Thanks to Fran, I discovered a great race in Breda! I would have never done this if we hadn't decided to find a race to do together and I have to say, this was the best crowd support I have ever seen! Our bibs had our names on them and I felt like a rock star - people were yelling "Come on, Amy, keep going!" There were bands all along the way, the residents of the town had their lawn chairs set up on their front stoops and were handing out water, sponges, and spraying runners with garden hoses.
Which was necessary, because it ended up, as we feared, being quite hot. Our plan was to go easy, take regular walking breaks, and have a good time together. Neither one of us was concerned about a time goal, so we started out easy.
Now, I have mentioned before that European races don't have many slow runners - most people who actually sign up for races are very fast. So quite quickly we were at the back of the pack and before long, we had the man on the bike following us, because we were last. I didn't mind, though, because it was like having our own personal escort, and the two of us were getting a lot of encouraging cheers from the spectators - "Come on ladies! Good job!" and Fran's personal favorite: "Only a little bit more to go, now!" ;-)
I was feeling okay but I could tell Fran was having a hard time with the heat. I felt bad for her because I knew she was working very hard to keep going, and I really admired her for not giving up. We passed the first 5K marker at about 38 minutes which I thought was encouraging.
Then the man on the bike came up next to us and told us that if we didn't make it to the halfway point in under one hour, they would not let us continue on to complete the race. I am glad he told us this, because we didn't know there was a cut-off, and it enabled us to make a decision together about what to do. I looked at Fran, and she looked at me. What should we do? We were trying to do the math in our heads, based on what the Garmin was telling us, and Fran thought it would be really hard for her to make it. She already had one of those nasty heat headaches and was starting to feel dizzy. "Can you do it?" she asked me. I said I thought I could, and she told me I should go on then, and she would wait for me at the finish. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes! Go!" So I said okay, and headed off with the man on the bike following me now.
I felt slightly panicked because suddenly I wasn't doing a fun race with my friend anymore but I had a deadline - cross the halfway point, which was still 2.5 km away before the cutoff time. The man on the bike was a bit confused about how much time I had - first he told me 8 minutes, which made me stop and turn back to Fran again, saying there is no way I can do this in 8 minutes! But Fran's math was much better than the man on the bike, because she said, no you have 18 minutes! So the man checked with the race people via his walkie talkie and yes, I did have 18 minutes. Okay, so I headed off once again, waving goodbye to Fran again.
I felt bad leaving her behind but I decided I was going to do my best to make it. The man on the bike stayed right next to me until we go to the next runner, a lady in a white shirt. He told me he was going to stay with her now, and wished me good luck. I thanked him - if he hadn't spoken up when he did, we would have had no clue about the cutoff time.
After that, I was coming up to the halfway point - which was right next to the finish line in the very center of town. I couldn't believe how many people were there to spectate and support the runners! Did I already mention I felt like a rock star? Wow! It was so great! And of course, once I got through the halfway point I felt relieved, but also kind of bummed - I still had the entire loop to repeat and this time on my own. But I settled into a comfortable pace and started picking off runners who had passed us before - the lady in the pink socks, the older man with the blue shirt...
Thankfully there was a lot of shade on the course and I was doing okay with the heat. Luckily I had brought gels with me, because while there was tons of water on the course there was no sports drink, so I started to feel I really needed to take a gel at about 1 hour. There was this very nice family all set up in front of their lovely house and one of the kids was holding out a glass of water as I ran up. "Is this for me?" I said, and came to a full stop, got my gel out, and took it while the whole family looked on kind of amazed. Then I drank the water, thanked them, and continued on my way.
My feet were starting to hurt and I was getting one of those heat headaches by the end. I took a few walking breaks so I would feel good enough to run in through the huge crowd at the end. Which I did, enjoying it all the way! I totally get why people want to be a rock star - hearing a crowd scream your name is awesome! I was so glad to cross the finish line - I clocked in at 1:41, made it through the chute, and when I came out, there was Fran, waiting for me!
We hung out for a while together, got a good spot in the shade and watched the half marathoners run through the town (that's why there was a cut-off time - they had a half marathon that started 90 minutes after the 15K)and talked. That was the best part of the day for me.
Fran ended up finishing the first loop of the race at her own pace, and I was proud of her for doing that - it took a lot of guts to keep going knowing they were going to make you stop when you got to the halfway point. And I am so grateful to her for encouraging me to go on, for waiting for me until the end, and for treating me to a Coke when I felt like I was going to throw up after I finished!
Thanks Fran! One day soon we are going to do another race together - but not on such a hot day!
