Davis Stampede (Half #17) Race Report

I will have to wait and see if running todays half marathon was the wisest idea in the long run considering I have been feeling sick, but I did it AND finished with my 3rd fastest time among the recent 17 half marathons.  I kept to my 2:1 intervals that worked out well until about mile 11 which is where I tanked.  Today was hot and the aid stations left A LOT to be desired.  From the first one being completely out of water by the time I got there to no aid stations having any energy drink until the very last one.  After tasting the Gatorade the folks mixed up at that station its easy to imagine why it was missing from the other stations.  It was grossly concentrated.  Yuck!  Fortunately, I carry my own water source with me while running but today I needed to rely on GU over the energy drinks which isn't my preference.   It's hard to complain given my time.  The best part along the race was the ONLY UC Davis cheerleader displaying any spirit who had her own cheer towards the end of the race.  It was something along the lines of "Don't quit, soon you'll be able to sit!"  I know that's not the exact words but definitely the spirit needed to finish the race strong.  And the VERY BEST part was I managed to finish before the little ones which was not the case last year.  Given these challenges surrounding this race, future racing in 2011 looks promising.  Hopefully a loss of additional weight will help me break the 3 hour barrier again.