Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Half marathon

The more races I run, the less opposed to ice baths I become.

This looks so dreamy right now. 

Yesterday I ran my fifth half marathon: the Wrightsville Beach marathon in Wilmington, NC.

Not the most creative race bling ever, but it'll do.

I think I've finally come to the realization that I'll never be a fast racer. It's annoying, but, uhh...aim low and you'll never be disappointed? Something like that. No, not really. Kinda.

I've also decided that I should only run beach races because, well...beach! And also, the flatness. Flat races are the cat's meow.

I started out the race feeling annoyed. For some reason I had no confidence I'd finish and I had a deep hatred for the people cheering and ringing cowbells at mile 2. It was still dark out, (the race started at 6:45am), and I don't do well with people in the mornings, especially obnoxiously loud ones. I was running with my friend, Lindsey, and I could feel I was holding back her pace, so around mile 3 I told her to please forge ahead with her bad self, and so she did. I stretched quickly and kept on going.

The only way a cowbell would have been acceptable.

I was actually feeling quite good after that, for most of the race, and felt I could have done so much better had my feet not been causing me so much pain. It doesn't make sense to me why I don't have issues with them on long runs, but on race day my feet are always the issue! (If you want to see a picture of the awesomely disgusting blister that took over one of my toes, let me know. I can arrange a viewing).

Aside from the blister on my right foot, my left foot is the real douchebag.

Pain. SO MUCH PAIN.

It hurt so bad on the ball of my foot right behind my big toe that I started over-exaggerating my heel-strike, which was making my calf tight. It was a series of unfortunate events, really.

The truly mind-boggling thing about this is that I have NO BLISTERS in this area! It just hurts like a bitch when I get about eight miles into a race and then even the slightest bump on the road or uneven pavement sends shooting pain through the area. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone else experienced such a thing??

For the last three miles I did way more "fast walking" than I want to even admit to myself since running made my left foot feel like it was going to explode. I may or may not have exclaimed "motherfucker!" to myself, and possibly out loud, sporadically throughout that experience. It wasn't my proudest moment, but whatever. (Finishing time: 2:35:08)

"I hate everything, but look, I finished!" 

We raced through some super rich neighborhoods. I mean, I've never before been met in a race by people on their plush, green lawns drinking bloody marys (at 8am) and kids on bikes wearing boat shoes and blazers. And no, I'm not exaggerating.

There were at least 2 of these. You know, starter vehicles for the kids.

I did, however, appreciate the crazy awesome crowd support (after about mile 6, of course, once the sun was up) and all the spectators with their dogs. I high-fived kids, someone complimented my shoes (ironically for me), and the rain held off until my last mile! I would definitely do this race again.

Also, I have already registered for my next race!

It's possible I was mainly enticed by the food.

I'm hoping to find something to relieve my foot woes before then. Any advice?

2013 City of Oaks half marathon

If you follow me on social media, you already know that I completed my fourth half marathon. (I got a little annoying with the race photos.)

Many thanks to Will (Lindsey's BF) for being there after I finished to hang out.

This race was, by far, my favorite even with all the dang HILLS. For the first time, I had the opportunity to train AND run this race with friends. It makes such a huge difference. I ran with two friends who were running the full marathon and who had to stop to pee a couple of times. I didn't come close to a PR but I don't even care. Not even .1%. I ran into (no pun intended) calf cramps around mile 10, which slowed me down. My next race is at the beach, so I'll try for a PR next time. Maybe.

Lindsey, Molly, and me. Smiling. While RUNNING!

Aside from friends making this race awesome, a few other things stood out:

• A church group handing out Twizzlers around mile 5
• Mile 9-ish, a woman with a box of tissues for those in need (temps were in the mid-40s so snot was flowing)
• Amazing police and volunteer involvement 
• Firefighters at two fire houses outside cheering 
• A pastor spectating outside of his church, fully robed
• As finishers were approaching the finish line, their names were called over the speakers. 

You can't not fist pump at the sound of your name at this moment.

Also, after crossing the finish, the volunteer handing out medals shook my hand, congratulated me, and put the medal around my neck. That dude deserved a medal!

Well-placed photographer: WIN

This whole weekend was one that I won't soon forget. I think sometimes running to finish and not worrying about your time, but just on having fun, is important. I know people who disagree and that's just fine. 

Hartford half: the recap

Meet my newest bling.

Spoiler alert! I didn't PR but I finished and it was a pretty good race, despite some stomach cramping issues. (Official time: 2:40)

The morning started out pretty cold. It took four miles for my toes to thaw and for me to drop my gloves. In hindsight it probably would have been better if my toes had stayed numb because toward the end my feet were up to their normal antics and the balls (haha balls) of my feet were in pain.

Alyssa doing her best baked potato impression.

The crowd support at the race was amazing, as was the race course. We ran mostly through neighborhood streets in Hartford and there were very few hills. My kinda race!

Things seen during the race:

• A girl wearing underwear that said "LOVE PINK" across the butt. The only reason I know this? I could see them through her tights.

I hope she was getting paid to advertise.

• A sign meant to show drivers what speed they're driving clocking runners' speeds.

You'll be happy to know no one was caught speeding.

• Lots of spectators with dogs, which I really appreciated.

• A dude running dressed in a full Flash costume—mask and all.

There was a ton of music along the course, including bagpipers! I listened to my music for most of the race until the end and I was amazed by the number of runners who talk to themselves while running. As usual there were people all through the course yelling that we were "almost done." It's a good thing we were busy running or those people were dangerously close to getting gut-punched. No, at mile six, we are nowhere close to being done!

I had a side stitch for most of the race, which I attribute to feeling like crap the day before the race and probably not fueling efficiently. I was able to push past it until about mile 10 when my stomach cramped up and running or walking upright was a challenge. I did a lot of walking for the majority of the last three miles and knew a PR just wasn't in the cards for me for this race. I was ok with that.

I've decided my mentality around running is that I am running for, and against, myself. Feeling inadequate to others is just a huge waste of energy. Yes, I want to improve and that's my overall goal but I'm also not going to beat myself up over falling short of my goal, whatever that may be at the time. There's always tomorrow.

Third half marathon? Done!

 
After the race Kari's friend, who is a massage therapist, came over and gave us all 20-minute massages. That was, by far, my favorite part of the day. She addressed the recurring pain in my lower back and asked why I haven't been seeing a chiropractor. It looks like it's time to loosen the purse strings and just make an appointment. Today most of the pain is in my calves. Walking down stairs today is a special kind of torture.

I've already been hooked into running another next month, which is close to home so a PR should be in the cards.

I'm so easily influenced.

Thirteen point freaking one

I saw this billboard on my way home from the beach and it just seemed
an appropriate way to open this post. LIVE YOUR DREAMS, KERMIE!

How did my first half marathon go? Well, I reached my goal: I finished!

How sweet is this medal?!

First off, this race was nothing like that horrible hot chocolate race in December. Even from the very beginning (parking), things couldn't have gone smoother. Also, the porta-potties were plentiful and the lines moved quickly. We all know how important that is.

My first race expo and, really, the palm tree took center stage.

One thing I have to note, that I'm sure no one else probably even remembers, is the dude singing the National Anthem messed up and had to restart. He pulled a Christina Aguilera (ha!) Even at 6:20am I was coherent enough to realize this.

I started out the race running in step with Alyssa, Lily, and Mike, but around mile 2 I slowed back because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep up a 9-minute pace for 11 more miles. I was dizzy all the way until around mile 5. At mile 4 I really wanted to go collapse in the medical tent, but I kept trucking. Thankfully the dizziness eased up around the halfway point of the race.

People cheering for me by name was pretty spectacular.

My calves were extremely tight, and just never loosened up. I kept having to step over to a curb to stretch them. I don't remember much between about miles 5 and 11 except for being in pain and having to do run:walk intervals and hating life. I kept remembering what HGG told me the night before, though, and just made finishing my goal. This was my first half, and I kept thinking if I got a crap time, it could only improve next time.

Headphones weren't allowed in this race, although I really could have used some music in my life. I think it's an A.D.D. thing. I need something to occupy my brain. Apparently my own thoughts aren't interesting enough for two hours of pavement pounding. I'm convinced I could have gotten a much better time with some tunes. The majority of the people around me were wearing them anyway. That's what I get for being a goody-two-shoes and following the rules, I guess.

Once I hit mile 11 and the point at which the half-marathoners' and full marathoners' courses split, hunger really hit me and I realized I had forgotten to take my Gu, but knew it was too late now that I was hungry. But, dude, only two miles to go. I could do this! Those last two miles were nauseating. I don't know why, but sprinting the last quarter of a mile into the finishers' chute, it was all I could do to not throw up.

Running through the finish line was kind of a blur. I was most excited to finally sit down. Is that wrong? As I reached the finish, the third full-marathoner was finishing. That's insane! I swear the first few full marathon finishers are superheros in disguise. When I leaned over to have my race medal put around my neck, I almost fell into the medal-hander-outer. I met up with my aunt and uncle, who had been watching everyone finish, and we took some photos. It was nice to have some familiar faces after finishing!

Garmin time: 2:22
Official time: 2:28

That means I took a total of six entire minutes at water/Powerade stations and stopping to stretch my calves. I'm hoping my next half marathon will be a much more comfortable run, but I FINISHED!

Alyssa finished ANOTHER marathon, too. It was the shirts :)

All the runners: Mike, Lily, Eric, Alyssa, and me...and the awesome sign Alyssa's
friend Nicole made.

Fun details and pictures to come!

HALF crazy

Well, you guys, it's official. I'm registered! February 18, 2012 I will run my first half marathon in Myrtle Beach, SC, one of my most favorite places on the planet.

Apparently it was necessary to note the location of the ocean in really big letters.

I was looking at the maps for the other two races (full marathon and 5k) and found it funny that the word that came to my mind for the 5k route was "cute".

Don't you just want to snuggle it?

And now, because I'm a Pinterest addict, I want to share with you all probably the most epically awesome thing I've ever found on Pinterest. No surprise, the subject is POOP!

Click the image to make it larger and to get the full
effect of its awesomeness.

I'm still wrapping my head around the amount of training I'll be putting in the next four months to get up to 13 miles (and all the Winter running clothing I'll be needing). Let the fun begin!