Thunder Road Half Marathon:::: #9 of 12 in 2012

thunder road half marathon, charlotte, north carolina

half mary # 10

race# 9 of 12 in 2012

time:  2:52:40

expo::::

my friend becca and i drove to charlotte on friday afternoon and arrived at the expo around 6pm. i honestly thought the expo was a joke. it was at the blake hotel in downtown charlotte. we had to pay 5 bucks to park for 30 minutes. not cool. the expo was very sparse and i think it's pretty ridiculous to charge so much when we're obviously not going to be in there for long. i'm not sure if it was the race or the hotel charging the money, but shame on you whoever it was. 

side note: we had made a point to avoid elevation charts, but stumbled upon this shirt at the expo:

then we freaked out a little!

race morning::::

becca's amazing cousin leah (and her husband keith) were nice enough to let us crash at their house on friday night. becca and i got up early and headed downtown.

we didn't have any trouble parking (at the nascar hall of fame). it was pure luck, but we ran into a girl who works at the adjoining convention center. she showed us how to get next door without walking outside (it was cold!) and we were able to hang out, stretch, and use the bathrooms in the convention center. 

we waited until about 740am (5 minutes before the start of the race) to get over to the start line. it worked out fine. there were no corrals so of course there was mayhem at the beginning (there was a full marathon starting at the same time). 

the race::::

i was really excited to run this race with becca. this was her second half, but she may or may not have warned me that she couldn't remember the last time she'd ran. it was great though, having a friend made the race FLY by. the race was very hilly. continual climbs without much downhill/flats. 

most of the course was through residential areas, becca and i had fun claiming our dream homes!

the course support was great, lots of spectators and some bands along the way. 

of note::: i tried margarita shot bloks for the first time... YUCK. i should have known, considering i don't even like salt on my real margaritas, but i thought they were worth a shot. i ended up only using two of them for the whole race, when i usually eat a whole pack (6). depending on how training goes, i might use them again if i have trouble with cramping, but other than that i'll probably stick to the other flavors. 

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. 

Downhill at Dawn Half Marathon Recap::: Ridgecrest, North Carolina::: #5 of 12 in 2012

downhill at dawn half marathon::: ridgecrest, north carolina

half mary # 6

race# 5of 12 in 2012

time:  2:06:10 (PR)

division:  20/31

overall: 207/361

packet pick up:

You could pick up your packet either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning before the race. I had never been to Ridgecrest and didn't know what to expect, so I drove over on Friday afternoon to pick up my packet. It was not crowded at all and it was very easy to find thanks to all the wonderful signs and volunteers. I was greeted at the pick up and got right in and out. Everyone was super friendly! The race shirts are very nice long sleeve tech shirts:

I thought it was really odd to get  a long sleeve shirt for a June race in the South, but it ended up being CHILLY and I got to wear my shirt all day Saturday after the race!

race morning:

My 4am wake up call came way too early! I did not want to get out of my warm bed! I got dressed and had my usual Clif bar with G2. I took care of Riley and headed out. Brad was off this weekend but I get the best wife of the year award for insisting that he stay in bed. It was so early and I wasn't sure how many opportunities he'd have to see me on the course. I was finished and back to the house before he was out of bed!

Ridgecrest is about 30 minutes away so I left the house around 445am. I got to Ridgecrest and parked without trouble. It was really cold outside and I felt like a dummy for not bringing my arm sleeves. Didn't even cross my mind (HELLOOOOO it's June), must check weather in the future! 

One odd thing about the race was that there wasn't a real start line. Not even spray painted onto the road. They showed us where to line up and then told us to go! 

The first 1.5 miles was downhill and then 1.5-3 was back uphill. I was FLYING at the beginning and having a lot of trouble finding a good pace. I didn't really settle until after the first water station (Mile 2). Running downhill sounded like a great idea (and it was really fun!!) but it does jar you and jam your joints. Everything also bounces... think bladder and boobs (Under Armour your bra did NOT cut it today!!). I've never had digestive issues during a race until today and that was NOT a good time. Even after the race I was struggling. Haven't quite figured out what I did wrong there. I almost stopped at the porta potties two separate times. I told myself if they were empty I'd stop. Once it was occupado and another by the time I got to it I didn't feel so bad so I kept going. 

From mile 3 on, the course was mostly downhill. Beautiful views of the sunrise, mountains, creeks and streams. I was in heaven minus my stomach issues. The course was well supported with water stops every 2 miles and GU gels and chomps at Mile 8. 

The course measured a little short on my Garmin (a welcome change after the Flying Pig) coming in at 12.86 miles. Between that and all the downhill, I think this PR is going to be tough to beat!! But I do love a challenge!

Here are a couple pics from the course:

And here's my playlist:

Strawberry Plains Half Marathon In Pictures and my Playlist

Not sure why I didn't post these with my race recap, but oh well. Here you go:

A little snow and a little hill.

My face is frozen!

In the car afterwards... nice hair!

MEDAL!

I had to drive 2 hours home from the race... Even with the heat on full blast I was FREEZING!!! Had to rock the hoodie the whole way. 

Traffic was at a standstill because an 18 wheeler had broken down. I just wanted to get home and shower!!!!!

Just a couple of new ones but I really liked this playlist. Lots of variety and it kept me going! If you ever want to check out any of my playlists, I've made a new tab (it's quite originally called PLAYLISTS) and you can find it here.