The Hill Conquered Me

Today I attempted the Hospital Hill Run and learned a few things.

a) The race course was similar to the Kansas City Half Marathon I ran in the fall of 2009 (same general area) so I thought I could handle it. I had conveniently forgotten how grueling the hills are. If I have to ask the question: How Bad Can It Be? I really do not want to know the answer.

b) Running 13.1 miles in 50F weather is not the same as running the same distance when it is already 80F at 7 am.

c) There is no such thing as too much Body Glide. Ahem.

d) Clif Shot Bloks may be useful when training for events like this one but they are pretty darned disgusting when you are overheated and miserable.

e) God Bless the Garmin Pace Runners. Also, big thanks to the lady following one of them who kept yelling out: Big Hill! Tiny Butt! That kept me laughing for a good 30 minutes.

I had signed up for the race a few months ago at the urging of a co-worker in a fit of optimism in the hope of jumpstarting my workouts. Although having the race as a goal did get me to run more than I would have otherwise, I was not nearly as prepared as I was the last time I ran a half marathon. The upper respiratory infection I had for most of May did not help.

The smart move would have been to switch to one of the shorter races.

Oh well.

Next!