As soon as I picked up my bib from the expo the day prior to the Livermore Half Marathon, I knew I was in for a mellow race with gorgeous scenery and tasty grape-based adult recovery beverages. The expo was small, well organized and very well attended- I easily grabbed my bib, snapped a selfie, and got ready to race.

There was some traffic getting into Livermore on race morning but I passed all the cars by and found convenient street parking about 5 blocks away from the race start. Since this race is in late March, the weather was slightly overcast and around 55 degrees which, for me, makes for perfectly cool race day conditions. The starting corral was congested as there were no pace partitions so as soon as they announced the start, everyone took off.

The first 5K of the race went through very a pleasant and pretty residential area of Livermore and we were greeted with several spectators, motivational signage (my favorite: "At Least You're Not at Work Right Now!") and high fives which really gave this sleepy area a lot of spirit and excitement! I pumped up my tunes, exchanging smiles with my fellow runners, and happily ran on down the road.

Right before mile 4, we entered a park and the scenery immediately changed from residential roads to a lush, green, mountainous backdrop- very beautiful! As this portion ran along paved, narrow trails, it was a area for passing as the sides of the trail were often tall, grassy areas or big mud puddles due to recent rainstorms. I trotted along as patiently as I could as we ran over bridges and alongside scenic creeks to the next water stop just before mile 6.

Shortly after mile 6, the scenery changed again to the classic wine country panorama- vineyards, vineyards, and more vineyards. Over, up, down and through the rolling Livermore hills and I was enjoying the scenery so much that I completely zoned out as I ran, the weather kept cool and it was so very beautiful! While it was somewhat hilly from miles 7 - 10, it wasn't too challenging and was a great break from the flats that first 10K.

Once I hit mile 10, the course returns to the residential, flat area of Livermore and my left calf began to severely cramp up, making it very hard to run, let alone walk! I was glad for the flat again and did my best to run/walk/limp towards the finish line.

This was my first half marathon since my injury last year and while I was more than happy to get back to 13.1 after 14 months, I was disappointed that my calf quit on me and my finish wasn't as strong as I would have liked... this time.

Crossed the finish line limping and making nasty faces which prompted 3 race staff to approach me and pull me into the medical tent so that the Dr. could take a look at my leg. He laid me down and massaged out the calf warning me that it may be strained and to take it easy the rest of the day. The pain somewhat abated, I proceeded to the first wine booth I saw- victory and wine were mine!

Really fantastic course during a temperate time of year here in the Bay Area. Loved the lush scenery and rolling hills, and I especially like the medal (not only is it huge but it doubles as a wine bottle stopper!) and the wine tasting expo (there were at least a dozen different wineries!) at the finish. Even if I wasn't a local, I would certainly travel to run this race again.

Thank you for a great comeback run, RunLiv, and I will see you in 2018!