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

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.

Tom King Classic Half Marathon Recap

I did it y'all!  Saturday I finished my second half marathon in 1:58:50!  My goal time was to be under 2 hours and I barely made it but nonetheless, I made it!  That's 15 minutes faster than my first half 6 months ago. Woo hoo!

I ran this race solo and got to the stadium at 6:30ish for a start time of 7:30 {I'm a nut about being early}. This was my first time in Titans' stadium and it was pretty cool to walk out into the stands, empty and quiet so early in the morning.  I'm not the biggest football fan but I'm inspired to go see a game next season.  There's such an aura about these big stadiums. Makes me feel like becoming a spirited fan.

The gun sounded at 7:30 and I was across the line feeling good.  I get so pumped when I hear that sound, when the crowd starts to shift forward, and I just want to go go go!  I cranked up my tunes and got my mind focused on breathing and pace.

At mile 11 I wanted to stop running and lay down in the ditch.  I was a bit dehydrated and just felt too full. But I was determined to beat my last time and knew I had to dig deep. I dialed up Adam Levine on the shuffle and hoped for inspiration.  When I saw the stadium come into view I felt a little re-energized.  Then running through the tunnel, into the stadium and right onto the field, ah, it was pretty cool! Obviously the only time that will ever happen to this girl.

Me and my boys

No clue why my shirt is bunched up and looks ridiculous

My sweet boys were at the finish line but we completely missed seeing each other (next time I'll wear a bright color)! I caught up with them outside though, snapped pictures, and celebrated.  We high-tailed it out of there, went to their 2 soccer games, then straight to Burger Up where I indulged in my favorite bison burger with fried jalapenos and avocado.  Delicious. I ate the whole thing.

And now I have a medal for both of my sweet boys!

I did it! Nashville Women's Half Marathon Recap

Well, I finished, and I was pretty excited as you can see!!

Race day was amazing!  My mom and dad arrived Thursday night to be here for me and to help out with the boys.  Friday night I had some serious nerves going on.  I slept well though and the 4:30 a.m. wake up call didn't even hurt.  I was ready to go!

On my way to my corral and telling Mr. C to chill with the camera!

Mr. C took me downtown and stayed with me until the start of the race.  He's so supportive and I love him for it.  Since I didn't have any friends in this race (Andrea, you're going to do this with me next year right?:) he had offered to sign up and run with me.  Bless his heart, he's a good sport.  But I couldn't ask him to do that, I needed to be a big girl.  We did see a few men running, one of which was wearing a hot pink shirt that said "I love my wife"-- ha!  Yay for awesome husbands.

I started the race feeling strong but tried to take my friend Ashlyn's advice to go slow early on.  I knew the course was full of hills and I was hoping to have something left at the end.  By mile 10 my knee was throbbing and I started taking 15 second walk breaks (grrr, so mad at myself for that!).   I picked it back up though and ran to the finish.  My time was 2:13:50--my goal was 2 hours and I wasn't far off but I could kick myself for those breaks!!!! In truth, they didn't hurt that much less and I wish I had pushed harder.

At the finish line and pretty tired!

My mom, my boys, my good friend Ashlyn, and Christian were yelling for me at the finish line.  It was so awesome I almost started crying.  Our names were printed on our bibs and even strangers were yelling my name-- let me tell you, I loved it and it made a difference!  So did all the encouragement you guys left here in your comments and emails, they were on my mind when the going got hard and I can't thank you enough!! I'm here to tell you, EVERY comment and piece of encouragement mattered to me!

Music city bling!

This half marathon started out being something I wanted to cross off of my bucket list but it turned into so much more.  Three and half months ago, I couldn't run to the end of my street.  Four days ago, 13.1.  I'll never forget it.  I found something I love doing, something I love being a part of, and it's so rewarding.  I can't wait to do another one and reach my goal time!  I'm a runner!!!!