In April I ran my third and final race of my Marathon Maniacs attempt and this time it took me down to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. In the middle of the busiest month of the year, I took on the Coastal Delaware Marathon and I honestly don't know how I did it, haha. This was marathon #11 for me and I was still just as nervous as I am before any marathon. You'd think the nerves would go away after a bit of experience, but they really don't. I was especially nervous because between a move and work being actually INSANE, I ran maybe 3 times between Little Rock and this race. I felt so unprepared, but such is the norm for me lately. They should call me the unprepared runner because I'm honestly never ready for races anymore, haha.

I drove down to the race this time around. I woke up early in the morning on Saturday, packed up my car, and hit the road. The drive itself wasn't so bad. It was about an 8 hour journey from point to point, but I did take a few stops here and there to eat and stretch and what have you. Ultimately it wasn't a bad trip and it probably would have taken me just as long to fly down as there aren't a ton of local airports, and it would have been more expensive to fly anyway!

I rolled into Rehoboth Beach around 2:30pm and went directly to the expo to pick up my bib and some extra gels for the next day. I will say that the swag for this race was excellent. They gave you a nice pint glass, a magnet, and a shirt! I love when races give a little something extra on top of the standard shirt. After the expo I was on the hunt for some food. I found my hotel rather quickly and it turns out there was a restaurant right next door called Nalu so I popped in there for some delicious chicken tacos. It was so nice to enjoy some down time after a long morning of traveling.

I was EXHAUSTED, so after I ate I checked in to my room and just relaxed. I honestly just needed to be in a quiet space after all the insanity that had happened to us over the weeks leading up to the race, and this honestly had felt like the first opportunity I had to do that in a long, long time. I took a long, hot shower, and got cozy in bed to watch reruns of Scrubs while I mentally prepared for the race the next day. Of course, I had to lay out my flat runner. I was particularly excited about my number for this race because it reminded me of Rey Mysterio and motivated me to embrace my inner superstar. I was going to mentally 619 this race!

I was contemplating going out again for dinner, but I was honestly just so tired and all I wanted to do was rest, so I opted to order a cheese pizza from Mama Maria's which was a quick walk down the road. Cheese pizza maybe isn't the BEST choice before a marathon, but I mainly just wanted to eat *something* for my body to burn off the next day and fall asleep. I'm pretty sure I passed out at about 9:30pm. Ya girl was TIRED.

I woke up early the next morning, as you always do on race day, and got myself in the mental zone to take on the challenge of yet another 26.2. I will say that it is a lot more challenging to get myself there when I'm by myself, but it's always encouraging to see all of the runners around you, getting ready to embark on their own 26.2 journey, each of us with our own jitters and excitement. There's definitely an element of camaraderie before a race!

The weather was muggy yet cool in the morning, with a good dose of fog - some of the stranger conditions that I've raced this distance in, that's for sure. Parking was a bit crowded for this race, as the start/finish is on the boardwalk and there's only so much parking available in any downtown beach area. I would definitely recommend getting there EARLY for this race. I got there around 6:30 or so (~30 minutes before start) and I had to park several blocks away from the starting line (which isn't a problem BEFORE your run, but after is a little rough haha).

The race went in waves, though each wave was relatively small and divided by your race distance. Marathoners went first, which I always love, and they gave us a pretty hefty cushion of time before the half marathoners and the other smaller distances were off. The field for this race is pretty small, which is something that I don't always love. For whatever reason, I really enjoy when the races I'm running have a LOT of people. I don't know what it is - maybe seeing others going through the same thing keeps me motivated, but it became pretty clear pretty quickly that this was going to be one of those races where I spent quite a lot of time on my own which is always a challenge for me.

This race is also on the newer side as well (I believe this was its fifth year!), which usually means that the community hasn't totally bought into it yet. That being said, course spectators where fairly few and far between, and the people that were out cheering for runners were generally only cheering for *their* runners. I can't tell you how many groups of spectators I ran by that didn't really acknowledge any of the runners, which was so strange to me. A lot of races I run, spectators cheer for everyone! I don't know if it's just the culture of this race that needs to develop a bit more, but that was kind of disheartening. I will say, though, that the volunteers were great and super friendly throughout the entire course!

The course spends a bit of time through neighborhoods toward the beginning, but you spend a good chunk of time for the first 12 miles in a beautiful state park on paved trails. This provided excellent, cool conditions through the humidity and made for very scenic views throughout the first half of the race. The second half of the race was where it got really tough, especially once the sun decided to show its face. It was almost ALL roads that were 100% uncovered. It was humid, it was hot, and now we had the sun to deal with. I was really nervous when I entered the second half of the race and it proved to be justified becuase I REALLY struggled between miles 16 and 24. I don't do well with running in heat. I feel really light headed, dehydrated, and nauseous. I felt the same way when running Youngstown and I'll likely feel the same way with any future race where I face these kinds of conditions.

Water stops were consistently 2-3 miles apart which was fine, but got super challenging toward the end of the race when I was running out of water in my Camelbak and was constantly searching for where the next chance to hydrate will be. If you're like me and you consume a lot of water when you're running, I HIGHLY recommend bringing a Camelbak or some kind of supplemental water with you because once it gets hot and you dehydrate, there isn't a ton out there between stops. Similarly, bathroom options are limited and fairly far between. There were porta-potties at every water stop, but it would be good to have some more options for runners, especially toward the end of the race.

This is the race where I was reminded - around mile 23 or so - that the marathon is ultimately about being stubborn, about not listening to your brain screaming at you to stop, about putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to chip away at each inch of this gigantic distance. I don't think I've ever questioned my ability to complete this distance as hard as I did during this race. It was TOUGH to not just sit on the ground and wait for a sweep vehicle. I was there by myself and I was so toasted in the last few miles of this race. It would have been SO EASY to take the DNF and try Delaware again on another day. But I kept going. It really did not feel good to keep going, but I did. And I'm honestly really proud of myself for sticking it out because all I really wanted to do was quit. I know other runners have been there in the past! I cranked up my tunes (I basically put "Old Town Road (Remix)" on repeat) and tried to block out any of the pain and negative thoughts as I chipped away at the final few miles.

One thing that I will definitely commend this race on is the spectators at the finish line. The MC did an amazing job of getting the crowd energized for each and every runner at the finish. Even though I was in so much pain and really did not feel well, there was a big smile on my face as I crossed, and it's all thanks to the energy that welcomed be across the finish. I sat on a nearby bench for a little while after I finished and the crowd had the same energy for every runner after me (and I can imagine every runner before me as well!). No race director should ever underestimate how appreciated that is by any runner for any distance!

I later learned that they also pulled out the tape for the last runner who crossed the finish line which I absolutely loved! #finishlinesnotfinishtimes

I definitely needed a sitting break after that race, and I think I rested on a nearby bench for about 15-20 minutes before I had the nerve to get back up again. I took off my shoes and socks and kicked up my feet (which were pretty swollen) while I gathered myself. It was a rough race and not one I could bounce back from very quickly! But once I had collected myself a bit, I took my medal onto the beach to get some ~coastal~ shots with my new bling. Had to be on brand for the race, ya know?!

This race is definitely one that is growing and one that has the potential to improve immensely. It's a really flat course which I'm sure make for *really* quick times when the conditions are right. Looking at social media posts from other runners that ran that day, I know a lot of folks who were shooting for PRs and BQs attributed the muggy conditions to making their goals much harder to achieve, so I wasn't alone on the struggle bus. But you never know what's going to happen on race day, so you gotta take what comes to you! Overall I had a good time at this race and I know it's going to be one that will grow to be something really amazing overtime. I definitely would recommend it for your Delaware marathon!

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/03/race-review-little-rock-marathon-2019.html)

At the beginning of March, I flew down to Little Rock, Arkansas to run the Little Rock Marathon! The Little Rock Marathon is one of, if not THE most popular races in the state of Arkansas, due to it's over the top themes and INSANELY huge medals. I knew I had to check it out for myself!

I flew in to Little Rock the day before the race and was totally exhausted from working a major event the night before. (Whattup 3 hours of sleep on race weekend?!) It's always so fun to fly to races, though, because you can always tell who's traveling for the race and can easily make friends if you're traveling alone! I had a layover in St. Louis before getting to Little Rock and our plane was fairly empty and I'm fairly certain the only folks on the flight were runners. 😂 I love when that happens!

I flew in a couple hours before Cassie arrived, so I waited for her flight to get in before we headed over to the expo. This year's theme was "A Race Odyssey" and they really played into the space theme at the expo! I didn't get many photos as we were trying to navigate the busy expo while also carrying our luggage, but I got some great footage of the set up in my vlog (which will go up after my marathon next month) so you'll definitely get to see all the aliens and flying saucers soon! 🛸👽

After picking up our race packets we wandered around the expo a bit. The expo was HUGE and we both wanted to do a bit of shopping. I picked up a headband from One More Mile that I had my eye on during my trip to the Richmond Marathon and was psyched to finally get my hands on it! We also found this really disgusting flavor of Gu - Hoppy Trails - and I am SO curious if anyone has actually fueled with it before. I'm all for hoppy beers (IPAs are my fave) but hoppy GU?! I can't imagine that would taste good. 😂

We had a bit of time to kill before checking in to our Air BnB, so we decided to grab lunch at the appropriately named Flying Saucer Tap House. It was great to have a place to sit and chill for a bit, eat some warm food (it was so cold!), and do some people watching. There was this put put pub crawl happening so we got to see some awesome tipsy people in golf attire come in and out of the bar for a bit. I was also personally won over by my favorite Scrubs joke ever being featured on the Flying Saucer menu!

Cassie and I were both equally exhausted so we were pretty excited to finally get back to our Air BnB to relax. We stayed in North Little Rock which was a bit removed from the downtown area of the city, but it was only a $6 - $8 Uber ride back and forth every time so it really wasn't that bad. Choosing to stay a bit further removed from the start line to save money definitely won't inconvenience you if you decide to go that route for this race! Our Air BnB was really cute. It was a guest house that had one bedroom. One of us stayed on the couch, but there was a double bed so you can easily share the bed or have 3 people in the space! It was so perfect for what we needed it for - a quiet place to crash and relax. There wasn't a lot around for us to walk to, but again - the Ubers into the city were very cheap so it was easy to get back and forth.

After a bit of resting, we of course had to do our pre-race ritual - THE FLAT RUNNER. When I set mine up, Cassie asked if I was going to include any of my gels or blocks in my photo. Being deliriously tired, I decided to drop ALL of my gels and blocks on top of my flat runner which made both of us CRACK UP for a solid 5 minutes. It sounds so dumb but it was so funny to us for some reason (probably the exhaustion) so I had to take a picture for ~the mems~. 😂

All the locals we talked to for dinner recommendations had suggested Bruno's to us, so we opted to go there for some carbo-loading. It turned out the entire field of runners got the same recommendations and the wait time was 90 MINUTES. So instead, we found this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant for dinner and it was soooo delicious! I had a veggie chimichanga which honestly hit the spot. With full tummies we ventured back to our digs for some much needed sleep.

We had originally tried to factor in some time in the morning to go grab some pre-race breakfast, but forgot to factor in that pretty much every Uber in Little Rock would be occupied by runners at the same time. After a bit of panicking at the fact that there were no Ubers available (make sure you plan ahead if this is your main mode of transportation during your visit to Little Rock!), we finally got picked up by a driver. We feasted on a breakfast of energy blocks (not great) and made our way to the starting line. There was a donut place called Hurts Donuts (I died when I found out Hurts Donuts actually existed) right across from where runners were gathered at the convention center, so we thought we'd go see if there were any pre-marathon friendly breakfast options. (Ya know, something plain without a TON of sugar on them.) There weren't, but I was still obsessed with everything that was in there and LIVING for the name.

Still on the prowl for something more substantial than energy blocks, we somehow stumbled into a Starbucks with virtually no line (???). We got our hands on a couple croissants (phew) and our minds were more at ease with having something a little bit better to burn off during the race. 😅 After stuffing our faces we somehow found a bathroom with virtually no line (?????????? WITCHCRAFT) and was able to get in an out with plenty of time to spare before the start. The morning went from sooooo stressful, thinking we'd have to walk a mile from our Air BnB to the starting line, to being pretty freaking magical. It's the little things on race day. 😂

Before we knew it we were making our way to the start line. The weather was cold and rainy (because apparently that's the kind of weather we attract on race day 😂) but the literal THOUSANDS of runners were in great spirits and getting us pumped up. With the amount of people in the starting corrals I really thought that it was going to take us a long time to finally make our way across the starting line, but it only took us a little under 10 minutes to get going. So awesome!

The marathon and the half marathon ran the same course through the first 12 miles of the race. Cassie and I had intended to run most of these first 12 miles together, but because the race was so crowded, we lost each other within the first mile. I gave her a call to make sure she was okay (she was) and to wish her luck in her half, then turned my focus on my run. Even though it was really rainy and chilly, the community was out in full force making the experience so enjoyable. Within the first 10K we ran by people in Star Wars costumes, a spin class, and so many people doling out high fives and good cheer. One of my favorite spectators was at mile 1 & 3, cheering about how beautiful a day it was as it continually down poured. 😂 Luckily the rain let up around mile 4 or so (although it was still quite cold and windy, and at one point it was sleeting 🙃), and I got to see Cassie as she passed the 10K mark!

I think the one thing I'll remember the most about this race is that the community came out in DROVES. Every mile had a local sponsor, it seems like every church I passed was out there cheering and handing out snacks (and holy water blessings - not kidding), and everyone had a smile on their faces. I had grilled pineapple around mile 10, cookies and energy bars at mile 15, and got to sign "The Wall" at mile 21. There was also SO MANY opportunities to pull over for a beer or a mimosa during the race. If I didn't get horrible headaches from drinking and running then I would totally partake, and I'm sure the folks who are able to mix their running and drinking were loving the hell out of it. There were very few miles where it was only runners out there which is always so comforting. It's hard to go a long time without seeing a single other person and that's not how I felt about this race at all. It was fantastic!

Oh, and I also got to meet Baymax around mile 9. ♥️

The course itself was actually quite fun. There were some hills (especially miles 13.5-17) but we were winding here, there, and everywhere all over the city so it definitely didn't get boring. I think my least favorite part of the course was miles 19-23. This was a long stretch out-and-back on a park road so it was VERY quiet with little to no spectators. There were two aid stations that were blasting music, one musician along the way, and as I mentioned above you got to sign your name to "The Wall" at mile 21, but other than that it was pretty quiet. If I could change one thing about this race it would be to get more hype on those miles because runners are DYING for it at that point. I don't have a complaint other than that!

I felt pretty good throughout the entirety of the day, though I will say that I was bonking pretty hard in the middle of the race. It could have been the lack of sleep a couple nights before, or the fact that my breakfast that morning was trash, but there were definitely times where I thought to myself, "I could totally go lay on the grass and fall asleep right now". Definitely not a thought I've had during marathons before! Around mile 14 I started to feel VERY hungry - also not a feeling I get often during long-distance races. Luckily mile 15 had PLENTY of food along the way! I guess I got hungry at the right moment. 😂

And the only other thing that was bothering me was my right ankle. I noticed it really nagging at me around mile 8/9. I thought it might have been because of the curve of the road making my right ankle hurt because you had to run with your ankles kind of crooked in order to stay balanced, if that makes sense. (The roads on the course are noticeably curved in a dome-like fashion - I definitely recommend running as close to the middle of the road as you can!) But I also think the impact my feet had been taking between this race and the Florida Marathon (only a mere 3 weeks apart) played a major role in how I felt. Unfortunately I had to run with my ankle nagging for most of the race, but I monitored the pain level and luckily it never got anywhere close to unbearable, so no need to stop running! (It was hella swollen when I got home the next day, though. 😂 Runner probs!)

The last few miles were awesome! Of course I was ready to be done running (I mean, who isn't at the end of a marathon?), but the course support was really top-notch miles 23 to the finish. Lots of water stops, lots of community members, and again, just good spirits all around. It felt like these miles went by the fastest in a lot of ways, which of course I loved! Cassie had finished her race a couple hours before me, so I saw her as I was coming down the straightaway to the finish. It's always so good to see a familiar face at the finish line of a marathon! She also snapped some fun pics of me celebrating as I crossed the finish. 😂

I crossed the finish and got high fives all around from the volunteers and was directed into the finisher's area where they give you one of their world famous OBSCENELY huge medals (in the words of Cassie - "That's irresponsible." 😂) along with snacks, bananas, space blankets, chocolate milk, and one of the best post-race treats I've gotten to date - a cup of pasta. GENIUS. Cassie and I took a few final photos with our medals before heading back to our Air BnB for some much needed showers and SITTING.

Unfortunately Cassie had to fly out that same night to get back for some work things (PROPS TO HER FOR MAKING THIS TRIP DURING HER INSANE SCHEDULE), so we headed out for a late lunch/early dinner at Damgoode Pies which is a pizza place in the downtown area. They had the best sign of all the restaurants I saw so how could we NOT? Our waitress was so funny and sweet and congratulated us on our run, and the pizza was pretty Damgoode 😂 so I think we made the right call!

Then, sadly, it was time for Cassie to head to the airport to catch her flight home. We had such a blast (pun maybe intended 🚀) on this whirlwind adventure to Arkansas (#iamconfusion) and because now Cassie is in pursuit of 50 Half Marathons in 50 States, I'm sure we'll have many more of these to come. We always have such a good time together and it's great to have someone with the same attitude towards these crazy adventures to travel with. ♥️

And with Arkansas - state #10 - completed, I'm officially 20% done with my goal to run a marathon in every state and we are in the double-digits! Looking forward to seeing what the next 40 states bring.
Onto Delaware in April! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/02/race-review-publix-florida-marathon-2019.html)

Another marathon is in the books, y'all! On Sunday I ran the Publix Florida Marathon in Melbourne, Florida and it was extra special for a couple reasons:

1. It was so close to where my parents currently live and both my Grammy and my sister were visiting so they were all there to cheer and be our support crew
2. It was my pal Cassie's very first marathon and I had the pleasure of running it with her!

If we're all being honest, my training for this marathon was pretty trash. I feel like I start every race review by saying this but I feel like it was especially true this time around. I had been travelling out of state almost every weekend since mid-December and we've been down two staff members at work this semester, so putting in miles was always at the bottom of my priority list. When Cassie and I linked up in Florida on Friday, she was feeling the same way about *her* training, so we started joking about how we just needed to show up and run and eventually we'd get across the finish line. JUST SHOW UP became our mantra for the entire weekend and it kept us laughing despite how unprepared we both felt.

We got in pretty late on Friday night (shout out to my dad and sister for picking us up at the airport!) so we went to bed pretty immediately after arriving to my parents' house, but we woke up bright and early on Saturday to enjoy breakfast and the warm weather outside with the whole fam! They surpised both of us with some pre-marathon goodie bags to get us pumped up for the race the next day. So sweet!

Inside the bags were:
-Signs with inspirational running quotes handpainted by my mom
-Grammy's homemade strawberry jam (so yummy!) to celebrate that the marathon theme was The Year of the Strawberry! 🍓
-Customized frames for race photos (mine was mermaid themed, Cassie's was strawberry themed)
-Hand knitted washcloths that were strawberry colored
-Matching Nike tank tops that we ended up wearing for the race!

Such an awesome gift to receive and it got us both so excited for the race the next day!

After relaxing, eating, and lots and lots of hydrating, we all packed up and headed over to the race expo to pick up our bibs and race packet! The expo was fairly small but there were a good handful of vendors there. I picked up my usual handful of gels and blocks for nutrition during the race, and was seriously considering buying a shirt from Wicked Skins (I loved their prints!) but decided to wait to order something from their website in the future.

After the expo my dad, Cassie, and I all went over to the beach because, I mean, you've got to see the ocean at least once every time you're in Florida, right? We also went over to one of the nearby canals where I guess manatees tend to congregate when it's colder outside, but alas we didn't see any. Seeing a manatee is still on my Florida bucket list so hopefully I'll be able to catch a glimpse of one sometime in the future! ☺️ On our way back to the house we picked up some Pub Subs for everyone for lunch (gotta rep the race sponsor!) and got ready for a night of relaxing. Cassie and I made sure we built our flat runners for ~the 'gram~ before settling in for the night.

We woke up super early for the 6AM marathon start and we were greeted with a lovely Florida downpour. We were nice and soggy before the race even began so we knew we were in for a fun day. 😂 We were all smiles and nerves, though, anticipating how well just showing up would go! Our support crew were all troopers in seeing us off so early in the morning and in such terrible weather. We're so lucky to have such supportive people in our lives!

6AM rolled around and we were off! Cassie and I opted for the 5min/1min run/walk method that I used during Richmond in November. We were definitely not going for time and honestly my main goal was making sure we got Cassie across the finish line, so we took it mile by mile! We picked up a friend who was also run/walking for a few of those first few miles and we learned that he was also doing the 50 states challenge. It was fun chatting with him and learning more about his running journey.

The course itself was a two-loop course for the marathoners which was fairly flat aside from two causeways you had to go over during each loop (a total of 4 hills over the course of 26.2 miles). Half marathoners ran the same route as the marathon, but only did the loop once. I will say that it was fairly disheartening to see the half marathoners peel off knowing that you had a whole second loop to run, but that's how it always is when there's a half and full running simultaneously. 😂 Unfortunately due to the weather, a lot of the planned entertainment on the course had to pull out, but there were still a handful of bands and tents who stuck out the rain and it was so awesome and motivating to see them as we passed. There was also quite a few neighbors who came out in the rain to cheer on runners which is always so awesome to see!

The amount of on-course support was amazing. There was a water stop about every 1.5 to 2 miles that was stocked with water and Gatorade, and quite a few had gels as well! There was also bathrooms at every aid station which I always think is a HUGE plus! Nothing's worse than running a marathon and having no clue where the next bathroom is. 😂 Overall I think if we had good weather it would have been a really amazing course experience with the combination of support and entertainment, but unfortunately we were unlucky with weather. (Honestly, I think having a rainy/overcast day was for the best because we probably both would have keeled over if it was hot and sunny 😂)

We were greeted by our support crew at the halfway mark which was so awesome! They came baring gifts of Cheez-Its, brownies, towels, dry socks, and overall great cheer! It's always so great to see familiar faces along the course of a marathon and it was such a great boost of energy. Of course when they came out to see us it was down pouring yet again, so we so appreciated them braving the rain just to come see us for a few minutes! Once we were all fueled up we were off again to tackle the second loop. We were approaching the furthest that Cassie had ever run before!

The second loop was, of course, much more challenging, but we fought tooth and nail to get through. When you're in those really challenging miles of a marathon - the miles where you're so far from the start but still so far from the finish (miles 16-22 are really the toughest, in my opinion), you really have to fight back those thoughts of how much your legs hurt and how much further you have left to go. Your mind really starts to tell you to stop and every single step can be excruciating. Our brains might think we can't do it but our bodies say otherwise! We kept reminding ourselves to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually we'll get to the finish.

Like I mentioned earlier, the number one goal of the day was getting Cassie across the finish. It's been a few years since my first marathon but I remember every single thing that Cassie was experiencing. I wasn't going to let her give up so I made it my personal mission to make sure we crossed that finish line! We ran, walked, stopped & stretched, and I did my best to make her laugh through the pain of those later miles. Eventually we turned the corner of the final stretch before reaching the Melbourne Causeway. Going up that last hill was a daunting task but we took it one step at a time to get to the top. We were so close to the finish! It was perfect timing but we saw my mom and Grammy at the top of the causeway cheering us on. This gave us both a boost of energy and by the time we got to the top we were ready to run down the hill to the finish! I ran ahead of Cassie so I could ensure we were doing okay on time before the cut off (we were!) and I was greeted by my dad at the corner before the finish and by Lindsey right after the finish line, waiting with medals for both of us.

The coolest part was seeing Cassie run in and cross the finish right behind me! My mom, dad, and Grammy were all running her in and it was just such an amazing feeling to be able to witness her finish her very first marathon. I totally remember the feeling of crossing that finish line after your first 26.2 and it is a truly special feeling. Lindsey caught the moment perfectly after she got her medal and we gave each other a huge hug after a long day of running.

Unfortunately most of the post-race celebration was packed up before we got to the finish, but it didn't matter to us - we had finished the race and Cassie was officially a marathoner!!! We were so happy and didn't really need anything post-race, except for maybe a chair so we could sit down haha. Post-marathon is such a good feeling and I think our smiles in our post-race photo really say it all!

(copied from my blog review here: http://versustheroad.blogspot.com/2013/02/race-review-hyannis-half-marathon-2013.html)

This weekend Louie and I both completed our first half marathon - the Hyannis Half Marathon in Hyannis, MA, which is the first race in the Cape Cod Half Marathon Trilogy. This event has been going on since 1996, and over the years has evolved into the Marathon, Half Marathon, and Marathon Team Relay that it is today. Needless to say, it was very well run event.

Despite threatening weather warnings, the event was not cancelled or delayed. The race began, as scheduled, right at 10AM in the pouring rain. As it is in every large race, the first few miles were a bit crowded, but after the first 5K everyone started to find their pace and spread out. Around miles 2.5 and 3, there were some giant puddles that covered the width of the road. At some points, we had to trudge single-file through the muddy grass on the side of the road. Fortunately, those disappeared after that section of the course.

The course itself wasn't completely closed. I'm not sure if this is normal for races of this length as it was my first one, but there were points where regular traffic was on the course or waiting for runners to go by to make turns and cross intersections. I thought that was a little odd, but the police for each town did a great job controlling traffic and made sure the runners got the right of way.

The wind and rain wasn't so bad at the beginning, but right around mile 10 I could really feel the weight of the water in my clothes. Even though I was only wearing a Dri-Fit sweatshirt and Under Armour Cold Gear pants, it felt like I was carrying around an extra 30 pounds.

Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings ever. Even though my whole lower body felt like it was going to fall apart, as soon as I passed mile marker 13, a whole new rush of energy went through my body and it felt like I was sprinting for the last .1! I felt so accomplished when I got my finishers medal and I wore it around with pride for the rest of the afternoon. (Louie and I also got our photo taken for Core Power's website, because we're basically models. :P)

By my watch, I finished in 2:14:52, but my official time was 2:15:56 (I paused my watch when we stopped a couple times to stretch out). I came in 1,800th place (haha) out of about 2,400. I'm so happy I finally accomplished my goal of completing a half marathon, and am looking forward to getting better and better at this distance!

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2018/12/getting-festive-feeling-accepted.html)

Sunday was the Happy Holidays Half MerryThon and I woke up to a beautiful day full of pounding rain and whipping wind. 😫 It really took every possible shred of motivation for me to get my but out of bed. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up, drive two hours, and run 13.1 miles in the freezing rain. But I did it. Why do I do this to myself? 😂 This was a race that I had run back in 2013 and the course was, to my memory, the exact same.

Due to the weather, most people opted to wear *smart* rain running gear, but I still rocked an ugly sweater and Christmas leggings (over copious amounts of other layers to stay warm) because IT'S A HOLIDAY RACE, Y'ALL. Needed to be festive. As you'd imagine, there weren't many people spectating on the course which is never super fun, but the folks that did come out and cheer were so great and I got a lot of compliments on my festive outfit. My clothes were quite absorbant, though, and after about 5 miles of running in the pouring rain, it felt like I was running with weights all over my body. At least it was a better workout? I guess? 😂

I only had two complaints about this race, though I'm that the weather played a huge factor in both of these things:

1. The water stops were really inconsistent. The was one at mile .75 (???), then again at about mile 2.5, then we didn't get another one until mile 6. It was an out-and back course, so we saw the same stops at mile 7.5ish, 10.75ish, and 12.25. It was WEIRD and left me feeling really dehydrated. I don't usually wear my Camelback for races that are going to be colder, so I didn't think that it would be a problem and I don't remember it being a problem the last time I ran this race. If I remember correctly, I think there was an additional water stop between 2.5 and 6 the last time I was at this event, and I'm assuming that due to the weather they were short on volunteers and had to cut out one of the stops. I really felt the impact of the lack of hyration throughout the race, unfortunately, though I understand if they were short staffed!

2. There was ZERO hype at the finish line when I crossed. Like... none. No music, no cheering, the volunteers looked miserable.... >_> It was awkward. Again, I'm sure the weather played a factor in this but... that was a major buzzkill. I'm sure that there were folks that this was their first half marathon and I feel SO BAD for them if that was the welcome they got across the finish line after all the hard work of training. Like... come on. It was actually silent when I crossed the finish. So awkward!

Anywho, it was a good way to get my #SundayRunday long run in. Tackled a nice, hilly course, ran with completely soaked and heavy clothes on my body, AND got a medal out of it. It's always good to put some runs with bad conditions in as you never know what you're going to get come race day, so hopefully that half made me that much better of a runner for my next full in February!