Absolutely the right place to ask this question! We finally splurged on a Stressless chair. Best chair - butt and feet down! 
If you can afford it. We also bought a Lunar chair from Dania Furniture - a large round lounger with good pillows for back support. I fight for the Lunar module with my cats…
Well, I survived. This was a tough course. I’m typing on my ipad but I do not recommend trying to do this course for any kind of speed unless you are Bunsen or MOWC and run a 2 hr half or better. It was HOT and in direct sun for most of the race. I started way back to avoid going out too fast - and ended up mostly trapped behind others who went out too fast, were walking, doing selfies and group photos and were totally oblivious to any kind of race etiquette. It was very frustrating and I’m not happy with my results but I was mostly able to follow my plan. Lots of climbs and bridges which are not my favorite.
Finish area was not well handled. There was no water until you got to the post race food - a 30 minute line. So I abandoned the food line and headed back to the hotel for water if you can believe that. All in all, my least favorite race, Nice medal, hat, some kind of oils, nice check bag, sunglasses and water bottle. It’s all about the swag and the clothes. They need to work on execution a bit more.
Sabaray, I am so happy to hear that you survived! I was quite worried - it is really hot here. Not having any water for the finishers right at the finish line is beyond stupid!!!
Congrats big time! Summer racing can be very brutal. That’s why I was strategic in picking my Boston qualifier!
They weren’t prepared for the weather. I am used to a race course being closed. Nope! Bikers, other runners, tourists- at times an urban obstacle course. Not what I expected but it’s done. Just have to consider it a training run. You missed nothing!
Wow, those conditions - both weather wise and logistics wise- sounds awful! I’ll bet your heart rate was up just over that stuff!
Were you able to enjoy the scenery?
What a cool location for a race - I’m sorry you didn’t feel more satisfaction from it. I"m still uber impressed!
I’m just not where I want to be with running right now. There were about 10 times I told Mr. Sabaray I wasn’t doing it. It was hot, it was hard but I started and finished. It will get better. I appreciate everyone’s good thoughts and encouragement!
Congratulations. It sounds awful. I bet they weren’t prepared at all! There always should be water right at the finish. Enjoy the good swag and congrats on your first international race!
Wow. Thanks for the report. Yes, consider it a vacation training run with a goodie bag.
I’m sure they had water at one point- I think they ran out at the finish. I shouldn’t be so negative. Everyone is very nice! But it’s clear people do the race for the shorts and the sale. Merchandise I never saw is already on eBay!
Congratulations on your run and for finishing in tough conditions, sabaray.
Oh man sabaray, what a mess of a race. A race this big should be run better, and running out of water at the finish and a 30 minute food line. Shame on them.
I think there should be designated selfie spots on a course, so not to take away from the people who are actually there to run. And not put themselves and their swag on social media.
But glad you are done and did it.
I’m back from Bethany and trying to catch up with all I’ve missed. This heat wave has been unbelievable. We had to check out yesterday at 10:00 but my daughter and I did an 8:00 beach boot camp class and the temp was mid 90’s even at that hour. At 5:00, when we dropped my daughter off in center city Philadelphia, the temp was 102! Unreal.
Congrats sabaray on persevering in your race. As if the heat alone wasn’t enough of a challenge, it sounds like the lack of organization and support at the end was a real mess and potentially dangerous given the heat.
Bunsen, sounds like things are progressing positively for your niece. Glad to hear that.
FallGirl, glad to hear you’re feeling better and getting back into the swing of things.
MOWC, 5-7 steps at a time? Next thing you know it will be “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” :).
Ohio, don’t look at the Garmin 820. Really, really don’t. Unless you’re prepared to buy one. Used it all week long and it’s performance tracking features are so cool. Calculates VO2 Max, gives you suggested recovery times between training sessions, and if you have a power meter, you can do FTP testing or it will calculate an estimated FTP and set up wattage training zones. You’ll get watts/kg, TSS scores, and all sorts of other metrics. And therein lies the conundrum. If you buy the 820 and don’t already have a power meter system for your bike, sooner than later you will be digging deeper into your wallet! Another thing I noticed is that the updated algorithm for calculating calorie burn is even more accurate than older models. It now matches the measured kilojoules from the power meter and has accurate and reliable value in planning nutrition for sports performance.
I like to picture MK and Ohiopublic in a mall walking by a sports gadget store…I’m not sure which one will be pulling the other to walk away, or which one will be pulling each other to walk in!!!
I think Michael just spent some money for Ohio!
3.5 tired miles. Watching the Olympic marathon now. Not over yet…
Might be spending more money on a new helmet instead! We had our running club triathlon (4.5 kayak/5.5 run/10 mile bike) that I won, although a lot of folks were taking it easy. I crashed on the slick bike path going around the corner a mile from the finish. Hit the ground pretty hard with my helmet. Scraped shoulder and thigh. The alcohol wipe felt great. I’ll never go out without a helmet based on that experience.
Go Clayton Murphy in the 800 final! I have a good feeling.
Ouch Ohio, that must have hurt but congrats on the win! You definitely need a new helmet. Regardless of how it looks on the outside, there is probably internal compression of the foam materials not visible to the naked eye. Rule of thumb: any crash where your head hits the ground retires your existing helmet. And yup, all it takes is one crash to realize the importance of helmets. Don’t know how I survived my childhood and early teen years when I used my bike to commute everywhere and never wore a helmet! But then, again, all my crashes have happened as an adult ;).
Sorry you crashed, Ohio, but congrats! Get a new helmet. It’s scary. I’m so afraid of crashing when I’m on my bike- and afraid for my family members when they are out! A local rider in our area was killed last week when he lost control on a steep descent. Don’t get me started on how fast WildChild rides…
Ditto to new helmet! What MNK said is absolutely correct. Helmets are basically designed to protect your noggin from one head impact. A new helmet is cheaper than the alternative! Congrats on the win and on staying in one piece.
An interesting article on artificial sweeteners. In both insects and rodents (mammals) sucralose caused a similar overeating effect:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/uos-was070616.php
Watching women’s marathon on delay. Interesting cap/hat in the Belaraus runner. To deflect heat? Looks like a swim cap