What a day!!  Here is how it went:

First off, I have to give a shout out to my friend, Angelo (The Tan Man! *I tan at his tanning salons, which is how we met and discovered our common interest in running).  He had signed up for the Hottest Half, but due to medical reasons was not going to be able to run it.  He contacted the people in charge of the race, and had his entry transferred to me.  So I ran, in his place, but under my name.  Thank you Angelo!!! I hope I did you proud my friend! (also, thank you for checking up on your running friends, and having supplies available just in case we needed something! Good Luck on the New York Marathon!!!)

I have to start this story, on the day before...
Saturday, since we were still "kid free" (they were still on vacation with my parents), we decided to ride to Broken Bow on the motorcycle on Saturday afternoon.  Stephen's best friend rode his motorcycle also.  We had a fun trip.  But the day went by way to quickly.  It was getting dark when we finally headed home.  At one point, we saw a police car with lights on, coming from the other way.  So we pulled over toward the shoulder in case he needed to pass the car in front of him.  As we did (I was not really holding on...big mistake) we hit a huge hole!  Next thing I knew, I was TOTALLY airborne!  I was reaching out and there was nothing to grab!  I was flying up in the air!  Luckily my heel hit Stephen in the side, and he threw his arm down over my foot, right about the time the backs of my thighs grazed across the top of the sissy bar in the back.  Luckily him grabbing me like that, helped slow my momentum and I came crashing back down onto my seat.  Whew! That was close!  I could have totally been on my backside on the side of the highway!  I was sure of hold on, the rest of the trip home! 
We finally made it home around 12:30ish.  Got in bed at 12:45, and I had to get up at 4:30am for The Hottest Half.  Yikes!  How would I do this with only a few hours of sleep?! 
The alarm woke me at 4:30, and I was immediately awake, knowing I had to get up and get ready for the race.  Thank God for COFFEE!!!
We were planning to be at the race about an hour early, so we could find good parking, visit the potty, etc.  Boy were we in for a shock when we got there.  There was a TON of people, and cars were parked EVERYWHERE! All along the roads and everything.  It was total chaos!  We finally found a place to pull off and park, and went over to where we thought the start was.  We stood in line forever, for the bathrooms, and then found out we were at the "finish line" not the start.  A man on stage was giving directions to the start line, but we couldn't hear him very well.  So we attempted to ask some other people...no one knew.  Geesh!  So finally we asked a cop.  She said it was right there close to the finish line.  Then we saw some other people gathering over there, so we asked and made sure this was for the "half-marathon" and not the 10K.  Sure enough, we had finally found the correct place, with only minutes to spare. 
Once the race started and we were off, it was like a sea of runners.  Talk about a strange feeling to be that crowded, and worrying about hitting the people in front of/behind you.  As we were all running across these concrete bridges, the whole thing was bouncing up and down.  You could feel it moving with each foot-fall.  Talk about an uneasy feeling! LOL!  Finally it started thinning out some, but it took awhile.  I had moved over toward the right side to grab a water at the first aid station and slowed down some to get a gulp, as I did a guy elbowed me in the back and yelled "get the hell off of the path if you are going to do that crap!".  I was flabbergasted!  I've never met a rude runner before.  But he was one of those who wear their water strapped around their waist....I thought "then move to the left if you dont want people in front of you grabbing a drink"....I kept the back of him in view, and just hoped beyond hope that karma would catch up to him...IT DID!!! LOL.  around mile 8 or so, he was hunkered over on the side of the path, gasping for air and looking like he was about to be sick! BRAHAHAAH!!!!  I thought "serves you right!  Maybe you should have "done that crap!" :-)  I love when it comes back to bite rude people in the butt.
Anyway, back to my story.  Oh yea, it would have been nice if they would have "closed the course".  We were dealing with bicyclist along the path, and they were some of the RUDEST people I've ever seen.  They were yelling at runners (running a race mind you, while the bicyclist were just out riding), to get out of their way..one was even riding right down through the center of everyone yelling "I AINT MOVING! GET RAN OVER OR GET OUT OF MY WAY!"  Who do they think they are?! They were acting like they owned the lake and the path.  I was livid, which just made me run harder.  It's going to take a lot for the bicyclist community to earn my respect.  After seeing the way those guys were acting....  Runners form a bond, a camaraderie, they cheer for each other and inspire each other...the bicyclist just wanted to yell at everyone and be rude...they didn't care that we were running a race...we were clearly messing up their day, and they didn't like it.  They were even rude to the cars who were driving on the roads....geesh! Get a life people...maybe they should try running, it always puts me in a better mood!!! LOL!!!! 
Okay, so back to my story again...man, I keep getting sidetracked.  Around mile 6, I saw Stephen and my heart soared with pride as he handed me my "clif shot blocks".  I kept a hold of these and would eat on occasionally, when I was feeling my energy levels dip.  Between those and the gatorade/water at the 1 mile interval aide stations, I was feeling GREAT! 
Unfortunately I had forgotten my watch and my garmin at home.  So I had no way of keeping track of my time/pace.  I had downloaded the MapMyRun app onto my phone, and had hit start at the beginning of the race, but when it was updating me with my pace after the first mile, I assumed it wasn't working.  Sure enough, you apparently had to select something else after hitting start and I didn't know that.  So it never did come on and start tracking for me.  This is the first race I've ever ran without keeping track of my pace.  I was worried, but figured if I just kept an even pace that felt like my normal rhythm, then I should be close to my normal time.  I was a little disappointed though.
I finished at exactly 2hrs even, and 13 seconds (2:00:13).  I have NEVER had a 2 at the beginning of my finish time.  It's always  been anywhere from 1:56-1:59.  Oh well, I'd say that was a good time, for dodging all of the people and bicycles, and getting drinks at each mile's aid station...and having no clue what my pace was.  So I am okay with it. :-) 
Oh, and around mile 5 or so, I saw this guy run up by me then slightly in front of me. He was wearing a neon yellow shirt and thanking people for cheering for us.  I decided to keep him in my sights and try to keep up with him.  I did, until about mile 10 when I passed him.  I never knew where he was after that.. but after the finish line, I was grabbing a drink, and he walked up to me and shook my hand and said "Great Job! You were such an Inspiration!"  I told him thank you, and that I had been just trying to keep up with him.  :-)  See what I mean about runners?!  They are GREAT People!  :-) 

After the race was over, I grabbed a green apple, and a powerade zero.  I ate that, then grabbed a free Muscle Milk Light in "cafe latte". YUM!!!! It was delish!!!! 
On our way to the car, we also grabbed a small bottle of free "coconut water" in pineapple flavor. BLECK! That stuff was NaaaaSTY! 
We left, and on the way home Stephen stopped by Dicks Sporting Goods and bought me a new pair of running shoes, new running shorts, and a new sports bra!!! Yea!!!!  I love it when he spoils me. 
Then we went over to MooYah Burger for lunch.  They have the BEST Veggie Burger ever!!!  Love that place! 
Finally we went home.  I showered, and we went back to bed! LOL!!!  What a GREAT day!!!