Twelve in 2012

It reached 100 degrees in Red Wing on July 4.

Most people probably enjoyed the warm temperatures while cruising the river on their boat, lying on their floaty in a swimming pool or kicking up their feet while drinking a cold one.

Not me.

My feet were busy shufflin’ along on the steaming pavement.

Chad and I decided to spend our holiday by participating in the Red Wing Fourth of July Road Races at Bay Point Park. We had signed up a couple months ago along with another friend of ours – I’m pretty sure it was a cool 75 degrees on the day that I mailed in my registration to race director Jesse Nelson. That’s probably a good thing, because if I had waited until race day to register ,I can guarantee I wouldn’t have!

This race was No. 6 on our list of 12 races to do in 2012. Chad signed up for the 10K and I signed up with a friend for the 5K. But between the day I mailed in our registration and race day, Mother Nature got aggressive.

It started to get hot during the holiday week. And then it got hotter and hotter.

I did a couple runs the week of the race and every time I returned home looking like I just got out of the shower with my clothes on. I knew I would be miserable on race day.

Chad and I checked the race website a few times that week – I was secretively hoping Nelson would cancel the race.

Not only were the races still “on” but the event had a record turnout with more than 300 runners. Nelson added extra water stops for both the 5K and 10K, put more bike patrols on the course and allowed people to drop from the 10K to the 5K if they wanted to do so.

Apparently my body responded to the heat. I ran my fastest 5K of the year and finished in 33:26. I took 153rd place out of 232 runners.

I know my fastest mile was the first mile as I tried to keep pace with a friend who finished a full four minutes ahead of me. I convinced her to leave me at the first water stop and then dropped down to a little slower pace for the second mile.

It was the third mile where I really slowed down. As I turned back into the park I really wanted to stop and walk. It was so hot!

Somehow (and this still shocks me) I convinced myself to keep running – even if it was at a turtle’s pace. I kept shufflin’ along and ran the whole way in. I sucked down a bottle of water and ate two freezer pops in less than two minutes.

And then I waited for Chad. I was more nervous about him than I was about myself – he takes more risks than I do when it comes to the heat. He thinks nothing of going out running, biking or golfing in the blazing afternoon heat. And he’s not good at making sure he’s hydrated.

But on this day he came to his senses. He had expected to finish the 10K in under an hour but that hour came and went and there was no sign of him in the chute. He ended up crossing the finish line in 1:07:34 and took 64th out of 73 runners.

By that time I had already asked another 10K runner if they passed him lying in the ditch somewhere. It turns out he stopped to walk a few times and took advantage of four of the five water stops.

Nelson said most of the runners were smart that day and there weren’t any major medical issues. Runners left the park quickly and headed for cold showers, air conditioning, holiday fun and a great feeling of accomplishment.

For me, it felt good to mark the halfway point in our goal of 12 races. It’s going to feel even better to get off my feet and climb onto my bike for race No. 7.

Tags: lifestyle, health