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!
Nice work, dear! Sounds like race number one of the year was a success! 🙂
Great report! I loved the wind, though. I was very hot 🙂
I look forward to watching your quest for Venus!
Way to go, great race!!
Awesome race and that is a great finish line picture!Very glad that your foot didn’t hurt, sounds like the new shoes are a win!
The green socks and pink shoes looked great!
RNR did a nice job on this race shirt and medal. Congrats!
Sounds like a great race day (other than needing to pee – I tend to do that dance a lot these days!).
I bet you were exhausted by the end of the night!!
Oh the wind! Come on Spring time! Congratulations! I agree, fabulous finishing photo!
Great job! Love the ribbon on the medal.
Woohoo! Well done. Let the quest for Venus begin! (And on a good note, too!)
Whoot! Nice job! Love that last pic of you – always good to see smiling faces after a race! =)
How cool is it that it’s officially “Rock n Roll USA”?? Has a nice ring to it. As for the peeing, I have totally experienced the ‘temporary reabsorption’ feeling. Good for you that you made it! And nice pace!! You’re looking skinny, too…guess I should try some 50 mile weeks…[ouch ouch ouch]….
Way to go! Glad to hear you didn’t have any foot pain. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore my bladder mid race, and lost nearly 15 minutes waiting for a porta potty at one of the med tents. Maybe I’ll try you method next time – just see if the urge goes away!
Well done! That is a great time! There are times when I am glad I am a man. Peeing during races qualify as one of those times. I love the bling and shirt!