I made sure to register as soon as the 2012 opened. The event
intrigued me for several reasons. It was driving distance from Jacksonville
(saving money on airfare planned for other races). It was held at night, unlike
most races. It had a cute theme – if you “Make it by Midnight” you received a tiara,
or if you were late, you received a pumpkin. This meant that everyone calculated
their own starting time…anywhere between 3p and 1159p. Okay, im sure no one can
finish in 1 minute, but you get my point.
Little did I know how involved this race was going to be! I
found myself sitting on my Hawaii 2 week vacation when I received an update
email regarding the race. My jaw was on the floor as I read it over and over. I
was told to prepare for the 3 H’s….heat, humidity, and HILLS. What?! Theres
hills in Macon? I can take the heat and humidity, I mean I live in Florida
after all…but hills? Ugh! I continued to read …“If you like hills you will love
it, if you don’t, youll be cursing my name. There is very little flat ground. You
will be in a constant state of climb or descent. Be prepared to add an
additional 30-90 minutes to your PR.”….SERIOUSLY? Well, I thought to myself,
with very little working out during this Hawaii trip (besides the Kona Half
marathon) I thought that maybe this challenge was going to be just what I would
need to get me back in gear! I tried to get myself pumped up, even though the
words “You will be cursing my name” kept taunting me.
There were 45 female and 29 male half marathoners and 17 female and
25 male marathoners.
The race was held on Saturday night, so the plan was to drive up
(4 ½ hour drive) Saturday morning, get to the hotel early to nap/eat, and then
head over to the race about 7p.
The drive was pretty easy (except I got lost in my OWN city!)
and it even started with rainbows in the sky! I had a feeling from there it was
going to be a good day! I made it to Macon and stopped at NU Way Weiners for
their infamous hot dog! Wasn’t sure if it was going to be the best pre race
food, but man it was good!....chili cheese slaw dog! Never had one, but Im
definitely going to figure out a healthy version of this so I can have them
again!
I got to the hotel (if
you can call it that, blah…theres not much of an option in Macon and lets just
say after staying in 5 star properties for 2 weeks in Hawaii ,…thanks to my job….I
was still in spoiled travel brat mode). I laid down for nap and all of a sudden
screaming kids filled the pool which was right outside my door. Really?! Turns
out the neighborhood kids considered this their pool, and the hotel doesn’t do
anything about it. Great. Well, at least I was lying down. I decided to just
watch tv. Time was going by fast, and I had to figure out pre race dinner.
There weren’t many options besides fast food, so I decided on pizza. I figured
at least it was carbs with all the bread.
I headed over to the Lake Wildwood (about a 20 minute drive from
where I was). I turned on the radio and U2 “I wanna run” was on the radio! Awesome!
Driving in, the neighborhood seemed nice and it didn’t seem as ‘hilly’
as the email explained. (little did I know). I saw lots of runners already
(probably the full marathoners) so I was getting anxious to get on the course
with them!
Parking was easy, and packet pick up was right at start. The
goodie bag was Awesome! They gave us a water bottle (which I just found out
tonight as I did Spin class in the black lights, that it glows!), a cute sneaker
key chain, our race shirt, and a hand crank flashlight….as well as the medal at
the finish line. I knew I would need my own flash light, so I bought one of
those that go on your hat. I later was super happy they gave us the extra
light, as it was SO dark once the sun went down!
Everyone seemed really nice and I got lots of compliments on the
tutu. It seemed everyone knew each other, so I felt a little out of place being
alone, so there wasn’t much time hanging out before I started running.
I was surprised they had an ‘official’ starting line set up. The
race was chip timed. All you had to do was tell the guy when you were starting,
he wrote down the time of day, and then you crossed the start and did your laps
(2 for the half, 4 for the full). There was no big starting ceremony. Very simple.
No one would even notice you started if you didn’t tell them.
The course started off right away on a steep downhill, down to
the lake. It was a gorgeous sight as the sun was just getting ready to set. (I
started about 845p). I was upset I didn’t bring my camera, but I also didn’t want
to carry it in my hand. (I didn’t wear my IFit fanny pack as I had to wear a
water belt since I was warned there would be limited water stations).
There were 2 water stations on the course, but a lot of people in
the neighborhood set up stations in their driveways. It was really awesome. They
had tables full of water, Gatorade, sodas, as well as snacks…pretzels, pbj
sammies, orange slices, one even had ice cream! Everyone was really great,
making sure we were ok and had what we needed. A few of them even walked out
into the street to me to see if I needed anything and cheered me on.
As the night went on there were also bicyclists out checking on
the runners, and a swag van that was driving around making sure the runners
were ok. Great support!
The neighborhood had very little street lights. It really was a
whole new meaning to dark. I had to strain my eyes at some points to make sure
they were even open! …and that was with the 2 flashlights I had!! At some
points you found yourself not running your fullest because you wanted to be
careful of your footing in the dark. There were lots of dips and holes in the
worn out road, as well as speed bumps.
You would look over off the side of the road into the woods and
see beady eyes staring back at you. It was a little scary at some points when I
was all alone, thinking anything could happen. A lot of the race was run alone,
with maybe 1 or 2 other runners. When I did see a runner, I tried to out pace
them, but there were definitely some experienced hill runners out there!
It was a gorgeous setting, even in the dark. Lots of woods, I felt
like I was in the country. I would look up in the break of the big trees and
see the awesome bright starts.
I started off pretty well and was pushing hard on the hills. I even
passed a lot of people. I was feeling good until about Mile 4 when my big toe
started hurting. Never feeling that before, I was a little nervous, but I could
tell it was just from the exertion of the hills. I started getting that butt to
knee pain that I have had ever since the last full marathon (feb). Still not
sure what is going on there, but it’s a real annoying pain. The water
pack/bottle on my back was starting to strain my back muscle a little, but I was
definitely glad I carried it!
There were tons of turns throughout the neighborhood. It was not
just a simple ‘lap’ around the lake. They had turn signs posted, but since it
was dark, they had to light them with glow in the dark sticks. Good idea,
except when someone wants to play a trick and take the glow sticks off the
sign. A couple of ‘elite’ runners that had passed me, had actually turned
around because they had gotten lost because they missed an unlit sign and they didn’t
have a flashflight. Good thing I did!
The first lap felt like it went on forever and it kinda felt
like I was in a maze with all the turns! It was fun though, as it got darker,
it almost became a game to find the way.
I definitely lost my concept of direction and there was a slight fear of
getting lost when I was alone.
There were a good amount of cheerleaders cheering us on too. I
was not expecting as many people out in their yards. Lots of kids, which made
me happy, showing them that a healthy lifestyle can be fun. (weird concept of
fun, huh? Lol) One yard was even doing fireworks!
I started getting knee pains on the downhills, and quickly had
flashbacks of the Atlanta 3 Day from 2008 where I blew out both knees from
walking 60 miles of hills! Luckily it quickly went away.
The second lap I was barely able to run. I did a lot of walking,
especially on the inclines. Even walking up the very steep hills I felt like my
legs were about to boink (get a Charlie horse/strain). I would have to slow
myself to make sure that I didn’t pull anything. I did not want a repeat of the
26.2 with Donna finish! So that even slowed me on the declines (since that is
where I had that horrific leg strain). I had never felt so exhausted in only 6
miles! I just continued on, and pushed myself on the flats. Slowly but surely I
finished the second lap.
My goal was to finish near my regular running time (2 ½ hours
for half). Once I was half way through the first lap, and even as I finished
the first lap, I changed that goal to finish before 3 hours! I crossed the
finish line 4 minutes before 3 hours, and about 30 minutes before Midnight! =)
I earned my tiara! I tried to hang out til midnight, but I was absolutely
exhausted after the long drive with no nap. I headed back to the hotel to got
an awesome nights sleep.
This race was great fun and I would recommend it. I really
enjoyed the race course and theme. I wish they would open it up to more runner,
but Im sure being a private/gated community has a lot to do with that.
Morning came with a hotel breakfast, and about an additional
2hour drive home, as I stopped at about 5 peach/pecan tourist stops. I got some
pecan pie, peach cobbler, fresh peaches, peach and pecan salad dressing, and
roasted pecans. YUM! ….all well deserved!