Race Report * Little Rock Marathon!

This past Sunday I ran my FIRST FULL at the Little Rock Marathon! Since I live in Little Rock now I had the advantage of running with the amazing training group lead by Tom & Hobbit here every Saturday. Even after following the training schedule and running parts of the course I was scared, but I gathered all my running junk and went to bed early.

Got to the start line about 10 minutes before the early start (at 6am.) It was the perfect amount of time to take a few photos, chat with some fellow runners and not freeze my butt off for too long.

The early start (for slow people like myself) had several advantages: 1. we got to see this amazing sunrise on the river  2. we got to see the elites effortlessly fly past  3. we finished before the medals ran out and before our friends and family lost interest.

We missed some of the course entertainment because we started so early, but all of the water stops were open and a few people were awake in North Little Rock to cheer. My apartment was further along the course and Michael came out to cheer for me. 

The crowds kept my mind off the hills. It's just not a party until you see a dog in a dress.

Made a quick stop to sign THE WALL. I think I run too slow to actually "hit the wall" but I did have to walk a lot of those last few miles.

My goal for this first marathon was just to make it to the finish and get that medal. I'm never going to qualify for Boston and am perfectly happy being passed by people in their 70s. The race, volunteers, police, entertainment and crowds were amazing and I walked away with a medal that is as big as my face! I might just have to try it again next year.

Race Report * New Years Double!

For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to run back to back half marathons on new years eve morning and new years day morning. It sounded like an appropriate challenge on the road to my first FULL marathon. I have to admit that the well designed race shirts and awesome medals were a big reason I signed up. Everyone (including the 5k runners) got an individual medal for each race. If you completed both races you also received a large magnetic challenge plate.

The weather was kind of cold and rainy at the start of both races, but thankfully it was a small enough event that you could hide out in the car and be at the starting corral with not much time spent in the elements. I tried to run with a poncho for a while, but I found I just cant stand it for too long.

The first race was good. My time suffered due to a bathroom stop and much hip/ankle pain, but I finished! Michael did really well with his first 5k in a while. We spent the day recovering and trying not to ruin the next race by eating crazy holiday things or drinking too much- Happy New Year!

The second day I was so sore. Unfortunately the pain in my hip and ankle decided to hang around and become even worse for the second race. I ran the first half and painfully limped the second half. My time was terrible, but I was just glad to finish and walk away with a huge hunk of a medal and only one blister. I would love to do this race again, but hopefully free of my pesky hip injury. I resolve to STRETCH more in 2013.