Today I ran the Shamrock Run Portland Half Marathon. I had a great time; there were a few interesting things about this run. It was fairly flat and gentle. But it was cold, and it rained constantly. I don't think I've ever been more wet in my life. And, although I've written before that my body likes it when it's cold and performs better, in this case I think it was too much of a good thing. I started to cramp up badly and had to slow down dramatically near the end to keep from getting worse cramps. I understand my body now and know its limits and i knew if i pushed it I was just going to have to stop. As it is, I finished in 1:58:48, which is not that bad, but I know I could have done better. The combination of the wind and the rain worked to really drag all the heat out of my body.
As a side note, one of my enduring memories of Portland now will forever be standing in a really muddy field with a beer in my hand with 3 other guys, trying to listen to a band while it was freezing and raining and having us all just look at each other and say "The hell with this, it's time for a hot shower". :)
