Hydration, acclimation and too-small tech shirts

At the start, get in line.  Go.  Repeat.

Whew - it's 4 days post Unite 1/2 Marathon and I can officially say something's strange because I never got sore.  Maybe a teeny tiny bit in the quads, but not like anything that's ever happened before.  Usually a day to 2 days afterward I find it hard to bend down or walk down the stairs...but not ONCE did I feel like that this go-round.  Woohoo! 

So what was different?  I haven't the foggiest idea...however I have been kicking around a few ideas in my mind...like the focus on hydration the week & 1/2 leading up to the race...or that since this was my 8th half, maybe my body is acclimating to the distance?  I also forgot my Garmin at home, so I ran purely by how I felt, rather than depending on the watch to tell me how fast to go.  And it was liberating! 

Starting line fun!

Anyway, the good news was, despite the lack of regular training (hey, it's Iron-Man season in our house) - which consisted of 1-2 runs/week; varying in length and whether I wanted to push myself or not, and one long run on the weekend, I was only 20 +/- seconds behind my PR (which was accomplished during peak marathon training last year).  Not bad! 

Another bonus?  No headache...if you've been following my blog (thanks, by the way) you'll remember my headache issues - particularly post race or hard(er) training run.  I definitely think staying hydrated helped a lot, but around 4 that afternoon I felt the all too familiar "fuzzy pressure" mounting at the base of my skull...coincidentally I stopped for a cup of coffee at that point to wake up a bit and was pleasantly surprised when the headache disappeared soon thereafter.  I will most certainly grab a cuppa joe the next time I feel one coming on to further test my theory...

On another note, I just want to give a shout out to CGI Racing for organizing a very fun, well run event.  I will definitely be back, however would like to register my complaint about the sizing of the tech shirts....I LOVE the shirt...and my 10 year old loves it too; she's already worn it twice this week.  Next year, PLEASE order grown-up sizes...I'd like to wear my shirt with pride, rather than watch my kid pridefully wear it. 

Next up...

NJ Share Network 5k in New Providence on 6/10.  If you're local, we'd love for you to join Team Evan to honor and remember a sweet little angel who left us too soon, but lives on in the others who needed his help - you can make a donation or sign up to participate here.  It's a great race, a worthy cause and a fun day.