Miles run on 12/22: 13.6
Although smaller and much less streamlined than many of the races I typically do, this was probably one of the best halves I've ever done in terms of experience. Marilyn, Jackie (Marilyn's sister) and I woke up bright and early in the morning and readied ourselves for the race while waiting for Jeremy. Jeremy's aunt was kind enough to let us stay at her house and Jeremy and Giri were staying at his grandparents' house.
Jeremy arrived promptly at 6:30am and we departed for the race, which started at 8:15. I was undecided for a long time about whether to do the half or full. I decided to do the half and am very glad I made that decision.
We picked up our packets and swag. Man, was there a bunch of swag. We each got a duffel bag, shirt and hat, not to mention the stuff we got for finishing the race, which I'll cover later. Afterward, we went back to the cars and kept warm there until about 8:00am, when the marathon started. Once the marathoners headed out, we started final preparations. I took off my sweats and put on my sunglasses and new hat.
There were about 300 people doing the half, so the start wasn't too difficult to navigate. What was difficult to navigate was the terrain, which was very rough and hard to see for most of the race, but particularly the first half mile or so.
We had all discussed how we planned to tackle the race. Jeremy and I agreed that we hoped to finish around 2 hours, which, in road race terms would mean that we'd have an okay race without pushing too hard. I started easy, but once I realized that most of the women in the field were running slower than I was, I decided to push and see where it took me. After about half a mile, Jeremy rejoined me and we ran the rest of the race together, which was awesome. Even though Jeremy's app said we were running 8:30 miles (no small feat for this course, which was one of the most challenging I've probably ever raced), I was having a big old time. The scenery was very, well, Texas, I suppose. And the terrain, while difficult, was interesting. Also, there was a tree with a bald eagle nest on the course. We saw bald eagles! Plus, we spent much of the race trying to pose elaborately for race photographers.
Jeremy's app (and Marilyn's app, for that matter) measured out the course closer to 13.7 miles. Even though our time was officially probably something like 1:55, I think we probably finished closer to 1:51. Giri, who was supposed to run the race (and probably would have placed very competitively) wasn't able to because his luggage and running clothes found their way to Jackson, MS. He took some really good pictures and also said we placed pretty well! I'll wait for official results before talking about those, but Jeremy and I definitely finished in the top 25.
After finishing, we made our way to the food table for noms and waited for Marilyn, who came in a little bit later.
We got medals which were larger than my face. Here are some of the pictures Giri took:
Miles to run as of beginning of Sunday, 12/23: 49.15
Fundraising link!
http://www.crowdrise.com/2012in2012forsandyrelief/
I love the pictures! Great race!
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