Half Marathon #1 for 2014: RnR USA

 RnR USA Half Marathon
3/15/2014
2:13:20

Before the race: I had on YMX arm sleeves under my Target sweatshirt.

 

The good:

• I felt AWESOME during this race.  I ran hard and I felt strong the entire time.  My fastest mile in the entire race was mile 13 – 9:37.
• I saw Moms Run This Town friends before the race, cheering partway through the race, and at the finish line.  It was so energizing to see people I knew.
• The Mandarin Orange Gu at mile 9ish.  I’d eaten breakfast at 5:30, the race didn’t start until 7:30.  I needed those calories.
• I kept my throw away sweatshirt and tied it around my waist.  Having it to put on for the metro ride home was priceless.
• My foot never hurt!  I’m totally in love with my Altra Intuition 1.5.

The bad:

• The hill at mile 6.  I knew it was the kind of hill that would wear me out, so I ran hard for the first 5+ miles, walked the quarter mile up the hill, and then ran hard for the rest.  Since that mile was only about 40 seconds slower than my other miles, I’m going to say that walking really helped me.
• The wind. It wasn’t that cold out, but when the wind gusts would hit, I’d get chilled.

The ugly:

• Needing to pee.  I had to pee right before the race started, so I figured I’d wait until I hit the first round of porta potties.  Nope, the lines were ridiculous!  Thankfully, the urge came and went, so I managed to run the whole race and hit the potties at the end.  There were some decent lines there too, so I had to spend a good bit of time doing the potty dance. (Thankfully, I made it.  Any of you who’ve had children know how lucky that was LOL)
• The metro.  My trip in was great.  The trip out was fine once I got on the train.  Unfortunately, it was a bit of a walk to the metro and then there was a huge line of people waiting to get in (mostly because there were a lot of newbies).  The words “you just ran a half marathon and you can’t walk down the escalator” may have come out of my mouth.
• The rest of my day.  I raced home, showered, got dressed, and took Jones to a multi-hour orchestra event (FYI: you can fit two bass and 3 cellos in the back of a Honda Pilot). As soon as that was finished, it was time for the elementary school auction.  I’m pretty sure I walked a 2-3 miles after the race between the metro, the concert, and the auction.

This may be my favorite finish line picture EVER.  Helps to have a friend volunteering at the Finish Line.

Notice my arm sleeves are around my wrists LOL.
(And my sweatshirt is around my waist…)

All in all, this was an awesome way to kick off my quest for Venus.  I loved the rolling hills and it was nice to run in a local race.  I “slept” in my own bed the night before the race and everything I needed was right at hand.  I was able to make last minute changes in clothing/food and I knew exactly how to get where I needed to go.  Every race from here on out requires at least an hour drive to the start and most will include sleeping in a hotel or at a friend’s house.

Up next, Caesar Rodney half marathon in Deleware.  This one will be slower LOL.  (Wicked hills + I’m attempting a 50 mile week this week since last week was a mileage bust!

Don’t forget to enter the 1st of the Lucky 13 giveaways!  I’m giving away a pair of PROCompression socks!