For the last several years when I've been on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, I've taken advantage of the fact that the local running club puts on a five mile race the second day of the trip.

Last year, I even placed first in my age group!

This year, I signed up for the race again, and my mom decided to do it too.



The Seashore Striders always put on a really great event. The day-of entry fee is $25 and gets you a fully supported course, a nice tech shirt and all the watermelon you can eat at the end of the race.

It was a lot hotter and way more humid this year than it was last year, so I wasn't really sure I'd be in the running for any age group awards. I mean there was a heat advisory after all.

The first two miles of the course are pretty shaded, which I really appreciated. My goal was to go out and see what I could do on such a hot and humid day. I was dripping with sweat by the time I hit the first water stop around mile 1.5. I chugged a cup of water and dumped some over my head to try to cool off.

It was pretty early in the race, but I could already feel myself overheating.

By the time we came out of the first neighborhood and hit the sunny stretch of road, I knew things weren't going to go well the rest of the race.

When I hit mile 2.5 I slowed down to take a walk break. My face was beet red, and I felt like I was melting. I legitimately walked a full half mile until the third mile marker.

The second neighborhood the course loops through is definitely not well-shaded, and by the time I hit water station two, I was desperate for the race to be over.

The last 1.5 miles were sprinkled with lots of walking and running. At this point in the race, I wasn't concerned about my time or any age group awards. I just wanted to get to the finish line safely.

In the final stretch, I passed the EMTs helping a young kid (maybe high school age?) into the car because he had overheated, and I didn't want that to be me.

I managed to cross the finish line in 49:28, a solid 4 minutes slower than last year, but still good enough for fifth place in my age group. Given the weather conditions, that was not a bad finish at all!



My splits are hilarious though. Miles 1 and 2 were all something around 8:30 or so. Miles 3, 4, and 5 were all well over 10 minutes per mile. Talk about a positive split race!

My mom finished not that much longer after I did, and we both enjoyed plenty of nice cold watermelon!

I love kicking off my vacation with this race. It sets a good, healthy tone for the rest of the week!