Hot Half

It was early to rise this morning to get everything loaded in my truck and be at the starting point for the Huntsville Half Marathon & 5K at 5:45 a.m. It was my first time running this race since 1996. I started directing the race in 1997. It was a hot and humid morning in Huntsville. I took on a lot of fluid and a couple electrolyte capsules during the race. I finished in 2:46:08 (4 of 6 in my age group). The heat really made it a tough race. I kept thinking about the marathon next Saturday in southwest Texas and trying to convince myself that the lower temperature and dry air would make it tolerable.
It was great that so many of our club members from the south (including Kemah, Spring, The Woodlands and Conroe) were up working as volunteers. A special thanks to Bill Dwyer and TWRC for loaning and delivering 250 traffic cones. This made the course much safer for the runners. Congratulations to our own Adrienne Langelier for repeating as the female winner in the half marathon and to Lavonne for finishing her first half marathon. When I turned the corner to head for the finish line, Norman, Lavonne and Kolton Allen were there to join me to the finish line. I appreciated that. Kolton is 9 years old and came over from Lexington to run the race. He, along with Norman, were the two selectees for the Fit Texan Award for 2008.