To say that the Wounded Warrior Race was my toughest race to date would be an understatement. Yes, this race that was just under 5 miles was harder than any of the half marathons I have done or tried to do. The conditions were MISERABLE.
I've been in TX for almost 5 years now so I have gotten very used to the dry weather and heat. The first year we lived here we got a decent amount of rain for TX but it was still very sporadic. Well, this year we have gotten the most rain I think I have seen since we have been here. It was still only really in the spring and then some in the late summer. I think that is why the weather the weekend of the race caught me so off guard. Even though I knew there was rain in the area, I never expected it to rain as much as it did so I was not fully prepared. I did not have a rain coat or less"breathable" shoes and most importantly, I didn't have a hat. I can handle rain as long as it isn't in my face and not having a hat was a huge part of the problem. I thought about going to find a store to buy one the night before but I noticed that the website said they would have WW merchandise on hand so I figured I could just pick one up at the race. WRONG! The only things they had were water bottles and stretchy bracelets. I knew right then that it was going to be a big problem. There were several times while we were sitting there waiting that I thought about just going home. I had already raised the money for Wounded Warrior Project and they would get that whether I ran or not. Honestly, had the race been closer to home, I wouldn't have done it. But because it was a 2 1/2 hour drive down there and I had gotten a hotel the night before, I figured it would be stupid to spend that money and then not run the race. Thank God, the hotel had a noon check out time because that gave me enough time after the race to take a shower and warm up before I had to be out of there.
As we waited for the race to start it started raining harder and harder. This pic shows the puddle next to the shelter that kept growing as we waited.
By the time the race actually started it was coming down really good and had been raining long enough that there was water standing everywhere. The race was in a park on a trial that would have been very very nice, had it not been raining. It was all under trees so it would have been shaded but instead it meant we were being pelted with giant drops falling off of the leaves instead of just the rain. There were at least 8 times that I had to run in ankle deep(or deeper) water. These weren't little puddles you could go around either. They were typically at least 10 feet of the trail and no way around. One of them was about 50 feet long and running water that was rushing down a slope next to the trail. I ran the first 2 miles of the race in my hoodie because at least that kept me warmer and the rain out of my eyes but after mile 2 I found a volunteer that was willing to take it back to the start for me because it weighed at least 10 lbs( literally, I weighed it when I got home and it was 10lbs. after it had dried some)
I did my best to do my intervals even though every part of me just wanted to say "screw it" and go home. I knew the entire time that I could have done better if the weather had been good but regardless, I was going to do the best that I could given the circumstances. By the end of the race, I was tired, pissed, cold, soaked to the bone and miserable. As I finally saw the finish line, I pushed harder trying to finish strong. As I crossed the line, the announcer congratulated me and then said "Hey, Beautiful, you did it!" I kept moving forward and didn't think anything of it. Then he said again, "Hey, Beautiful, turn around!" Knowing I was the only one there at the time I knew he was talking to me so I turned and smiled at him. Then he said, "There you go, smile, it's over now, you did it." He was right, I did it. I know I wasn't even close to being beautiful in that moment but I had done it.
My head was burning from me wiping it so much trying to keep the water out of my eyes and the inside of my arms were on FIRE from being rubbed against my wet shirt while I ran. I grabbed my stuff and headed to the car, knowing that even though it sucked and even though it was the hardest race yet, I did my best and walked away with a PR.
This is me right after the race, soaking wet and just wanting to be warm and dry. Fortunately, my phone is water resistant and I was still able to use it for my intervals and music during the race.
This is what the rub marks on my arms looked like. It was so incredibly painful but fortunately it healed quickly.
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