Thanksgiving Half Race Review

My husband and I ran a half marathon this past Thursday, and it was a great way to start our Thanksgiving! The following is a recap of the race:

Race course

I had previously run a half on this same course.  It was on a greenway that took us across meadows, through woods, and alongside a creek. Very scenic.
And quite a bit of it was on elevated boardwalks that were somewhat springy. The course was a straightaway, with 2 U-turns. Not hilly at all either! Plus the day was perfect! Sunny, but in the high 40s to start.

‘Celebrity’ Sighting

There were about 300 people racing in the half. For the first few miles, I was trying to see if there was anyone going about my speed so we could run together. The last time I had raced there, I got into a group of 4 others, and they seemed to carry me along.

I wasn’t having much luck, so just decided to enjoy the sites. There weren’t many spectators, but I spied 2 at around mile 2.5. A boy and man. The boy looked familiar. I stared at him for clues as I ran by. He had a letter jacket on. I saw his name on the jacket and realized that he was the boy who’d recently made national news for having been disqualified from the Georgia state high school xc championship race for having a bible verse on his headband. He had finished third, but was disqualified to last place! It was a big controversy.

(See story here: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/11/11/was-it-bible-verse-teen-runner-disqualified-from-state-meet-over-religious-headband.html)

Race Encounters

I was so excited about my ‘celebrity’ sighting, that I made friends with the girl next to me to tell her about it. She was a nice girl and we ran together for a bit. While we were running, the leader, who had already passed the first U-turn and was now running past us in the opposite direction appeared. I cheered for him. And she said that was her brother! Later, I mentioned that I had noticed at least 3 ladies ahead of us who might be in my age group. She said her mother was ahead of us, and we determined that mother and I were in fact in the same age group.

I never did ask her name, but learned that her goal was to finish in under 2 for the first time.  At the time we were going at about a 1:48 pace. I told she had it. Eventually, I lost track of her b/c she faded a bit.

Another Fall

Really, who falls in a RACE?? A dork. I cannot believe I fell!! This is the second fall in the past 2 weeks. And only my 3rd overall. So I’m wondering if its my new shoes? Or the boardwalk? It was a little uneven with boards sticking up. Or is it just me not picking my feet up? Anyway, I slid onto my front and knees, but got right up and started running again. No major damage! Thank goodness!! I am SO lucky. I fall all the time on the tennis court and don’t ever seem to get hurt too bad (knock on wood).

Finish

My goal was to finish in the high 140s…but at mile 11/12, I started fading pretty bad. I realized that my finish time was going to start with a 1:5-something. 7 people passed me in mile 13 (yes I counted). For the last 1/4, I was just dying.  We were finishing on a track and I had turned my tunes off….sounds were bothering me. I heard someone behind me getting closer. After 7 people had already passed me, I thought “THE HELL YOU ARE” on this one. And dug deep. Somehow, I got a bit of a kick. I also noticed the photographer near the finish line. I was able to have the coherent thought to pick up my feet b/c in most finish line photos, it looks like I’m barely moving.

I am glad my feet are lifted!

Finished with a strong kick. After passing across the timing mats, the lady who had been running behind me congratulated me for the kick, then immediately asked me my age. We were in the same age group, and I’d beaten her by 2 seconds! We chatted for a bit until I saw my husband. He had PRd by 6 minutes!! I am really proud of him!

We wandered around while chatting  with the lady who was in my age group then I remembered my other friend. I wanted to see if she could hit her goal. We caught her just as she was finishing…in under 2 hours!! I was super happy for her and congratulated her. So was the lady in my age group…..her mother!! And then the brother came over to congratulate his sister who had beaten her PR by 12 full minutes!! And it turns out the brother had won the whole thing! So that was fun.

I won 2nd place in my AG, but we didn’t stick around for the awards. We were both starting to get cold, and it was only going to get worse if we waited around for awards time. Plus, it turns out the awards were sorta weird looking.

I DID NOT win this award…but you can see they’re a bit odd looking!

Today I am trying a link up for the Weekly Wrap hosted by Holly @ HoHoRuns and Tricia @ MissSippiPiddlin.   See rules here. Thank you ladies!

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