Done, state #20.

I arrived in San Diego late Friday night because my flight was delayed.  I went straight up to my room and met my roommate, Rebecca from Run Like a Girl, and Mean It!  She is a sweet person!  We talked for a little bit and then went to sleep.

The next morning I met another runner, Kim, and Rebecca’s mom and aunt.  I also ran 2.2 miles for this challenge.  It was such a beautiful morning in San Diego.

After my run I went to the expo.  Again, RNR expos do not disappoint.  I bought two pairs of Pro Compression Socks and two running shirts.  Plus, I made a video for Team Refuel.  I’ll find out July 5th if my video was selected for one of the top 10 and then voting begins to be selected to be on the team.

Race day I was up at 4am.  Yes, ridiculously early.  We got ready and went downstairs for the shuttle bus to take us to the start line.  It wasn’t a bus but a limo bus.

Once we arrived we had plenty of time to find the gear drop off area, start line, and go to the bathroom.  I was the only one that went to the bathroom. Before we knew it more people had arrived and the bathroom lines were getting longer.  Rebecca was the only one running the full marathon (6:15 am start time) and Kim and I were running the half marathon (6:45 am).  We got in line to go to the bathroom one more time and I am not kidding but we waited about 30 minutes.  Whew, definitely felt better afterwards.

Kim and I got in our corral and we were ready to tackle the race!

It was humid!  I was sweating within the first mile.  Here are my splits:

Miles 1 through 4 – 9:22, 10:44, 10:24, 11:23
Miles 5 through 8 – 10:30, 11:07, 10:53, 10:41
Miles 9 through 12 – 11:33, 11:01, 11:34, 9:35
Mile 13 – 11:13

The course had its ups and down.  There were so many turns.  I got annoyed and did not like them at all and had to take a few walking breaks.  We did run through some nice neighborhoods and there were so many people cheering for us.  My favorite part was mile 12 because it was mostly downhill. Actually, it was about a half mile going downhill and it felt really good.

My finish time is 2:22:06.  According to my Garmin I ran 13.26 miles in 2:22:08.  Doesn’t really make sense right? The winner of the half marathon was Bernard Koech from Kenya with a finish time of 58:41.  That is a 4:29 pace per mile!!!

Done, state #18.

I arrived in Portland on Saturday morning and my friend, Julia, picked me up.  Julia and I went to high school together and I had not seen her since graduation.  We went to lunch and then to the expo.  For some reason this was smaller than previous RnR expos.  Plus, it seemed like it was missing a few other vendors.  Oh well, no big deal.  I only bought two pairs of socks and that’s only because it was “buy one and the other is 1/2 off”.  I also signed up for StrideBox which is a monthly subscription that delivers an assortment of products to runners.

It rained Saturday so I was worried it would also rain on Sunday.  The gods must have heard me complain throughout the race in Nashville that they decided to be nice to me.  No rain on race day!!

I made a STUPID rookie mistake.  Remember how I mentioned that I bought a new Garmin watch? Well, I turned it on but I forgot to press the button to locate the satellite.  So as I crossed the start line I pressed the button and it began to locate the satellite while I was running.  Of course that did not work so I had to stop for a couple of seconds and then took off.  I was mad at myself!  How could I have made that mistake?!?!?!

The course was blah.  The nicest part was running through the residential areas.  So pretty!  I remember at some point we went through warehouses and it smelled horrible!!  There was so much crowd support.  I loved it!

As I crossed the finish line I had no idea of my time.  I did not think it was a PR but one can only hope right?  I got two medals at this race.  One for finishing the race and another one for completing five races in the series. I’m a Rock Star!

Later that evening I found out my finish time was 2:23:43.  Yes, I am pleased with it.

Done, state #17.

I got in Nashville after 4pm.  I wasn’t sure whether to call for a shuttle or take a cab to the hotel but my new friend Laura told me that a friend of a friend (Jeff) was at the airport with a car and could give me a ride to the hotel.  Sweet!  Perfect timing too!

He was going first to the expo so I went with him.  I did not wait long for my bib which was nice. Check out the cool bracelet I received!

I love Rock ‘n’ Roll expos but I’ve been to a few of them and didn’t need/want anything.  We walked around and saw Frank Shorter.  I had to take a picture with him.

Later that night Laura and I went out for dinner.  We stopped at The Old Spaghetti Factory but the wait was 45 minutes.  We left our name on the wait list but left to check out other restaurants and possibly get a beer.  We ended up at Rock Bottom Brewery and ate dinner there and drank beer.

Wake up time on race day was 5:15 am.  The hotel was nice enough to offer race participants a ride to the start line.  We went down a little after 6 and waited in line for about an hour.  I was a little annoyed because I don’t like waiting but was glad I did because at least I waited indoors and not at the start line since it was raining.

The rain damped my mood.  It rained all through the race.  I wore shorts, short sleeve shirt, light jacket, and a plastic bag.  I made a mental note that I had to purchase a water resistant jacket (I bought one on Sunday).  I chafed in many places and was in pain when I took a shower.

My goal was to finish in less than 2:30.  Finish time was 2:29:39!!!  And yes another hilly course. Obviously if it hadn’t rain that much then the race experience would have been so much better!

My mile splits were:
Miles 1 through 4-10:12, 10:39, 12:10, 12:39
Miles 5 through 8-11:43, 10:24, 10:48, 12:16
Miles 9 through 12-11:18, 10:41, 11:28, 11:18
Mile 13-12:38

The best part of this race/trip was meeting Laura.  She is such a sweet and amazing person!  She ran the full marathon and finished in 3:55:26.

Done, state #15.  Well, I know Washington DC is not a state but let’s pretend that it is for the sake of this blog and my running goal.  I was very happy with this race because of my finish time (2:22:43) and the weather (it did not rain). Also, the shirt was kind of cool.  So far I’ve received three shirts from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and this is the second one I like.

I did not write a post about the expo because it was pretty much the same from other Rock ‘n’ Roll expos.  I like the expos but did not find anything that I really wanted or needed.

The weather forecast called for rain on race day.  I don’t mind running in the rain but do mind it when it is cold too.  It is such a miserable experience! Luckily, there was no rain on Saturday.  It was kind of cold so I went back to the hotel (the start line was 2 blocks from the hotel) to put on my long sleeve shirt.  I am glad I did because there were times in which I was cold.

I felt really good for most of the course.  It was boring but I listened to music so that helped a bit. There was great crowd support in parts of the course. And then there was this massive hill around mile 6.  Now, who does that?

I felt a few drops around mile 10 and prayed that it would not rain.  I mean I was almost done and was cold and did not want to get wet.

My favorite part was running towards The Capitol.  Such a pretty view and great because it was mostly downhill.  Not good for my quads but made me feel like flying.

It was a challenge to get to the finish line.  I remember it being mostly uphill.  I was very happy when I crossed the finish line and got my medal.

I love how there is so much food at these races.  There were so many people that it took me a good 10 minutes to get out of there.  I had to meet my friend, Jaime, because we were taking the Metro back to the hotel.

I LOVE Washington DC and am so glad I went for a race.  My visit was not complete until I went to see the White House.  Mission accomplished!

I enjoy reading race recaps.  And even more when they’re of races I’ve ran too.  Here are a few good ones I’ve read of the half marathon this past weekend.  I LOVE how they remembered so many more things than I did about the race.

• Absolut(ly) Fit
• Losing Weight in the City
• Sweat Once A Day

Just Keep Running!

Done, state #13.  Is the number 13 really an unlucky number?   This would have been a “perfect” race (flat) but yet it was a tough race for me.  I am still racking my brain trying to figure out what went wrong.

My finish time was 2:28:22.  Yeah, not happy with it.   I did so much better in Phoenix and that race was just as flat.  The weather?  Both races were sunny but this race was a bit warmer.  I remember that I was sweating before I finished mile 1.

I was tired by mile 6. My legs felt like lead.  I could not make them go faster.  I tried.   I was trying to enjoy the race but it was just too hard. I want to run a race but also have a little bit of fun.   I just couldn’t.

The course was boring.  The best part of it was the last three miles.  There were beautiful houses and amazing crowd support.  I even managed to take a few pictures which I never do during a race.

I was happy to see the finish line and high fived the announcers.  I think one of them was John Bingham aka The Penguin.

As usual there was delicious food after the race.  Unfortunately, I could not stay long because I had to get back to the hotel for my 11am check out.  Too early I think.

I wish I could say I liked this race but I just can’t.  Of course this is just my opinion as other people would say just the opposite.

As for the medal, sigh, kind of boring. What do you think?

Hopefully March is a better month.  I will be in Arkansas for the Little Rock Half Marathon and in DC for another Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

Just Keep Running!