RnR Savannah Half Marathon:::: #8 of 12 in 2012

rock n roll savannah half marathon, savannah georgia

half mary # 9

race# 8 of 12 in 2012

time:  2:17:42

division:  557/1266

gender: 2933/7568

expo::::

we arrived in savannah on friday afternoon and after checking into our hotel we headed straight for the expo. i remembered reading nightmares regarding the expo from last year so i wanted to pad our travel time. the expo is at the convention center, which is on an island. your options are driving, taking a shuttle, or taking a ferry. 

i would have preferred to drive since we were already in our car, but the website really encouraged parking and taking the ferry. plus all the nightmares had to do with traffic onto the island. we paid $10 to park (every garage was in 'event' mode) and took the ferry. the ferry was free and only about a 4 minute trip. 

the lines to get your bibs, swag bags, and shirts were well staffed and the lines were super short. 

the expo itself was very large. pretty much every vendor you'd ever want to see. we got some free stuff at the Brooks' setup, and Brad got fitted for shoes while i checked everything out. 

i purchased some zippfizz at Rachelle's recommendation. then in stood in line FOREVER to get a race day parking pass ($10). i SHOULD have bought this online ahead of time, then i could have picked it up a lot more quickly. but oh well, you live, you learn. here's my loot:

i have no shame, i definitely went by the downy booth twice then made brad go! i love those unstoppables!! i also stopped by the ACA booth and made two bibs. i ended up just wearing the one for my aunt sherri. i think my granny would understand why i made that choice. 

race morning::::

race morning was a little more hectic than usual for us because we were packing up and checking out of our hotel room (unplanned, more on this in a separate post). also, due to road closings, we had to be parked in our garage by 530 a.m. traffic was minimal and we had no trouble parking, but then we had more than 2 hours to kill before the race. we sat in the car for awhile and i made my way towards the start line around 7 a.m. 

i had eaten some Ezekiel bread with PB in the car, but i was starving before the race started. luckily RnR had water, bananas and bagels out for us. i had a half a bagel and some water while i waited.  

the race started on time, but it was a wave start so i think i started around 820ish. i did have a mini panic attack right before the race started that went something like this:

• i turn my garmin on before the race to allow it time to find satellites. then if it tries to turn itself off i just hit the light button to keep it on. 
• i went to turn on my iPod and it won't play.
• i proceeded to freak out and try to decide whether or not to use my phone for music (did this during the Flying Pig and it was not a good experience, plus i didn't have the playlist loaded).
• while this was going on, apparently my garmin beeped at me but i was too busy freaking out to notice. when i finally get situated (my iPod actually DID end up working) my Garmin had turned off. and it was time for my corral to start. SIGH. 
• i'm proud of myself for not completely losing it. i just hung back and waited for it to locate satellites. 

the race::::

i can't even describe to you how much i loved this course. it was mostly flat and beautiful. they changed the course from last year (after criticism about not really seeing the pretty parts of the city) and i was really happy with it. 

the course support along the way was first class. lots of water stations, GU station, and loads of bands, signs, crowds, and cheerleaders. i also saw a lot of first aid stations. 

this race flew by and i felt really good the whole time. i am also happy to report that aside from walking through water stations (i always do this, i'm not coordinated enough to drink and run at the same time) i ran this whole race!!! FIRST TIME EVER! [it only took me 9 half marathons to get to this point!! ;) ]

i'm not really sure why i thought i needed to put my hands up in every picture. all in all, this was an amazing race! great experience, great city, i'd definitely do it again. this was also my first RnR race. while i do enjoy the smaller race scene, they've definitely got it down and it went off without a hitch. 

what i'm wearing::::

under armour hat (from Suz)

nike sunglasses

lululemon run: swiftly tech long sleeve

nike running tights

mizuno wave riders (14s) with sweat pink laces

road id

iPod shuffle with yurbuds headphones

iFitness double pouch belt

my recommendations for this race::::

• try to drive to expo unless you're staying downtown. if traffic's bad, park downtown and try ferry.
• STAY DOWNTOWN if at all possible! everything's there! 
• if you need a parking pass, reserve it online to avoid the lines at the expo!
• find a bathroom before you get to the start line. 

An Amazing Weekend!

Brad and I drove up to Cincinnati this weekend to visit with his family and so I could run the Flying Pig half marathon (#4 of 12 in 2012). We left Asheville on Thursday and drove straight through to Cinci, arriving around 130am.

Friday morning we got up and went to Kings Island. It's a big amusement park that we both went to a lot growing up. It was really fun, but we both decided that apparently our bodies are starting to get too old for that stuff!! Those roller coasters beat the crap out of us!

This is us on the Diamond Back coaster. The sun was obviously a little bright!

After Kings Island Brad thought it would be a good idea go ahead and get my packet picked up. I went to the expo while he went and had a refreshing beverage!

This was definitely the biggest expo I've ever been to. SO MANY VENDORS! I loved all the pig statues that were everywhere:

I got my packet then weaved my way through the booths. I noticed the Norwood Chiropractic booth and stopped by. They specialize in ART (Active Release Technique) and Dr. Lydia Ogden spent a lot of time with me and working on my right knee. I've got what we all seem to think is a piece of bone that has chipped off and right where it is I've got some pain that seems to come and go. It's worst when I do squats, but it's not there everytime I do them. When it does hurt it feels like my knee cap is about to pop through my skin, all through that one little spot.

I don't remember all the lingo exactly but Dr. Ogden said it was something along the lines of my right knee not moving in the line it should. Of course there was a medical name for it, but despite my being in the medical profession, I don't don't remember it. She did some ART on my quad and it hurt so good. I have bruises now, but I really think it helped a lot.

After stopping at the Norwood Chiropractic group the expo was starting to close up. I got my shirt, duffle bag, and poster and headed out.

Saturday we headed to the mall (they opened a new Lululemon store there!!), Costco, and the outlet malls. I got some tanks and Lulu, a bunch of stuff at Under Armour outlet and these at Costco:

Oh my gosh. YUM. I'm going to have to separate them into baggies and lock them up. If not I'm going to kill both bags in about 2 days. I also got a big old twist yogurt. Brad bet me that I couldn't finish it. I laughed. Me, not finish fro yo?!?!

He was right, I couldn't do it. Dangit. How wasteful.

Oh and at the mall I got Riley a present:

It's a stuffed pig and it has a rubber band that lets you shoot it across the room. He loves it!!

We had LaRosa's pizza for dinner then I headed home to get to bed for our early wake up call. I laid out all my stuff (and I can't get this pic to rotate):

 That thing in the middle is a pace tattoo that I picked up at the expo. What was the goal time?

My secret A goal that isn't so secret now. Did I get it? Unless you follow me on twitter you'll have to wait to find out!

Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon Expo and Packet Pick Up... And my first GIVEAWAY!!

Just got back from the expo and packet pick up! I can't believe this is actually happening!

It was at the Sherrill Center on UNCA's campus. I'd never been up there, they have a nice arena. There were a decent number of vendors there. We stopped at the Jus' Running and Foot Rx booths. Brad found a pair of Mizuno shorts for 50% off and I got a belt at iFitness. I also saw a booth for a The Haunted Half Marathon. Should I or shouldn't I? I'm gonna decide after Saturday, but I'm thinking YES!

I picked up my shirt and bib:

**This is actually the third shirt I got. On the first two the screen printing had smeared and looked crappy. I HATE taking things back or saying anything about stuff like that, but dangit this is my first half marathon shirt and I want to be able to wear it all the time. Even to sleep.

So I'm off to eat some delicious carbs (I keep reading that you shouldn't carb load the night before but that you should eat a few more carbs for a few days before the race). I can probaby handle that.

Now that I've made you suffer through all that, let's get down to the good stuff... my first giveaway!

A mix of my favorite fuels! Shot Bloks, GU's and sport beans. You'll get everything pictured, and maybe a few other sweet treats! Want to enter? Here are the ways you can:

**MANDATORY - must be a follower** (1 entry)

Optional entries:
Blog, tweet, or facebook a link to this giveaway. (1 entry for each)
Tell me your favorite race fuel. (1 entry)

Leave me a comment for each entry pretty please!

Good LUCK! I'll pick a winner on September 24th at 11pm (ish, let's face it I'm not punctual at all). I'll either use the random number generator or figure out a way to let Riley pick.