Kiawah Island Half Marathon (SC), December 10, 2016

The Bourbon Chase Relay (KY), October 14-15, 2016

Great Smoky Mountain Half Marathon (TN), September 10, 2016

Reykjavik Half Marathon (Iceland), August 20, 2016

I’d been tossing around the idea of taking a trip to Iceland with some friends for a little while, an epic journey that included camping, biking, and taking several weeks to see the whole country.  We looked at several dates before realizing there would be a half marathon there in mid-August, a time that worked with our schedules.  We had to do it.

We wrapped up our journey around the ring road (roughly 1,000 miles around the country) ending in Reykjavik.  Reykjavik is a pretty town, and our 13.1 mile foot tour took us along the harbor, through historic areas, and the modern waterfront fine arts center.  Although beautiful, sights on the racecourse paled in comparison to what we’d seen in the past 10 days (think Mars-like volcanic rock formations, green rolling hills, black sand beaches, unbearably hot natural springs, and glacial lakes).   

The one thing that stood out during our time in Reykjavik compared to the rest of our trip was the chance to get more of an exposure to the lifestyles of Icelandic people (one thing to know about Iceland is that 60% of the country’s population live near Reykjavik, with a couple exceptions, we hadn’t had the chance to immerse ourselves to far into the Icelandic culture).  The race, which included everything from a kids 550m race to a full marathon, was a celebration of fitness and running.  After finishing the half, we spent a couple hours at the finish line waiting for a friend to finish the full and watching people of all ages finish races and enjoy the day (it was in the 60s…a warm day there and a wonderful break from North Carolina’s 90+ heat).

Coastal Delaware Running Festival-Marathon (DE), April 24th, 2016

Occasionally I will brainstorm a list of states I still need to run and in late 2015 I realized I hadn’t run one in Delaware.  What makes this a shocking realization is that I grew up there and visit my parents there on a regular basis.  Knowing I had logged countless miles as a cross country and track runner, along with having an entire drawer dedicated to my MS Society Thanksgiving 5 and 10k t-shirts, it was time to cross off a half or full.

I know that many people are surprised that Delaware is big enough to hold a marathon without having to run laps around the state, but it is.  My parents live in the northern part of the state, which is a beautiful area with some gentle hills.  Coastal Delaware, the southern part of the state is also beautiful and wonderfully flat.  Needless to say, I chose a race in the southern part.

Although it was flat, the course was not lacking in scenery and diverse views.  We started at the Dewey Beach lighthouse before heading into Rehoboth and enjoying a mile down the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.  The next 20 miles wound through Cape Henlopen State Park and salt water marshes, before turning south near Lewes and following a paved trail back to the post race party in Dewey (which was awesome, after 26 miles, you can’t beat sitting on a beach with lunch, a beer (or 2) and your bare feet in the sand).

Westminster Trail Run (CO), March 27, 2016

I’ve put in a lot of miles in Colorado, although most of them are on skis.  In 2016 my ski trip coincided with the Westminster Trail Run outside of Boulder, so I decided to log some running mile as well.  Weather in Colorado that week was great for skiing, not as great for running.  We made it to the race start where temperatures were in the upper teens (my watch data has the temperature for the run logged at 21 degrees).  We huddled at the start to get last minute instructions from the race director.  Apparently there were a couple spots to watch out for on the course, he listed 4-5 intersections to make sure we didn’t miss turns, identified 5-6 slippery spots, and a few more places where the trail narrowed, so to watch out for runners coming the other direction.  But other than that, things were great; there wasn’t anything else we needed to know (having absolutely no idea what the course was like, the long list of suggestions were not so helpful).

The trail was relatively flat, winding through natural areas, around ponds, and through small neighborhoods.  From what I could tell, the trail was a mix of pavement and packed sand.  Unfortunately it was hard to tell the exact surface due to the layers of snow, and ice, and after a few runners, slush on top of it.  Wishing I’d packed ice skates, or at least something with more traction than my road shoes, I carefully picked my way through the race, thankful that I managed to stay on my feet for the whole thing (I did see a runner slip on the ice and fall into a puddle of slush several inches deep).

Following the race (having thawed my frozen toes) it was time to continue on to Aspen and log more miles on the skis slopes.

Kiawah (half) Marathon (SC), December 12th, 2015

After Chicago, and New York, I was ready for a break.  I ran the half and remembered how much fun they are.  Given the 70+ degree temperature, I was happy not to be running the full and to spend the rest of the day on the beach.  (Want to know more about the race itself...check out December 2014, 2013, and 2012, this one's becoming an annual event :)

New York Marathon (NY), November 1st, 2015

While sitting at home with a broken foot, convincing myself that I would someday run again, I also entered the lottery for the New York Marathon.  I’d heard it took years for most runners to get in, so why not start trying now. 

I had almost forgotten that I entered until I received the confirmation email that I’d gotten in.  I was surprised and a little nervous realizing that it was only 3 weeks after Chicago.  I had a number of friends who had run them that close before, so figured it must be possible.  On the plane home from Chicago, I plotted a 3-week turnaround, one week to recover, one week to tune up, and one week to taper.  Not to mention catch up on work, sleep, get laundry done, and repack.

I couldn’t imagine a race with a greater group of spectators than Chicago, and then I ran New York.  With the exception of bridges (especially the Queensboro, where all you could hear were footsteps around you for a mile and a half), there were fans everywhere.  Just ask my parents…they picked a great race to join me as my support crew! 

I could go on to describe the course, borough by borough, but don’t think I could do it justice.  A number of friends have talked about “maybe” running a marathon, but that it would have to be a special race.  I would definitely (and have) recommend New York.

Chicago Marathon (IL), October 11th, 2015

This one's still under construction...

Around the time I was having troubles with my foot, I decided to take advantage of the guaranteed entry I’d earned into the Chicago Marathon (based on my time from Kiawah last December).  Here are 26 things to describe/celebrate/remember from the race (and trip):

1-no more than 1 mile with no spectators cheering along the course

2-number of slices of deep-dish pizza I ate post race (embarrassingly low, I was tired)

3-Goose Island 312, my beverage choice for the trip

4-number of runners in our group from Raleigh

5-the number of miles it felt like I walked between the finish line and the family meet up letter “U” where I finally got to sit down after meeting up with friends.  It was probably closer to a half of a mile than 5.

6-number of runners and spectators in our group from Raleigh

7-number of tenths of a mile I ran over 26.2 in the race (my watch told me 26.98, I think about one tenth of a mile was watch error)

8-

9- number of games the Cubs played postseason this year (we enjoyed hanging out at a bar in Wrigleyville for one of them)

10-I was in bed by 10 the night before the race

11-

12-

13-

14-

15-Illinois is my 15^th state

16-

17-17,234, the number of women who finished this year’s marathon

18-

19-19x5=95^th floor, location of the Signature Lounge (where we enjoyed views of the city Sunday night, postrace)

20-

21-days until my next marathon (yikes!)

22-length of my longest pre-Chicago training run

23-

24-age when I ran my first marathon

25-age when I ran my first official half-marathon

26-26.2…the number of miles run

Bryce Caynon Half Marathon (UT), July 11th, 2015

Now that I’ve started working on a half or full in all 50 states, running a race has become my motivation for planning a number of trips.  I had never been to Utah but had been told I would like it many times (if the running didn’t give it away, I enjoy spending time outdoors).  Needless to say, when I found the Bryce Canyon half, I was glad to have a reason to head out there.

If I was going to fly all the way out to Utah, I decided I needed to spend more than a weekend there.  With little convincing, I soon had 4 friends traveling with me.  We were looking forward to a 3-day backpacking trek in Bryce Canyon National Park followed by the half marathon before spending a couple days in Zion National Park (including a day hike up the Narrows).  Saying that I’m thankful to have friends willing to join me on these adventures is an understatement.

The 7,000+ feet of climbing and 6,000+ of descent while backpacking was the perfect opportunity to acclimate ourselves to the elevation.  We’re sea level dwellers and were playing at 7-9,000 ft above.  It was also a great last minute strength training session for our legs.

We finished hiking on Friday and were up and as ready to run as we were going to be Saturday morning.  The race started just outside Bryce Canyon National Park and descended about 1800 feet into the town of Cannonville.  If I were to give each race a “most” award, this one would win the “most picturesque” by far (at least at this point in the quest).  Words can’t describe the views of the canyon and surroundings as the sun rose and hundreds of runners descended into the valley.

I won’t deny that my legs were pretty tired by the end of the hiking and running, but it was nothing a 3 mile hike up the Narrows (ankle to waist deep in cool water) couldn’t heal.

Tobacco Road Half Marathon (NC), March 15th, 2015

I was excited to enter the Tobacco Road race series again.  Having run the full marathon twice, I looked forward to trying out the half.  What made the event even better was that my sister and a friend of hers from high school were going to join me for it.  Her friend had run a couple halves but it was my sister’s first half marathon.  Although we weren’t planning to run the race together, I was excited she was tackling the distance (I was thinking about going for a PR and she was not a huge runner squeezing in as much training as she could with a 2 and 4 year old).

Early to mid January my foot started to bother me.  Sometimes when I ran it would hurt, sometimes it wouldn’t.  I would run one night and get so frustrated with the pain that I wanted to go to the doctor the next day.  When I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t make my foot hurt if I tried.  The inconsistent pain made me think it couldn’t be too serious, so I figured that I had pulled a muscle and decided to push through it.

The week before the race it was feeling a little worse, but I wasn’t too worried.  Three miles into the race I decided it was a little more serious than a pulled muscle. Six miles into the race I had fallen well off my goal pace and was doing a beautiful job of hobble running. 

The race follows an out and back course and a little while after I turned around I passed my sister going the other way.  She looked great.  I tried to forget about my foot and think about how proud I was of her (and hopefully how happy she was for herself).  For a few minutes my mind wandered to thoughts about how good it feels to finish your first big race and I hoped she was enjoying it. 

Then my foot reminded me it was still there.  Around mile 9 it started throbbing and the pain returned.  An aid station came into view and I decided I was done, I could see my foot swelling against my shoe and unless I could think of a really good distraction for the next few miles running normally was not an option.  As I got closer, the ambulance stationed at the aid station pulled away.  I took that as a sign not to give up (I had also realized my ride left and that getting back on wheels might take longer than running).  So, I kept going.

I had planned on finishing the race then heading back out to catch my sister and run the last mile or 2 with her.  That definitely wasn’t going to happen.  I found my parents and stood with them (on one foot) to watch for my sister and her friend finish.  They both did great, her friend ran a PR and my sister crossed the finish for her first half.

When I took my shoe off I realized how much it had been helping keep my foot from swelling.  My first task Monday morning was to make a doctor’s appointment (for the first time my foot still hurt the next day).  A couple of x-rays later I became the proud owner of a brand new walking boot (my old one was not supportive enough).  Apparently my symptoms earlier in the season were signs of a stress fracture and I had pushed through it for too long (did you know the feeling that a part of your foot is burning can be a symptom of a stress fracture?  I didn’t).

As I am fortunate to have a doctor who understands taking a 6-8 week break from working out would drive me crazy, I was permitted to pedal on the stationary bike at the gym, which I did 5-6 days a week, in my boot.  I attribute the biking, along with increasing my daily intake of calcium for getting my foot healed and out of it’s boot and back to running in under 4 weeks…when I went back for my first checkup I was cleared to lose the boot and slowly get back to running (the muscles in my foot/ankle/calf were pretty weak and needed some time to rebuild).

While I would gladly avoided the pain and time off from running, my story of running a half marathon on a broken foot is usually a pretty big hit.

Kiawah Island Marathon (SC), December 13th, 2014

Traveling to Kiawah for a third year in a row it is fun to reflect on how the trip has grown.  In 2012, I traveled to the race on my own.  In 2013, I was lucky to be joined by 5 friends, and in 2014 we had a group of 14 (9 runners and 5 spectators).

Even though it included a marathon PR by 6 minutes (Boston qualifying is getting so close!), this weekend was about more than running my sixth marathon.  I had the chance to…

~Be there for 2 friends’ first halves and another one’s full.  Okay, I was actually still running when they finished, but I celebrated with them afterwards!

~Ask someone if she had seen a banana walk by.  This was postrace and I’m pretty sure she thought I was in that postrace-crazy state.  Then one of my friends walked up in a banana costume (with a carrot not too far behind).  Thanks to friends who came along to cheer and those who chose to do it in costume!

~Share the world’s largest bathroom with only one other person.  We managed to find a house that easily slept 14 of us with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, several of which were the size of my bedroom.

~Go for a postrun walk on the beach (which might have involved a stroll past Tom Hanks’ house)

~Win a hand of Cards Against Humanity with “Gogurt.”

~Enjoy brunch at High Cotton in Charleston.

~Share a bottle of Kiawah wine with travelmates on our one-year Kiawah reunion (said bottle of wine was obtained our first year as an apology for our wireless not working).

We’re already planning and looking forward to next year!

Savannah Rock'n Roll Half Marathon (GA), November 8th, 2014

For a friend’s 40^th we headed to south to Savannah.  As has happened with a number of my races, this one became as much about the trip and people I traveled with as the race itself.  In honor of my his 40^th, here’s a brief overview (identifying the 40 most important words):

Tugboat-Yes, we took a tugboat to the race start.

Cobblestones-They’re great on the ankles and motivation to watch your every step.

Savannah Pedals-The night after the race we enjoyed the “pub with pedals” as a fun way to see the city.  What better way to recover from a half than pedaling around town for 2 hours.

Town Squares-Savannah is filled with town squares and monuments.  I quickly became accustomed to orienting myself based on proximity to a given square.  Or statue.  My favorite was John Wesley, a shout out to my Methodist heritage.

Open Containers=Legal-Within the historic district.  Which made the town squares, pedaling trip, and down time generally more entertaining.

Funky Brunch-A great little brunch spot that includes an electric griddle in the middle of tables allowing you to make your own pancakes.  Yum.

Phillip Phillips-He was the headliner for the postrace concert.  I discovered that I know more of his music than I thought.

Longest wait for food in a restaurant ever-We finally gave up, left, and were very thankful for Subway

Forrest Gump-A running movie, right?  After spending some time searching for it, we found the original Forrest Gump park bench has been moved from Chippewa Square to the Savannah History Museum.

University of Okoboji Half Marathon (IA), July 19th, 2014

Thought of the race as I was looking into the cornfields lining either side of the course: “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much corn.”  I turned and started to comment on my amazement at the cornfields to the runner next to me.  Then I remembered I was in Iowa.  A place where cornfields are not uncommon.  I realized that the runner next to me was probably not as fascinated by a cornfield as I was.

On the way to an annual family vacation to northern Minnesota, I convinced my parents we could swing south to Lake Okoboji, Iowa, so that I could cross off another state.   

The town of Lake Okoboji is what reminds me of an east coast beach town, complete with an amusement park and putt-putt course, on a lakeshore in the middle of cornfields.  The University of Okoboji Half Marathon was part of an event that included a triathlon, marathon, and 10k (although it was the homecoming for a university that does not actually exist).  The races started at various points around the lakes and began at staggered starting times, with the marathon beginning 2 hours before the half, which was one hour before the 10k.  As the race progressed, it was fun to pass and pick up runners completing different distances.


I enjoyed the race, but was ready to hop in the car and head north for a week of relaxation.  And kayaking, swimming, biking, and a little running.

Jamestown Half Marathon (RI), July 12th, 2014

I decided to make the most of my marathon training and booked 2 halves in July.  By “making the most of my marathon training,” I meant run as little as possible after the full and still be able to survive the two halves.  I survived both, barely.

As a teacher, summer provides me lots of time to take road trips and see new places without worrying about having to get back to work.  I found the Jamestown race and decided to tack it onto a trip to visit my parents in Delaware.  Somehow I convinced my mom to join me for the trip further north (she has been my most consistent travel partner over the course of my races).

Jamestown Island is a small residential island in Narragansett Bay.  The race started earlier than most, which I soon realized was not so that we could clear the roads early, but that it gets warm quickly that far north.  It was a quiet, pretty race through the wooded streets of the small island.

Thankfully the warm finish of the race was followed by a quick dip in the ice-cold ocean, lunch at a typical New England diner and a scenic road trip back to Delaware.

Grandma's Marathon (MN), June 21st, 2014

With most of my extended family residing in or near Minnesota and having spent 2-4 weeks there every year since I have been alive, I have logged quite a few miles in the state (in everything from 80 degree “heat waves” to upper teens and 2 foot snow drifts, in shorts).  After having spent so much time there, I decided to officially check it off my list.  Grandma’s fit perfectly into my schedule, just after school got out and what I hoped would be a cool weather run after the spring heat in North Carolina.

I’ve run a number of small races, where locals don’t even know it’s happening, and for some reason I thought Grandma’s might fit into that category.  Mid March I figured out I was wrong when I started looking for a hotel, which were all sold out, as was almost every other lodging option within 40 miles.  Thankfully for me and hundreds of other runners, Duluth is a college town.  Along with the rest of the city, who completely embraced race weekend, the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota-Duluth opened up their dorms to rent to runners.  I prepared myself to travel back in time, looking forward to reliving “dorm life.”

After visiting family in Minneapolis, I headed north the day before the race.  I had strict instructions to venture up the North Shore, along old highway 61, the same route the race would travel.  Old highway 61 winds along the shore of Lake Superior with state parks and overlooks to stop and check out the views.  After a lunch at Grandma’s Saloon and Grill (the namesake of the race), I started up the coast.

Lake Superior

I was excited to check out the course and get a glimpse of what I would run the next day.  Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened.   You see, something strange (although I would later learn from locals, quite normal) happened as I arrived in Duluth.  I left Minneapolis with clear skies in the mid to upper 70s, maintaining this through most of the drive.  Arriving in Duluth was like dropping into a 60-degree cloud.  I could see my hand in front of my face, but not far beyond that.  Being a cold weather runner, I decided the temperature would be perfect for running, pulled on my fleece picked up my packet, and assumed the fog would burn off (that’s what happens to fog, right).  The fog did not burn off and while I did enjoy the drive up the highway with several stops for short hikes and foggy overlooks, it was not the scenic drive I had hoped for.

After a good night’s sleep in my dorm room (complete with “extra long” twin beds and hall bathrooms, something I didn’t get to experience in my college days), I hopped on a bus to the start.  I definitely plan my race schedule to train in warm weather and race in cooler temperatures but was not expecting what I got in Duluth.  As I was registering for Grandma’s, a friend pointed out that they use the American College of Sports Medicine color-coded flag system to convey weather threats (black=extremely high heat risk, red=high heat risk, yellow=moderate heat risk, green=low heat risk, white=risk of hypothermia).  The humor in this was not that they use the system, but that they included the white flag definition in pre-race materials.  I assumed they included it for informational purposes only; perhaps they just wanted to raise awareness of all warnings in the system.  Then I arrived at the start (happy to have tossed my fleece pants in my suitcase at the last minute) to find temperatures in the low 40s and white flag warnings.  Not to mention a misty fog (again, I am sure the lake is beautiful, but am going on what I saw in postcards and pictures, as I don’t know that I ever saw it).  And did I mention, hypothermia warnings?

Needless to say, I was thrilled to start running/moving/raising my body temperature when the gun went off.  It was a great course, mostly flat with some small rolling hills.  The only thing that could have made it better was seeing Lake Superior, which they tell me was on my left for most of the race.  Another runner described it well; the whole race was like running in a dream with an eerie crowd of people disappearing into the fog in front of and behind you.  26.2 miles later, I crossed the finish line knocking 6 minutes off my PR, something I attribute 5% of to training and 95% to temperature.

After a couple quick snacks I was happy to find the changing tent and my warm, dry clothes.  Had I not thought to toss my warm-ups in at the last minute, I would surely have been the proud owner of a fancy new University of Minnesota sweat suit.  While it may sound like this is the North Carolina coming out in me, complaining about the cold, I encourage you to check out race pictures from 2014, and to notice the spectators in winter coats.  And hats.  And gloves.  I will be sure to pack mine next time.

Tobacco Road Marathon (NC), March 16th, 2014

When I dropped to the half in Kiawah, I knew I needed to get another full on the calendar to bounce back to.  Tobacco Road was perfect, I’d run it before and knew the course.  There was also a discount good until December 31^st so I jumped on it and signed up!

Early January I was finally able to get back into running, almost pain free.  I found running on the treadmill on a slight incline to be my new favorite (ie painless) workout.  Austin came and went and I was suddenly a month away from Tobacco Road.  As the race grew closer I realized I might have bitten off more than I could chew, not having known how long it would take to get my mileage back and not entirely comfortable with the long runs I got in.

Race morning I was not expecting anything big.  After traveling to many races, it was nice to sleep in my own bed and be familiar with the race start in the morning.  This was comforting knowing I wasn’t as comfortable in knowing what to expect from my legs in terms of the race.  After a prerace nap in the car I lined up at the start as relaxed as I have ever been before 26.2.  I decided to start out easy with my goal being to finish.  If I hit a wall and needed to walk, I would.  Twelve miles in I felt great, I was running a little faster than I expected, but I didn’t think it would last for long.  I continued waiting to hit a wall for the next 10 miles before I realized in might not happen.  Before I knew it I was turning off the trail to run the last few miles back to the finish, without hitting the long awaited wall or slowing down significantly.

Somehow I finished within a minute of my marathon PR.  As many of my races have been, this one was a lesson.  I learned the importance of being relaxed on race morning and how well things can turn out when I just sit back and listen to what my body tells me.

Austin Half Marathon (TX), February 16th, 2014

What better way to get away from one of North Carolina’s coldest winters than a quick trip to Texas for a race?  Over the past few years I’ve been lucky to make some great friends, several of whom are on board with traveling to a race (and some who are on board with traveling to and running the race).  I couldn’t have picked a better group to travel with to Austin.  When I look back on the trip I remember the race, but the highlights of the trip go beyond the 13.1 miles. 

As this is a running based blog, I will start with the race itself.  First and foremost, if you are like me, you think of flat farmland and ranches when you think of Texas, right?  It’s full of wide-open space with no hills and a sky that goes on forever.  Apparently Austin is not in that part of Texas and I soon learned Texas has a “hill country.”  Needless to say, my training on flat ground was not entirely appropriate for the hills we faced on the course, but you live and you learn.  Despite the hills, the race organizers did a great job designing a course that wound through and gave a tour of the city.  We started at the Capitol building, which is huge and a prime example of how everything is bigger in Texas (I run the 0.4 miles around the NC Capitol regularly, it’s nothing compared to the mile around the Texas one).  The course headed south and across the river.  We wound (up and down and up and down) through a variety of neighborhoods (commercial, residential, and everything in between) before crossing back over the river, skirting the University of Texas campus and finishing back at the Capitol.  Like many of the races I’ve run, I enjoyed getting a tour of the town and seeing sights I might not otherwise see.  All in all, despite the hills and heat, I would do it again.

Along with running, we did get to do a few other things in Austin. Here are my top 7:
1) Run the trails along the Colorado River (and if your legs feel like mine the day after the race, stop to soak your feet in the cold water for a bit).
2) Give yourself a tour of the UT campus, I enjoyed the turtle pond.
3) Rainey St-It’s a residential area being converted into more of a business district, great bars/restaurants (including The Blackheart, a quiet whiskey bar with a great spot to people watch)
4) Hopdoddy’s-Delicious burgers (this coming from the almost vegetarian…my black bean burger was awesome)
5) Bike Share-They have the “B-Cycle” bike share system. We used it for a day and were able to get everywhere we needed without going over the 30 minute (I think) limit.
6) Wright Bros. Brew and Brew-Great coffee/beer spot in East Austin.
7) Handlebar-A fun (mustache themed) bar complete with a grown up sized seesaw, bouncy animals (those giant ones on springs), and giant Jenga.

I’m happy to say that the trip was enjoyed by runners and non-runners as well and that I’m looking forward to the next one.

Kiawah (half) Marathon (SC), December 14th, 2013

A week and a half before Kiawah Marathon, things were great.  After the Tobacco Trail and Nashville I could feel one of my best marathons coming soon.  One week before race day, I put on my shoes and headed out for an easy 13 miles.  100 yards in my knee started screaming and I knew exactly what it was, my IT band.  I stopped, stretched, rested, iced, and foam rolled for the next few days.  When things had not improved, I gave in and went to the doctor, ready to hear that I needed to sideline myself for the race, travel to Kiawah with my friends, and enjoy a bike ride around the island cheering them on (biking, no pain; walking, no pain; elliptical, no pain; stair climber, no pain; running, I felt like a knife was stabbing me in the knee).

The doctor agreed with my diagnosis but surprisingly gave me the okay to run the full marathon after taking the rest of the week off.  Two days before the race I decided 26.2 miles after 10 days off and unsure of how much pain I would be in made me more than a little nervous, so I dropped to the half.  This proved to be a wise decision.  I spent the first six and half miles in pain (there were tears, a lot of walking, and a spectator might have asked if I needed a medic).  After a gentle uphill around mile 7, the pain disappeared completely and I was able to run to the end (the Kiawah marathon/half have a really cool tracking system, it tells you how many people you passed within a certain stretch…in the 2^nd half of the race, I was passed by none and passed 813, not to mention the tears stopped).

It wasn’t a PR for me, but an awesome weekend nonetheless.  After dropping out of the full I decided to focus on the fun part of the weekend, traveling to Kiawah with friends (one of whom ran their first of many half marathons to come).

Nashville (TN) Half Marathon, November 9th 2013

I’ve decided not all blog entries need to be 500 word essays, so here’s a quick list of Nashville highlights:
1) Fun weekend and break from work
2) Cowboy boots and country music (and more cowboy boots and country music)
3) A great race (not too hilly, a PR by over 10 minutes, and a sparkly medal too)