Womens Half Marathon-Nashville-Sep 22, 2012

 

 

This was the 3^rd Annual Nashville Women’s Half Marathon which is sponsored by Womens Running Magazine, Lady Speedstick, and Publix, and included a 5k as well as half marathon. There were about 3000 half marathoners (which yes, legally allows men, which about 90 of them participated) and about 550 5kers. The race started and finished downtown at the Music City Hall of Fame with an ‘after party’ at the Music Star walk park. The course took us from downtown to West End through the Centennial Park, which I didn’t even realize until I looked at the pictures that we went right by the Pantheon. It was a beautiful course all n all. We ran though a lot of residential, down Music Row, and down Honky Tonk Row. Was a good way to see Nashville.

When I started telling people I was racing Nashville, I was warned repeatedly of how difficult the course is because of the hills. I didn’t really pay attention to course maps when I signed up for all the races this year. I have found myself in hill hell lately. This is race 4 out of the 6 past races that are on hills. Im anticipating next months Chattanooga to be the same, as there are 4 bridges to cross!

The Womens Half website promised that this years course would be flatter and easier. “We will see” I told myself. At least I was mentally prepared now and not going to be surprised. And I was somewhat physically prepared, if you consider 26 miles of hill training in 2 months preparation for this Florida gal! I prepared myself to go into this one, not quite PRing, but being able to handle it well, or at least better than the last 2 hill races.

I took the hour and half flight on Friday morning, arriving to Nashville fairly early. I found it quite funny as my hotel ended up being on the biggest hill of the city!

The Expo was nothing spectacular. The “goody bag,” which is basically like a reusable grocery bag from Publix, was of good quality and will definitely get future use. The race tshirt was disappointing, as it was a very generic design, was white of all colors, and for some reason seems to wrinkle very easily.  I have never seen a ‘tech’ shirt wrinkle so much. The prices, as always, for the souvenir race gear was ridiculously over priced. The standard vendors were there. Bondi was the only new one I have never seen, and am quite interested in giving them a try once I get some spare cash. The good thing about the Expo was there were 2 breast cancer vendors. SGK booth was busy, so I chatted with the local high risk clinic. There was also giveaway by Dr Scholl’s, but unfortunately even after spending 10 minutes talking with one of the Dr Scholls volunteers, I still was not told of. I instead had to ask one of the people in line what was going on. They gave away free personalized head bands just for trying on their inserts. Was cute, but I unfortunately did not have sneakers, nor socks (felt like dressing up and was in heels), so passed on the giveaway.

Since the Expo didn’t take much time, I went downtown to explore and have lunch. Was excited to celebrate in the Honky Tonk bars after the race!

There wasn’t much to do downtown if you weren’t drinking, so I just went back to the hotel to prepare for the morning. In the evening I headed over to the Farmers Night Market.  Music and wine was very tempting, but I just took a quick stroll and then made my way over to the State Capital building that was located on a big hill, where I got to lay in the grass and watch the sunset.

Still full from lunch, I actually ended up skipping dinner and just called it a night.

I had a few blocks to walk to start, so I headed out by 6am for the 7am start. I had coffee and a small pbj sammie. I still had no appetite, which is actually normal for me race morning.

Subaru had a VIP area set up for those that test drove a vehicle the weeks before the race. It was nice to not have to wait in line for a porta potty!

I passed out the pink ribbon bracelets as usual, but for some reason I was having a hard time interacting with people. I even had one girl completely ignore me. After I handed all her friends bracelets and spoke with them, she wouldn’t even look up from her phone and just said No. I don’t know why, but I kinda took it personal. I then had a guy ask me ‘don’t you think you are over dressed?’ I was disappointed and shocked as I tried to stumble out words to make him understand my mission. It didn’t work.

I definitely wasn’t getting pumped up for this race. There were lots of coordinated outfits between friends. Lots of tutus, even men in tutus. And to my surprise lots of makeup and curled hair. Even though I travel and do most of my races alone, I usually have no problems meeting people and feeling like Ive done something. But today I was feeling alone.

I found a patch of grass and did some yoga stretching to try to clear my mind. I tried to remember the motivational quotes that I had found the week before the race. One of them being “Inhale love, Exhale Hate”. I was definitely being tested here. I tried to push all negativity out of my head and tried to stay positive. That is when I got a couple shout outs from friends back home, which put me into a little better mood. I knew I had support back home.

Other quotes of the week were “I will turn my weakness into Strength” and “Don’t waste the downhills” and “Stare Fear in its Face.” I was saving those for the hills that I knew would want to take me down.

I was in Coral 2, but didn’t see a 2:30 pacer. Which was fine, I just placed myself with 2:15, he was a cutie anyways.

We were soon off, and shortly after we were going uphill….what?! What happened to easier, flatter course? Within the first mile and half, we had already tackled two pretty good size hills. I made myself take it easy and go slow up the hills. I wanted to try to see how far I could go without doing the run/walk method. To my surprise, I actually made it past mile 6 before I started doing the wogging (well, I did walk at the drink tables), which has me feeling really good for some upcoming flat races in Nov, Dec, Jan!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the main reason I even started walking at this time was because I had glanced down at my Garmin and it was shut off!! I managed to get it back on, but didn’t know how much distance had passed. A few moments later, it was off again. WTH? I knew I had fully charged it, so did not know what was going on. I was so frustrated. I lost focus and started messing with it. Then just decided to take it off.  I wanted to toss it to the curb, but instead put it on my energy belt.

I then started wondering what it would be like if I ran a half without a watch. I mean, I pretty much did in April at the Tour de Pain Extreme (the other time my Garmin decided to die, but I didn’t realize you could Reset it). But what if I did it on purpose and was mentally prepared to run without any timing/pacing mechanism. For the past few weeks I have been training without the Garmin, of course those have been shorter distances, but still. I think back to when I used to wog with the alerts (walk a minute, jog a minute). Every minute an alert would go off and give me permission to walk. Then the first time I decided not to use the alerts and see how far I could run without stopping, I ran 6 miles!! So, maybe I’m being held back again?

I no longer run with alerts, but I do constantly check my pace. If I am running too fast, I slow down. If I am running too slow, I try to pick up. And sometimes I just find myself getting all mentally stressed out because I am looking at numbers, and trying to do recalculations constantly, and saying things like “if I walk so many more seconds, I can make them up here” or “you’re such a whimp, why are you walking this whole minute?” But I never just ‘feel my run.’  What if I went all out and just put myself out on the line? No watch. No times. No pace. Just listening to my body. Push it, however fast or slow I go, until I just needed a quick break, and don’t worry about how long or short that walk break is, and then just GO. Would it make a difference? Would I be any better than what I am allowing myself to be? Am I currently holding myself back? I think I might try it. Maybe Chattanooga. Maybe wait for the flat races this winter.

So back to the race…My motto for this race was “Stare fear in its face”. I’m sure I may have seen it somewhere, but it kinda just stuck with me. I have a love-hate relationship with hills. When I started running, I actually loved them. I was able to push myself through them and felt so powerful afterwards. But then (Im not sure when) I started to despise them. Maybe it was after I started paying more attention to my times, and trying to PR and realizing they are the devil and the ones that are killing my PR. Lol.

When I run hills, I look down. I don’t want to see how much further I have to go to get to the top.... How much more torture I am going to be put through. It makes me want to just stop in my tracks. So I put my head down, I lean into the hill, and I truck my way along. Not this time. I was going to “Stare fear in its face.” You won’t scare me hill! I will make you my B!t@h! And I did. I ran up every single hill and kept my head held high.

I also have a bad habit of hating straight-aways. (remind me again why I run?...if I hate almost everything about it?!). They seem so stinkin far! And it seems like you are not getting any closer. So again, when there is a long straightaway, I put my head down. I look to the left, I look to the right. I try not to look ahead. Not this time. I was going to “Stare fear in its face.” You won’t scare me straight-away! You know why? Because I know I can go your distance! I’ve done it before! And I will do it again!

About mile 5-7 or so was my favorite part of the race. Where the fast runners had already reached the turn around point and were running straight towards you. It is fun to see how strong, powerful, and fast these women are. I dream of one day being that fast.

After mile 6, it was mostly downhill. I started feeling really good and picked up the pace. I took a GU at mile 9 and was owning the last few miles!

Support wise, the event was well manned. No problems with water stations. There seemed to be enough porta potties. The event advertised ‘entertainment on course’, however, there were very few bands, and really only 1 good one. That was disappointing with it being Music City and all. There was an ok amount of spectators on the sidelines. But I have to admit this was the first race I had been in where I (as well as a large amount of other runners, as I was about mid-pack) would run by and not one person standing there were cheer out for us, or even say one word. A few times I almost wanted to cheer to THEM!

The ‘After Party’ celebration was nothing to write home about. It was one of the very few races that I have done that had no alcohol what so ever after the race. They had a band, but the sound system was not good at all. You could barely hear over at the VIP area. Subaru VIP had an excellent line up of breakfast….sammies, fruit, salad, bagels, pretzels, bars, and a chocolate fondue station with pastries, crispy treats, more fruit! They had a massage area with free massages (too bad it was unorganized and names were being skipped and crossed off –including mine). I guess they were not expecting as many people that showed up to VIP, as there were only 2 masseuses and about 4 or more pages of names! If it wasn’t for the VIP area, I would have been disappointed. I had an extra ticket, as Subaru gave you two tickets, so handed mine to a woman walking around by herself.

The medal for the race is pretty good. It is a pretty good size and has a detachable charm if you want to wear as a necklace.

I spent the rest of the day at the Southern Ground Music Festival down by the Riverfront. Was a beautiful afternoon for some great live music and celebrating my 20^th half marathon!

The rest of the weekend included Chicken n Waffles for celebratory breakfast the next day and some Honky Tonk hopping on Broadway, topped off with a concert by Carrie Underwood! Nashville you did me well!

13.1-2:34:56



Providence Rock n Roll

 

The 2^ndAnnual Providence Rock n Roll Half Marathon is part of a world wide race series event that focuses on bringing music and running together with a band located on just about every mile and celebratory concert with a major headliner. This was my 3^rd Rock n Roll event. Most locations have both a full marathon and half marathon, but this one was just a half and then a 2 person Relay (5m and 8m).

 

Providence is a great small downtown. The race start/finish was right at the State House which is walking distance to most hotels, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Expo/Convention Center. You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect, organized, convenient location! No car needed! (Although don’t let me go off about the airport shuttle that cancelled services without telling anyone on BOTH days!!).

The event had 3574 half marathoners and about 100 Relay teams. Nice and small for RnR terms which kept the race course uncongested!

I came to Rhode Island 2 days before race day to experience the area and stayed an extra day after the race to head to Newport.  I stayed at the Westin that was connected to the Mall and the Convention Center/Expo and just 2 blocks from start.

Downtown is full of fun bars and restaurants, but not much else to do if you are not into museums/architecture. Friday I found myself at Lolas on the river enjoying the sunset over downtown in the distance. They have awesome margaritas!

Saturday was a rainy day, which was good because I needed the rest, after being sick all week with a sinus cold. I stayed in bed til about 3! I then visited the expo again (when I went Friday right before close, it was completely empty. No excitement. I decided to just grab my stuff and I would come back Saturday to try to get pumped up with the other runners). The Expo was OK. Not that big and a lot of repeat vendors. I mean, seriously, do we need 4 head band vendors?? Or 3 vendors of ear buds? I mean, lets get something new and exciting! (although, I guess most people don’t do a race a month, so this IS new and exciting to them! LOL) There were a lot of freebie trial size items so that was good. But seriously people, do you have a grab a HANDFUL of the trial sizes instead of one? Wow.  

The RnR merchandise was better than last years, and I actually splurged. They are quite pricey, but there was this super cute Hawaiian running skirt I could not pass up!! =)  Now I just have to figure out how I am going to wear a tutu without covering it up! Lol

I had an early dinner at Bob and Timmy’s Grilled Pizza in Federal Hill that was highlighted on Man vs Food on the Food Network Channel. AHMAZING is all I have to say!! I almost finished the entire thing!

The WaterFire event took place Saturday, so I got to walk the river and watch the lighting of the bonfires. It was definitely a different experience. It ended up being a really nice evening weather wise after the rain cleared. The temps had dropped and I knew it was going to be a perfect race morning! Which it was! It ended up being about 70, clear, and practically no humidity!

I didn’t get much sleep the night before the race. Probably staying in bed all day didn’t help. I slept about 4 hours when it was time to get up at 530. I really tried to push it to the last minute since all I really had to do was go a couple blocks. Coffee wasn’t helping, so I took the 5 Hour Energy that they gave us at the Expo, hoping it wouldn’t affect my stomach since I had never taken it before. I forced down a banana, but couldn’t get much else down. My stomach wasn’t quite right, and being tired wasn’t helping. I finally walked over to start about 615 and there still didn’t seem like a lot of people.

As I walked around to loosen up the legs I saw someone wearing a bright shirt reading “I run to demand a Cure.” It was great to see and chat with her and remind me on why I was there. I took some pictures, passed out the breast cancer bracelets, then finally decided to hit the porta potties. I ended up still being in line past the national anthem and starting of the first few corrals. Luckily I was in corral 9, so had some time. I made it back to my corral with just moments to spare!

After a few shout outs from the announcer, we were off! I decided I wanted to take it a little slow and try to do another race without stopping for walk breaks. I was doing good for the first few miles, despite starting off on a few hills. Hills? What? Providence isn’t flat?!?

About mile 2 I heard someone yell out “Pink Feet!” It was a fellow follower from my FB page! We chatted a bit, but then I had to continue on. She gave me motivating words that the hills were going to end soon.

I rounded a couple corners and BAM! I was slapped in the face with the biggest hill I have ever seen on a race! I mean, seriously, this was about a 25% grade type of a hill! There was this little old man standing on his porch watching us run with a grin on his face. I yelled out to him “Stop laughing at us!” I mean…why would these crazy people be running this crazy hill!?? This is when I pretty much gave up the thought of running the entire race. I started doing the run/walk method.

After that, it was pretty much downhill (one serious downhill to the water) and a couple slight inclines. Much of the course was shaded, residential, through parks, along the water, and then into downtown for a couple laps, and back to the State House.

I started getting tired about mile 8. My body felt fine. No cramps, not too much soreness, just tired. I’m sure being sick all week didn’t help. I did start to feel a little nauseous, but this could have been because of my sinuses draining down my throat the entire race. About this time the 2:30 pacers had passed me. I had given up on my nonstop running goal, and now I had given up on beatting my PR. I decided I would just enjoy the rest of the race, and not stress my body out any more. The 2:45 pacers quickly came next, and I said “Absolutely not!” I picked up the pace and tried to stay ahead of them, when I suddenly heard them say they were ahead of time. I guess I needed them too push me through. Thinking I was behind, I really got myself back on course. I was 'Still in this race!'

The last couple miles in the downtown area were absolutely mind draining. You could see the State House/finish area, but we were running completely the opposite way. The faster runners were heading back and passing us, so you had to mentally remind yourself it is only a couple more miles, even though it felt like it was so much further! You really just wanted to give up, turn around, and run with them! 

Then at that moment I heard a couple more ‘Pink Feet’ shout outs! It was the same girl I had met at mile 2! I thought she had passed me since I had practically ‘given up’ about mile 8! She put me back into high spirits.

The water stations were spread out a little further than the normal 1 mile. The last 1-2 miles I was in much need of water and there was no station in sight! I almost found myself asking the group of cheerleaders for their water! lol

The finish line was on an incline where you really had to ‘Earn that Finish!’ It was definitely not a 'sprint across the finish line' type of moment I usually try to do. I felt like I was barely moving, and wondered how pittiful I looked as the spectators cheered us on.

The Finish line was great. There were lots of goodies like chocolate milk, popsicles and wet towels. LOVE! …As I usually have to empty the water they give me to wipe off all the salty sweat. The towel did wonders for this and cooling off and clearing my sinuses!

I finished just in time to grab my two free beers (thanks to the girl that gave me her beer stub) and the awards ceremony to start. I still dream of the day where I am anywhere NEAR as fast as these runners!

The concert was Karmin, which was a lot better and more unique than I was expecting. I got a ‘Thank you’ from a guy that said he was following my sparkling tutu most of the way! (Im thinking I need a race shirt that says on the back ‘Chase the skirt!’)

All in all it was a good day. I strongly recommend this race. The course is enough of a challenge, and is also beautiful. The layout of the city, race events, parking, hotels, etc is perfect.

I headed to Newport and spent the rest of the day on a bar hop with some very friendly yacht mates, ending with a beautiful sunset on the water!

Macon's Make it by Midnight-July 14, 2012

    

The Make it by Midnight is a half marathon and marathon event that is located in Macon, GA in an upscale gated community around Lake Wildwood. I came across this race almost 2 years ago. When I went to register for last year, it was already sold out. I did not realize how small of a race it was, limited to only about 200 runners total. The race is sponsored by the Macon Tracks Running Club and the majority of runners are part of this and/or locals with only a handful of out of towners.

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!

Kona, HI Half Marathon-June 24, 2012

                                                     

So the Kona marathon race idea came about when Jillian and I, and a few other fellow 3Day walkers, realized we wouldn’t be able to walk together in 2012 in Tampa...as we have the previous several years. So I stumbled upon the Susan G Komen “Marathon for the Cure” instead. It’s the same basic concept of The3Day…raise donations for the breast cancer community and be sponsored by SGK. They also sponsor other marathons across the world, but we of course chose Hawaii! In return for the donations, participation, and help spreading the word, SGK hooked us up for 3 nights at the Sheraton on the Big Island of Hawaii with a breakfast package in an oceanview room….not too shabby!

With it being a 10+ hour flight, we arrived in Hawaii (Oahu) 4 days before the race to get acclimated, and flew over to the Big Island (about a 30 minute flight) 2 days before the race.

We had a 14 day itinerary in all (including Maui as well) and it was jammed packed. So of course the day before the race, instead of resting pool side, we decided on a road trip to the Southernmost point of the US….oh, and then decided to jump off the cliffs! We then continued on a pretty rough 4wheeling adventure to Green Sand Beach. It was a full day and we arrived back at the hotel tired. Unfortunately the hotel was still under renovations, so only 1 restaurant was open and it was turned into some sort of roast buffet…not what we were looking forward to for a pre race dinner. Too tired to go out, we splurged on room service which luckily had a pasta dish and a sandwich. We had a little late of a night, having to pin all the pink ribbons onto our skirts.

Morning came early, as the sun rises about 5am in Hawaii. Breakfast included fresh banana macadamia nut bread and apple bananas we had picked up from the local farmers market. We drove to start which was just down the street but included too brutal of a couple hills to walk. When we got into the car, the most perfect song came on …“I Run to You” by Lady Antebellum. I knew it was going to be a good day!

We had met the SGK Hawaii representatives at the Expo the day before when we picked up our race packets and received a bag full of goodies. They also found us race morning before the start as we were passing out pink ribbon bracelets to runners as a reminder to feel their boobies. It was nice to have a little support. They were super excited about our ‘costumes’…pink ribbon ‘tutus’ and pink ribbon boppers on our heads.

We were a little disappointed though on how small of a turn out SGK had. There were only 7 of us that actually raised the minimum donation amount. In comparison to say the Team in Challenge (who helps the Crohns and Colitis community) who had several hundred participants, trainers coaching the runners on the sidelines, and cheerleaders at just about every mile!

We did however, receive our moment in the spotlight, as we made it to the starting line, handing out our pink bracelets, we seemed to capture a lot of attention and once one person started taking pictures, everyone wanted to take pictures! This caught the attention of the loud speaker announcer who started talking about breast cancer! Awesome!  It felt good to get some publicity for the cause. Was completely different than any other race I have done by myself!

The Kona Marathon has both a full and half marathon, as well as a 5k and 10k which all run the same out and back course, along the waterfront, through Kailua-Kona, up north and then back. It was gorgeous scenery. The temps were a little on the warm and humid side, since it had been raining the night before. I was already sweating before the start. But it was good that Jillian and I are used to that kind of weather. Unfortunately a lot of people come in for the race that were not…we passed 3 ambulances assisting people throughout the race.

This was the 19^th annual, with 385 marathoners and 632 half marathoners. It had a small town feel to it, which made it good and bad. Pros included well placed hydration stations, the Expo was pretty good for the size of race, lei given with the medal to give an Aloha feel, sprinklers set out for when the heat rose.  Cons included the race shirt was not given until the finish line and was kinda hidden, so some people forgot theirs. We were almost walking out before remembering. Also, the mileage was not exactly on mark. I also did not see porta potties. This may because we did not need any, but I still did not see any. All and all I would say this was one of my favorite races. Location probably helped ;)

The course had a few hills, but nothing unbearable. We decided to go with the run a minute/walk a minute method…as this was Jillians first race and in training hadn’t gone further than 9 miles. It ended up being a piece of cake for me. I was surprised as this was how I started only a little over a year ago. I could feel my progress. And it was good because I was able to focus on motivating Jillian instead of pushing myself. But honestly, she did Awesome! She ran a lot faster during our runs than I expected and I have no doubt that she will have an awesome racing future! I also have to give her big props for being the top SGK fundraiser, raising almost $5,000 this year alone!!

The course stations provided Ultima…which I had never heard of before, but was really awesome! It did not leave a thick taste in your mouth like other drinks. I was able to run without a GU, getting plenty of nutrients from it. Jillian had to take 1 GU at Mile 11.

Team Challenge had a huge presence in this race. They were everywhere, and had their trainers on the side lines pushing them through, and cheerleaders cheering them on! We kinda got jealous of all the support, so we decided to be our own support and every time they yelled “Go Team Challenge”…we yelled “Go Team Komen!”  We ended up passing 2 other Komen participants, so that was fun to see!

The out and back course allowed for us to pass the Elite runners as they were heading back towards the finish….half marathoners AND marathoners!! It is my favorite part of the race, as I inspire to run fast one day!

My IPOD died about mile 4…not the first time this has happened to me, so I wasn’t that worried. I’ve actually been doing a lot of training without it. And Hawaii was the perfect place to go without it! Not only was there perfect scenery of the ocean, and gorgeous bright flowers everywhere, but without the IPOD I got to take in all the sounds of the birds chirping and waves crashing. It was an amazing experience!

At mile 6, near the turnaround point, we came to a cheering station with someone’s car blasting “Im sexy and I know it”. ..we had to stop and do the “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” dance! Everyone loved our outfits throughout town…most calling us Bunnies…but we got a lot of Thumbs Up!

We started out overcast, but the sun made its appearance in the last couple miles. I was definitely happy we had decided on the half instead of the full at this point. (we originally registered for the full, but training set backs put us on the downgrade list). It was humid and very little breeze. There were some sprinkler stations that were put out to help cool you down. Jillian even got some head chills a couple times, which slowed us a little towards the end, but she pushed through and we completed in good time!

The finish line included a lot of post race food and beer as well as a shell lei and medal. …and of course lots of celebration! We headed back to the Sheraton pool and lounged Oceanside the rest of the day!

North Myrtle Beach DIVAS Half Marathon-May 20, 2012

I signed up for the DIVAS half marathon in Myrtle Beach, 1, because I had never been to Myrtle Beach, and  2, I had never run an all women’s race....oh, and  3, what goes better with a Pink Ribbon Tutu than a boa and  tiara, which the race passes out right before the finish line?! =)

I convinced Barbara (she ran with me in Key West, and has also walked the Tampa 3Day with me a few times) to sign up, and she in turn convinced Janna to register as well. We also had a couple other girls come up so we could have a girl’s beach weekend.

I was a little hesitant to be surrounded by so many females for an entire weekend, I have to admit. Its one thing to spend a couple hours with them in a race, but a whole weekend? I had no idea what was in store! But as the weeks got closer to the race, I came across something that made me open my eyes and live outside my comfort zone. I am usually an over planner, over doer, take charge type of person. But I was giving in, surrendering my control, and was going to teach myself to sit back and relax, and whatever happened would happen, and I would still make the best of it!

It all started on our 7(should have been 6) hour road trip. I planted myself in the backseat as Barbara drove and Janna co piloted! We were all enjoying ourselves and conversation, when we quickly learned, no one was looking at directions! …even with the 3 smart phones, a GPS, an IPAD, and handwritten directions! Oh boy! But, you know what, we had a scenic route! No worries!

When we arrived we realized our beach weekend was in jeopardy of being a cold, overcast, windy and possibly rainy weekend. =(  We made the best of it and had a happy hour on our ocean view condo porch, and then off to find dinner.

Saturday when we woke up disappointed with more of the same yucky weather. So what did we do? We headed out to Cracker Barrel for a yummy breakfast! Little did I know we would be kidnapped and forced to shop the Outlets….all in our PJs!! (I am a complete NON shopper!...well, unless there is a good clearance rack at Marshalls!) After a couple stores, I warmed up, let go, and found my inner Diva and did some shopping! I even found some items for my next trip to Hawaii next month!

We soon learned that Tropical Storm Albert had developed and was brewing right off Myrtle’s coast!! We had a minor panic attack and had to refigure out our race attires. Luckily though, we woke to clear skies, and the race day was just about perfect!

This was the 1^st Annual for the Divas in North Myrtle Beach, which also takes place in Hawaii, San Francisco, Puerto Rico and Long Island. It was a sold out race with about 4500 runners for the half marathon, 20 of those being male runners. (30 males in the 5K) Yes, there were Male Divas out there! One I even ran the entire race with, a guy decked out in an ‘old’ Hooters costume.  

 It happened to line up right with some sort of Bikers week, but it honestly didn’t impact anything that we did. Seems Myrtle/North Myrtle is quite HUGE. As soon as we arrived Friday, we went to the ‘Boutique’/Expo to pick up our race packets. No parking issues (however I have yet been to a race w/ expo issues, but this maybe  because I always go to the first day of them). They had shuttles/golf carts provided, predicting parking issues, so that was cool. The Expo though was Extremely small! Maybe had about 5 or 6 vendors, and did not have ANY GU or power bars/blocks/etc. That’s my bad for relying on it and not buying some before the road trip! I decided I would try to run without any this time. I had just completed the last two weeks of 14 mile training runs without any energy substance and was fine. I later learned that ‘training’ and ‘racing’ are different, and I will still need a little bit of some sort of energy pack to get me through those last 3 miles.

Anyways, we found out that race parking was just street parking, where ever you could get it. We decided to go early and try to get as close as possible….we ended up right at the Start/Finish! Bag check, and porta potties were a breeze. No lines for either!

Everyone was decked out in the Divas gear…lots of tutus. I had never seen so many tutus in a single race! All different kinds and colors. Some women wearing full on makeup. Some wearing colorful wigs. Some even wearing big necklaces and earrings! You could definitely tell it was a DIVAS race! I just wish they could have come up with a womens charity to support. They had a ‘charity’ link on their site, but never announced an organization. A big disappointment.

Speaking of charities…I felt like I needed to be doing more with the breast cancer community at these races. Especially since this race, I would have a hard time standing out among all the other tutus. (even though I put on a pink bra over my shirt). So I grabbed a couple handfuls of 26.2 With Donna breast cancer awareness pink bracelets and handed them out to the runners. Im excited to say they went like hotcakes! Makes me wonder how I can make personalized ones? But advertising for the 26.2 with Donna really is the direction I am headed at this point, so I was happy.

 Line up was a little weird as you had to walk the race course and fight through the faster runners already lined up, to get to the slower corals. We placed ourselves at the 9:30-10minute pace….faster than I wanted, but figured I wouldn’t have a problem just putting myself to the side once we started, and out of everyones way.  I soon learned, that most people didn’t even pay attention to the times and “I”, a slow runner, ended up passing a lot of runners.

They only had speakers at the very start, so most of the runners did not hear any sort of ‘opening ceremony’, national anthem (if they had one), or any official ‘start’.

The first 3 miles were not fun. I got one of those cramps on the side of the calf. A position that is almost impossible to stretch. I must have stopped about 3 times to try to stretch it out, and did a lot of walking to see if that would help, but of course, as I know, as always, nothing helps it but time. This is maybe the 5^th time this has happened to me during a race in the past 5 years (I guess not that bad), but I had thought I had advanced past this injury. I had lost my Stick so was not able to roll out my muscles, and having a 14mile training run just this past Tues (Im training for the Kona marathon), my muscles were definitely a little tight.

We ran along the first street, next to the ocean, but only got small glimpses of the ocean between tall buildings. I guess there’s no sort of boardwalk, so this race isn’t as ‘scenic’ as one would think a beach run would be. Maybe they could look into running ‘on’ the beach like The Donna.

Cones were placed down the road, so cars could still pass, but apparently all the runners did not understand this concept and took over the entire street. So cars had to stop. I even noticed some ‘5k’ people trying to walk/run to their start. They had bicycle cops out to try to direct us, but most runners just ignored them, and went right back over. There were also groups of 3 or more that would stop to walk all together and take up most of the course. I was definitely doing a lot of weaving back and forth, in and out and around people. It was pretty crowded, so I put myself on the sidewalk to run.

The first water stop was already out of full cups of water. They had to pour individual cups, so we had to stop and wait. Great, this is just my luck I thought as I thought about the Rock n Sole where they ran out of water completely!

We then made a few turns, and found ourselves on the same path as the 5K. It was a little strange as we are running past all the walkers of the 5k, but it did make for a bunch of supporters holding posters and cheering us on. There was even a guy with pom poms and pink hair that kept following us the entire race. There was also this group of really cute guys with cowbells that would cheer for the girls and yell out ‘booo’ for the ‘dudes’.

The course was mainly residential. There was lots of shade, until near the last couple miles, when the sun was out in full course. We were lucky and had nice winds..about 15 mph gusts Thanks to TS Alberto which kept it pretty cool. We later found out it had made a turn to the South and away from Myrtle.

Half way through the race, I took a Gatorade, and I suddenly felt nauseous. I thought to myself, they must be using a different generic brand. Maybe I should just stick to water. The next water stop, I noticed a hose from the fire hydrant to the water table. They were filling up coolers from the hydrant! Is this potable?? I later learned that lots of runners got sick or nauseous during this race. I really hope the race coordinators learn a lesson, and go to the gallon jugs of water next time!

Half way through the race, they put us on an extremely busy road with only a small space to run….not the best of planning, I thought…but I guess it may have made some people run faster! Lol.

Right when I was starting to walk a lot, about mile 10, my IPOD died. Great. Luckily there was a DJ that was right at that corner and his speakers were so loud I heard him for at least a mile. Unluckily, he just kept playing the same song over and over “we are the champions!” We were getting ready to get back on Ocean Blvd for the straightaway home and the spectators kept yelling, “it will be a breeze from here, the wind is at your back!”  I was so wanting that, because we were in direct sun at this point, and the temps were rising quickly. We turned the corner though, and there was no breeze!

Grumpiness set in and I found myself yelling out “Im Hungry!” (see, I really DO need GU or some energy for a race!) and the girl next to me laughed. We chatted a bit and pushed each other to run the rest of the way.

There were a lot of coaches on the course. Some on bikes following runners. Some getting in and out of their cars to meet with runners. But especially the last 2 miles there was this one woman that was almost about ready to give up. You could just tell in her body language. Her husband, or coach, or whoever started running with her, loafers and all and pushed her through, not allowing her to stop to walk again. She is a lucky woman. There was also this guy on a bike pacing a runner, and he kept calling out “head up, shoulders back, pick up the pace”, etc. I found it interesting because everything he was saying, I was adjusting. It was like he was speaking to me, but I knew he wasn’t.

Before I knew it, we were at the tiara and boa station. They had plenty of volunteers, so there was no slow down. I grabbed mine, and even though I was so hot I didn’t want to wear the boa, I dug out my inner DIVA and put it on! Tons of spectators were out, and well, when theres people watching, Melissa doesn’t walk, so I dug deep and ran the rest of the way in, smiled for the camera, and was surprised to get my medal from a whole row of either half naked men, men dressed in fairy tale prince attire, or in a fireman uniform. Yea, I chose the Fireman. ;)  I bypassed the champagne…just wasn’t the same, since I was alone and no one to toast with but then quickly saw Barbara. I found out Janna had injured her knee and had to be escorted off the course. We met up with her to see how bad the injury was. Once we agreed it wasn’t going to be an ACL or something of the sort, we convinced her to get back on course with us and cross the finish line and get her medal! She is one tough cookie! We got our champagne together and toasted each other for surviving another race!

The rest of the day called for a lovely brunch on a lake with a gator, then sitting our butts on the beach, followed by another lovely dinner oceanfront. It was a gorgeous day from beginning to end. We were extremely lucky the weather turned for the better!

I have to say I had a great time! I am lucky to have had the chance to be surrounded by such wonderful, strong women!  It was a fun weekend! ...No matter what was thrown our way! And I even learned that it is Ok to sit back and enjoy the ride, and to even allow your inner DIVA to sneak out every once in a while! 

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