Harborfest 10K

Last year was the inaugural Harborfest 10K in conjunction with the Harbor & Canal Festival at Charlotte Beach. My running buddy from last summer (Sue) & I decided to run it and had a great time. So, this year I decided to go back for the second round and convinced my friend Derek it would be a great idea for him as well! It is really a challenging course even though it's all on bike paths. There is one hill in particular that is literally a 90 degree climb! Insane! I was doing well up until this hill which was located just over 2 mi into the 6 mile run. Yep, totally lost steam from that point on (I know the same thing happened last year)! I was still feeling OK up until about mile 5 and then the heat and the sun finally hit me and I started feeling dizzy. Awesome!! There was a bike patrol a bit behind me, so I knew someone would be there if I keeled over before the finish. I stopped to walk very briefly and realized the dizziness got worse if I stopped, so I started up again and made it to the finish. Unfortunately, the minute I crossed the finish line and stopped to allow them to take my timing chip off, everything started spinning and I lost my balance. Sweet. Boots from Fleet Feet (they timed the run) grabbed me and guided me over to the water/oranges table so I could get some nutrients back into me and re-hydrate. My friends Derek & Adam found me and took over the duty of making sure I didn't pass out! After a few oranges, a banana, lots of water and ice, and about 15 min in the shade, I was feeling much better! I definitely had not drank enough water the day before the run, which I'm usually pretty good about. Oh well, lesson learned, take it easy and DRINK LOTS OF WATER!! One more 10K next Saturday (which is also my birthday!) and then the Boilermaker! Whoo Hoo! :)