Race Recap: A soggy (but still awesome!) St. Jude 1/2

4.30.2013

Saturday I ran my 3rd half marathon.  It was special because it was the first half that Mr. C and I have run together. I think he's so sick of me harping on running that he's decided to join me.  Unfortunately, bad weather was on the horizon.  But what's a girl to do? Needless to say I had no aspirations of a PR but guess what? I  got one! My best time yet, a 1:50:52 at an 8:28 pace. Not fast to some, but fast for me. There are days when I'm tired of training and I think, why am I doing this? But then I get a fast time, and I want to make it even better.


So y'all, when I say rain, I mean, like, cold.soaking.rain. Pouring rain. I couldn't have been more soaked if I had jumped into a pool before the start and I have some (awful!) race pics to prove it. I was actually fine until the finish. Once I stopped, I was freezing and realized how soaked and disgusting I was.


The gun was at 7 and we were in the 2nd corral so we started right on time. Christian had some friends in the race and though we started together, he left me after a quarter of a mile. We didn't plan to run together so that wasn't a complete surprise, but I sort of thought we'd hang for a while. Not! But I'm pretty used to running alone so I settled into my rhythm and figured I'd see him at the finish.

I passed him at mile 6. :)

How funny is that guy behind me?
He passed me at mile 8.  :(


Then I caught him again at mile 11ish. :) We were definitely (silently) competing.

The finish line kind of snuck up on me. I sprinted the last tenth of a mile and was juuuuuust shy of catching him but he beat me by 10 seconds. I let it slip through my fingers. There will definitely be a re-match.

It was a tough race overall. But running it (and doing well) in those conditions made me feel like a rock star. Thank the Lord for those wrap thingies they gave us, I was so cold my lips were blue and I was headed for hypothermia. I am so stubborn that I still wore my cutie pie Lulu peach outfit in spite of the weather.  Overall, it was a good choice temperature wise since I hate to be hot (although white shorts in pouring rain was a questionable decision).


I'll never forget this race. We had a lot of good friends/colleagues in it and it was a great accomplishment for all (one friend finished in 1:37!).  I hate to get mushy, but running continues to enrich my life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.

13 comments:

  1. That's so awesome that you guys ran together! And the rain looks terrible...so you get some extra props :)

    Annie
    The Other Side of Gray

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  2. This looks so awesome!! Whenever I run in the rain I feel like I am in a Gatorade commercial or something!

    Congrats on the PR!

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  3. So proud of you!!! You will beat him next time!!! You are seriously a rock star in my book!!! I bet you are still smiling...and girl, the rain looks good on you! ;)

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  4. You are the BOMB!!!! I love that picture of you at mile 6, such determination!!! And you will catch the hubby, he better get eyes in the back of his head so that he can watch you pass by!!! LOL Congrats on your HUGE PR!!!!! You rock! so much inspiration! I can't even imagine 13 in the rain!!! I was thinking of you when we were walking to the start line, I had already heard it was raining in Nashville and it was heading North, and I was praying it would off until we finished!

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  5. Great job!! The pictures look great and yes, it looks so cold! I wish Brad would run with me! Maybe if I tell him C ran with you I can convince him. :)

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  6. that's amazing! i couldn't imagine running it in that rain. well, i couldn't really imagine running it at all! i think i'm going to try and do whatever half is in the fall. maybe i'll see you there! great job :)

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  7. Way to go!!! You did so awesome!

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  8. Great job! Especially in that rain.

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  9. Yay that is so awesome! Congrats!! :) :)

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  10. Way to go, especially in the rain! I hate being rained on! My friend ran the Nike Women's Half in DC Sunday with her Team in Training. I'm loving all the race stories.

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  11. I love it!! Good job Courtney:) and Christian! So proud of and inspired by you both!!

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  12. Congrats, Courtney! A PR? In the cold rain? That's awesome! I'm glad you had a great time despite the weather.
    Cheers,
    Sara

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  13. Amazing! Congratulations (and you looked cute doing it too!)

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