I've had two recent great races and I haven't posted a single word other than through Twitter. I wish I had a better excuse, but back to back race weekends, crazy work deadlines, being a mom/wife, and then Boston happened. I just didn't feel like a blogging for a while.
I'm going to try to do a quick rewind and catch up in the next couple of days. So please be patient with me.
So, better late than never.
Do I look ready? I felt ready except I still didn't have a race strategy. And it was colder than I expected it to be.
Can you feel the cold? This was one of the few blooming trees we saw. I did see one cherry tree in bloom on the course, but I didn't stop to take a photo. Maybe a few more blooms would have distracted me a little more on the LONG second half.
But I digress. The race start was crowded beyond belief. I couldn't even get into my corral without considerable effort. I could see the 9:00 pacers but couldn't reach them. I thought I would catch up with them, but that didn't happen. They started all the corrals one right after another, so there was quite a bit of weaving and jumping over curbs for the first two miles. The scenery was gorgeous once we got going.
The back of the course along Hain's Point was windy and LONG. Are you hearing the theme? I didn't think I was ever going to see the turn-around point. But it finally came. I did like the extra touch of having the half mile markers at the end.
Oh, and the pacers, I passed them because they didn't carry the signs with them. Are you kidding me? I guess I was spoiled from the phenomenal pacers at Shamrock. So this race was much harder because I was doing the hard work of running and pacing. Oh, but I guess that's why I run races. No one promised it would be easy.
I did manage to have pretty consistent splits except for mile 2 where I was trying to get around people and find the pacers. Overall, I was very happy with my time. And yes, it was a cool morning.
All smiles at the end.
I had to throw this one in because the girl's face beside me cracks me up.
Loved the flags coming to the uphill finish. Have no idea what I was doing with my arms.
I will admit that the ITB was not happy with me, so I did find some ice and a new friend. Pam a teammate from Team Tough Chik, hence the fun team clothes.
And stick with me just a little bit longer. One of the cools things was the extra analysis they posted of your race. This was very cool for a tech nerd like me.
Overall, I'm glad I did this one, but can't say that I will be back any time soon to do it again.
M, K, & I headed up to DC on Saturday for packet pickup. Girls on the loose in DC. Watch out or not because we are lame. First stop was to drop off our bags before hitting the expo at The National Building Museum. The building was amazing.
Packet pickup was easy, but they were out of the shirt size that M ordered. Frustrating, but they did offer to mail her a replacement shirt. They should have had enough for everyone, but I'm glad they had an answer for their snafu. There were quite a few vendors, and I let my arm get twisted into signing up for another half marathon, Zooma Annapolis. I met the owner, Brae, and when she explained how she started the race series, I was sold and 20% off helped too.
A much needed pitstop for refreshments.
I'm glad I don't have to look at that backdrop every day. I can feel the calories oozing off the wall.
The grasshopper.
And legs up the wall after too much walking before a 10 mile race.
We had a wonderful dinner (forgot to take pictures), and then headed back for an early bedtime.
I know we are in the right spot when this is what I found in the hotel room.
Jelly Bellys for Jilly Bean.
My BFs and I are heading up to DC tomorrow for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile. I am debuting my new Team Tough Chik gear this weekend. For the race on Sunday, the Cherry Blossoms are scheduled to pop with a high in the low 70s. How awesome is that? The only problem is that I'm always cold and with a starting temperature in the mid 40s, this Tough Chik needs something on her arms.
Target to the rescue, and in Tough Chik colors of turquoise and purple. I did pull out a very dusty sewing machine to keep the ends from unraveling.
Now to figure out the goal. I really want to rock the Monument 10k next weekend as a finally healthy redemption race (I ran this race healthy for the first time out of three tries last year, but didn't push it wisely).
The options are:
I'm leaning towards option 2. Any thoughts? I even painted my nails. Here's to a fun weekend!
Posted with Blogsy
