race weekend

Howdy, friends. I wanted to give you the skinny on my weekend. It was all about getting mentally and physically prepared and relaxed for the race on Sunday. On Friday, I caught up with my old grad school classmates and ate pizza (great race fuel, right?!). It was so great to see them, talk social work, and trade business cards!

I woke up Saturday morning and headed to the race expo to pick up my packet. While I was there, the race director gave in-depth details about the course. I had made myself familiar with the course already, but it was good to see it all put together. I got my packet and walked around looking for some free swag. Just being there among so many other runners got me really excited.

getting details about the course

Side note: see anything wrong with my race bib?

I spent the rest of Saturday making myself busy cleaning so that I didn't think about the half-marathon. Then my parents came! We went to Maggiano's, a family favorite, for a pre-race dinner. The service was great and the food was amazing. My parents gave me lots of encouragement and pep talks, and at this point, I was just getting more and more excited.

gnocchi and sausage

#1 Fans

The Frawleys (notice the tea and cookies)

It was an early night and an early morning. I woke up ready to go. All the nerves were gone, and I was ready to run my little heart out.

Me and 18,000 of my closest friends.

Waiting to start.

The Texas Capitol.

Mile 1.5 (from my friend Lindsey)

Mile 2ish

Mile 8 (from my mom)

Mile 11ish

Mile 12...where I thought I was going to die

I had a great support team. My parents and friend Lindsey went all over the course to cheer me on, and I saw them 3 times during race! Another friend of mine, Maddie, ran about a mile with in the middle when I was struggling with some blisters. It was the little boost I needed.

At 2:18:02, I sprinted across the finish line. I was SO ready to be done and so proud that I finished. My goal was 2:15, but I am content with the way things happened. I had to stop a couple times to grab bandaids for a nasty blister, so all in all, I feel great about it. I'm already setting goals for my next one!

so tired

Afterwards we went and had a big brunch (migas!) and then I proceeded to hobble around for the rest of the day. I'm actually still sore as we speak.

Have I mentioned it was hard and hilly? But I had so much fun, and it feels like such an accomplishment. And I can cross #22 of my 25 Before 25 List! 

I have a couple posts coming up with basic advice about training and race day for rookies. I took lots of mental notes so I'd have some good things to share! Stay tuned.