Roll Tide, Baby

Such a pleasure driving my new wheels to Birmingham! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

“Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine” -John Trautman

Oh, uh..ok..this is a RACE REPORT!! Here I go…

I made the 2 hour-ish drive to b’ham Saturday afternoon. Had zero trouble on the roads after the serious snow we had in atlanta on Friday. The remnants made the drive all the more pretty. Upon arrival, went straight to the expo and got my race stuff; BIB# 2432, race tag/chip thing, a free race cap and picked up a couple more gels. I drove around a bit afterwards and checked out some of the course…was same course as last year. Checked into my hotel and then went to the local Starbucks for some writing/reading time. Had a very strange evening trying to find dinner but won’t even go into that story.

Race morning. Finally. I felt like my body really needed to run. I was so glad the day was finally here and I could go face the challenge. Temps were about 35 degrees, which is same as atlanta has been. I had on pants and a fleece top so i thought i might get warm, but i never did. My warm-up was hurrying to starting line. I made it with about 3 minutes to spare so i did a little stretching and we were off. I was in such a rush to leave hotel room that i forgot my iPod. Oh well. Might be nice to not have it, I thought. So, no iPOD and no water bottle; man, i felt NAKED. and FREE.

The race starts in downtown birmingham and the first 6 miles takes you on a course thru those streets. By mile 2 I could feel my body settle in and I had a feeling i might have a good day. I kept checking my Garmin watch for my mile splits and at mile 6, i was at 54:00 = 9:00/min/mile pace. I was psyched and I knew If i could keep it up i could have a good finish time. All I really wanted to do was be better than my results here in the past, which were 2:04, and 2:03. First 6 miles are nearly all completely flat. The next 7.1 have hills, so i wasn’t sure. I had to be careful not to run too fast and conk out, but also not be too conservative. I just kept focusing on one mile at a time and watching my splits. By mile 10, I was at 1:32 and I knew I was gonna finish well. only 3.1 more miles to go. I had one more hill and then it was flat home free. I was pushing, for sure. My right groin was starting to hurt & the left IT band area too. But, I just had to focus. I was so close. I’m not sure if it was because I had no music in my ears or what, but I was super focused. Felt awesome. I took my last swig of water at the last water stop/mile 12 and headed home. They called out my name as I came in and I crossed the finish line. THRILLED.

2:01:55

Best finish in a half-marathon distance since my very FIRST one in 1999. Who says you don’t get better with age? I missed a PR by 12 seconds. Crazy. So thrilled. On my way to breaking the 2 hour beast!

This has been one of my favorite races to do. 4 times now I have run. For the first time, however, the race t-shirt is not very good. oh well. a small concession, huh?! Another cool medal and another BIB # to add to the pile. What is a girl to do with all these BIB #’s? NOT THROWING THEM AWAY!

It’s always worth repeating; so thankful for my body. so appreciative. feeling strong and capable!

Thank you to the readers who give me so much support. Truly appreciate it.

What’s next?