Meia Maratona de Fortaleza

Early this morning I took part in the half-marathon of Fortaleza which proved to be 13.1 long miles on a hot, sunny morning. I have ran a few 5k races and ran track in high school, but this is the longest and most challenging race that I have ever run. I entered the race with the primary goal of finishing the race, and set a time goal of 1:40. Despite the hot weather and fighting a losing battle to stay hydrated, I did complete the race successfully. If not for a few tactical mistakes (starting too fast, not drinking enough water, and not realizing that the middle half of the race would be a series of hills), I likely would have met my time goal. Unfortunately, I slid back through the peloton while trying to recover from dehydration and cramps during the second quarter of the race. I was able to make a late surge but that wasn't quite enough to meet my time goal and I finished the race in 1:47. I was happy to have completed the race under some incredibly hot weather conditions which forced a number of runners to drop out midrace, and look forward to improving the next time I try a distance race. I'd still like to complete a full marathon in the next year or so, but that will definitely require some more training, as today's half-marathon proved quite the test.