Here it is, the long awaited race report...
I am pleased to announce that I am now a half marathoner! I guess I wasn't half baked after all. I have to say that I had a lot of fun on this journey, even when I doubted whether I could reach this goal.
The hubster and I went up to the resort where the race was held the night before the race. Actually, we made a weekend of it and had a great time! Although I had to work that Friday, it was only a half day, so we got up to the resort before the expo was over. I picked up a couple of new t-shirts and a picture frame for my race photo. And we registered DH for the 5K! It was spur of the moment, and he was planning on running that day anyway, so we killed two birds with one stone. Yay!
The half started at 7:30, and the 5K started 5 minutes later. I was a little nervous about the whole thing, but it sure didn't keep me from sleeping on Friday night. Of course, there isn't much that keeps me from sleeping. I had a cup or two of coffee but didn't eat anything until right before we left the room for the race. Tummy was a little rumbly...
This was shortly before the race started.
And they're off! Over the hills, and through the woods, to the finish line we go!
We left the resort property when we started the race and ran on a county road up to the state highway. We then ran along the highway for a few hundred yards and re-entered the resort property through the front entrance. I tried to get a picture of the sign at the entrance, but you can't see it because of where the sun was located. But the picture has a cool effect, so I include it here for you. The picture right below it is also of the resort entrance.
The entrance road to the resort is very hilly. There are two schools of thought on hills; you either run up them or you walk up them. I did a little of both. I ran the downhills, letting gravity carry me along (but always controlled), which allowed me to run most or all the way up the next hill. We ran a couple of miles on the entrance road and then cut back over to the county road to cover miles 6-10.
It's Bluebonnet season in our part of Texas. If you're not from here, trust me, it's a really big deal here! The blue flowers are the bluebonnets; the orange ones in the background are Indian Paintbrush. You almost always see the two flowers together. I had to stop and take a picture, of course.
We have other wildflowers in bloom, too. I'm don't know the names of the others though, except for the lantana. Below is a picture of a whole field of yellow lantana. Sorry the color didn't come through too well. Cell phone picture...and by the time I took this the sun had burned off most of the clouds so it washes out most of the color.
On the home stretch!
As you can see, I'm not the only one who stopped to take a picture of this mile marker!
At mile 10, we again re-entered the resort property. Miles 10-12 were routed past the hotel and through the golf course. Have you ever been on a golf course? I hadn't until that day. I didn't realize that golf course paths are full of small inclines and declines. It was harder to run that than the bigger hills! Yeesh!
After leaving the golf course paths, we ran past the hotel again towards
the finish line. DH was sitting on our little patio watching the race
and was able to get a picture of me as I passed.
He tried to make it over to the finish line before me so he could take another picture, but I was running faster than he thought. So he missed me...oh well, I got the official finish picture.
Official photos:
During the half
Finish line photo!
Instead of the traditional bling/medal, we received custom jewelry from Satya Jewelry. Really pretty!
My official stats:
Time - 3:01:59
Overall - 981/1,098
Females - 921/1,036
Female Masters - 320/378
F45-49 - 67/86
I met up with the hubster within about 10-15 minutes after I had finished. This is just a sample of the festivities. There were other areas as well that I didn't take pictures of.
I had a great time doing this event. We're even talking about doing it again next year, and DH might even do the half with me next time. We might even talk a couple of my girlfriends into doing it as well! WooHoo!
Before I leave you this evening, I wanted to share some other images I captured over the weekend. The first few are from mile 8 of the race.
I thought this farm was really pretty. Loved the decoration on the side of the stable. Then I found out what the farm was...
The rest of these are from the resort. The Colorado River flows behind the hotel.
The hillside across from our room...covered in bluebonnets.
I hope you've enjoyed my journey. It's been fun having your company!
