Wow!! So much to catch up on! Do you ever have those times when you think you will get to that “tomorrow” and then two weeks have passed? That is always a sign for me that the work busy season is upon us! I do love to be busy but it is totally getting in the way of my fun activities!!
Well I have TWO half marathons to report on! So let me get to business!!
Rock N Roll – St. Pete
The Good:
· ORGANIZED!! I realize they have been around a long time but they did a great job of keeping you informed and ready for race day!
· Expo – It was ON the Rays baseball field! I just thought that was really cool!!!
· Drop-off Location – This was the first time I had someone drop us off at a race. I was afraid we would be walking (in the dark) for quite a bit. Quite the opposite. We were dropped off, rounded the corner and there was the start line!
· Beautiful course!! This was a flat course and went through so much of the beauty that is in the area!
· Food – okay, the ending had everything! Gatorade, water, frozen strawberries, bananas, granola bars…I just thought that was a nice touch! Other than my daughter ate ALL my strawberries! J
· Family! It was fun to have my husband, daughter and in-laws at the race! I saw them about mile 9 and then at the finish! It honestly brought tears to my eyes! It is nice to see them cheer and hear my daughter say, “That’s my Mommy!!”
The Bad:
· I had to really search on this one! The parking for the Expo. To park right at the stadium, you had to pay $15. I thought that was a bit much! So we drove a couple blocks down and parked for free!
* Not race related! I for some reason broke out in hives on the trip down! Nothing a little Benedryl couldn't fix but it had my nerves on edge!!!
The Ugly:
· I completed this race in 2:04!!! So this was a PR for me and puts me well on my goal of being sub 2 by the end of the year. It was a cool start but by the end of the race, I was quite the hot mess…in a good way!
· I love expos but they always suck me in! This time I found Zipfizz Energy Drink. (http://www.zipfizz.com/) I loved it! I haven’t had any type of energy drink or sports beans since I started the Whole 30. I am not going to use it on a regular basis but it has a B12 boost in it and it tastes great! Another Expo…my poor hubby knows there will be a loss of money from his pocket!! But I NEED this stuff, right?
Donna Half – Jacksonville
The Good:
· This race was for a personal FUN record! So the fact that I had two of my best buds with me was the best part of the whole weekend!
· The cause! ALL of the money goes to help find a cure for breast cancer! It doesn’t get any better than that!
· The neighborhood area! The Ponte Vedra area is beautiful and the neighborhood really supports the race! It is fun to have people cheer you along! YES! This means I actually noticed the area I was running in! This has to make so many people happy!!! :)
The Bad:
· It is not the races fault BUT it was COLD…and WINDY!!! Did I mention this is mostly along the water? So the chill was brutal!
· The parking! Okay, this had to come out! We left our hotel at 5:30 AM. We sat on the road for the parking lot for at least an hour. We did not pull into the lot until 7:15. Luckily they postponed the start to 8 AM because of the situation. It is my understanding this is the first time they allowed for people to park at the start line. I like the idea, just need to work on how to get 9k people in there!
· Bus transportation back to the start line. They had us walk a good distance to board the bus back to the start line. Not really an issue, except that hotel bus drop offs were right as you excited the celebration location. I will not pout or complain on this anymore!
The Ugly:
· The race was not bad! Until the last two miles! It was the A1A bridge and it was quite the incline! This race all for fun for me but man that would have been BRUTAL if I had been pushing for a time!
· I didn’t get to make the expo! L However, my dear friends got us signed up for another race in November in the beautiful St. Pete (http://womenshalf.competitor.com/stpetersburg) and have us on seriously contemplating the Space Coast run in December! (http://www.spacecoastmarathon.com/) The medals for the Space Coast race are so cool! See, even when I don’t attend the expo I can find a way to spend money!
Let me add in one other race! I ran a local 5k for the Young Actors Theatre. It was a blast. My best running buddy could not be there but her son wanted to run his FIRST 5k! So I said I would be happy to run with him! I thought for sure he would bolt out and then pucker out and I would "encourage" him to the end! YEAH, he SMOKED me!!! I am so proud of him!!! He is a really good runner! It was quite hilly and he killed it!!! I have got to get some rest because I will beat him next time! :)
The races were great fun! I have a break for a bit from the 13.1's….I am not sure I am happy about that but work crazy time has arrived!
Can’t wait to share some fun news in the next post! I do love when I do things on a whim and God seems to pour out some blessings!!!
See you later!
I love reading about your running adventures! It's so awesome that you're doing marathons! You are my running role model and LEC looks supercute in her athletic clothes!
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