Chick-fil-A Connect Half Marathon

I was really excited to run the Chick-fil-a Connect Half Marathon in Athens, Georgia. I had already run one half marathon in January so I knew I could do it.  That first was preceded by lots of anxiety and worry, so I was looking forward to just enjoying this one!

I drove up to Athens the afternoon before the race to attend the expo to pick up my packet.  I had never really been to a race expo before so I was excited about that.  However, I was disappointed to find just a handful of vendors. I decided to use my extra time to drive the race route so I would know what to expect... wow! Look at all those hills!

That night, I stayed with family in Toccoa so I would have a short drive of about 30 minutes in the morning.  Right before sunrise I met up with my Moms Run This Town buddies from back home. Now I was really getting excited!

McDonough/Stockbridge MRTT

Before I knew it we were off! A little crowded in the streets of downtown Athens, I heard someone holler out, " I love your skirt!"  This was my first time racing in a Sparkle Skirt and was thrilled to have everything I could possibly need packed into my pockets.  I am still a little self conscious so I chose to wear capris underneath.

I have to say that I absolutely loved this course- we started downtown, ran along the river, on to the University of Georgia campus and alongside the famous Sanford Stadium, and through some beautiful neighborhoods just as spring was unfurling it's beautiful blossoms and flowers then ending back downtown.  Although I loved the view this route gave, it was certainly challenging for a newbie runner like me.  My BRF and I had trained on hills, but these hills were no joke.  I also quickly realized that our pre-dawn runs throughout February and March did little to prepare me for the April sunshine which felt like it was baking me in it's rays! I was so grateful for the shade of the neighborhoods in the later miles. But, to make it to the finish we had to climb back uphill to the downtown area.  At one point I ran backwards up the hill just to give my legs a break- ha ha!

What is this hot, bright stuff touching my skin?  I'm used to running in the dark!

As I neared the finish chute I kicked into gear and started picking off a few people to pass as I gathered the last bit of energy I had. I was surprised to turn the corner and to run... inside!  It was dark and it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust after being in the bright sunshine outside. I also had to quickly put on the breaks so I wouldn't crash into a group of ladies who had stopped in front of me.

As I gasped for breath and to make sense of my surroundings I was handed my medal and ushered down the chute where there was water, gatorade, chicken sandwiches, fruit, etc.  I was really glad for my skirt pockets now. I knew I would probably want some of this stuff... later!  As I was about to leave the finisher's area I realized I didn't have my medal and was in a panic.  Thankfully, one of the volunteers took pity on me and gave me another one.  This was my first official finisher's medal (my first half was free and didn't give out medals) and I couldn't afford to lose it before I left the race!

We feel "official" now that we have a medal around our necks!

It felt like a sauna in this large convention hall where we had finished, but we had conquered the hills of Athens and earned our Chick-fil-a, so were happy!

Red Nose Half Marathon: race review and recap

THE DECISION

My BRF Michelle, convinced me to set goals of running a 10K and 15K race before I could run a 5K.  However I am the one who convinced her to sign up for our very first half marathon, the Red Nose in Columbus, Georgia. This race is free and is hosted by a local running club, the Columbus Roadrunners.

To be honest, the price tag is what first attracted me.  After all, if I ended up biting off more than I could chew I would have nothing to lose.  But after getting going on my training plan, I was good to go.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

We drove to Columbus the night before the race and headed straight to packet pick up that was hosted at Big Dog Running Company. Everything was very organized and we were able to pick up shirts we had pre-purchased.  Since the race was free, we wouldn't be receiving a medal or race shirt. We didn't care- we were just so excited to be running a half marathon! While at the store I purchased a running hat which I planned to wear for the race.  I had just been wearing a regular beanie for training and it would get too hot and too soggy from sweat.  I planned to do the worst thing ever- wear something on race day that I had never trained with... but I figured a hat couldn't hurt.  It's not like I would get blisters or chafing on my forehead!

After picking up our bibs we used my Map my Run app to drive the course so would know what to expect.  The first 4 or so miles were in downtown Columbus then headed to the Riverwalk... which we would have to wait until the next day to see.

The night before I was so nervous.  Especially since I had been having some strange muscle pain.  It hurt to sit, but not to walk or run. I practically bathed in ben-gay took lots of Advil, had everything laid out and ready to go and tried to sleep.

THE RACE

My local MRTT group met in the hotel lobby and walked to the start line together.  Some of the ladies were in the middle of marathon training and needed more than 13.1 miles so they ran the approximately 1 mile to the start.  I thought they were crazy and wanted to salvage all my energy. We got a group shot outside Big Dog just as the sun was coming up.  Many of these ladies I had never met in person before, but I recognized many of them from their Facebook profile photos and their posts.

 It was a balmy 26 degrees so I was all bundled up and I wore my winter coat on top of all my running gear until it was almost time to start.  My fabulous hubby came with me for this first big milestone for me and he was happy to head back to the hotel with the coats.  It meant so much to have him there with me and helped to put my nerves at ease.

My buddy Michelle has also been having some issues lately- but hers was her IT band. So we both decided to focus on finishing and just having fun instead of racing and pushing ourselves to go really fast. However we were faced with a tough decision.  There was a pace group for 2:30 finishers and one for 3:00.  We knew we were most likely somewhere in between... we didn't want to run with the 3 hour group when we could do better but didn't think we could keep up with the 2:30 group for the whole time, especially with our recent injuries. Finally we decided to just go on our own and stick with our original decision to just have fun.

We were so excited to be off and running!  I loved knowing exactly what was ahead since we had driven the first part of the course the night before. We were having a blast and our pace was great. Then we headed to the Riverwalk which was beautiful.  

The night before I had carefully prepared mini ziploc bags with my portions of Sports Beans and one Advil for each of my planned fuelings. At about mile five or six I was feeling great and pulled out one of my baggies and started nibbling away at my Sports Beans. That is until I accidentally chewed up an Advil. I didn't think I would ever recover from the Advil stuck in my teeth! 

Shortly afterwards we passed the Columbus Wastewater Treatment Facility.  We obviously didn't do our homework because we were completely unprepared for the horrific smell.  We were so grateful to have our neck gaiters with us to help protect us from the stench! Poor Michelle has a very sensitive stomach and she struggled quite a bit. 

The race route was an out and back along the river walk which was a challenge with many run/walking intervals and faster folks already coming back in the other direction, especially in areas that were icy and/or muddy. But we loved seeing our MRTT peeps and cheering for them as they ran past us.  It was a great feeling to make it all the way to the turn around and start heading back.  Now when we passed people, we were the fast ones- Yessssss! As we reached mile ten or eleven we were passed by a friendly group of senior citizens who were doing 30:30 intervals.  As we were getting tired they were still full of pep and easily passed us.  Hmmmm. 

Before long we were running through the sewage smell again and this time Michelle was having an even more difficult time.  She wanted me to go on without her but there was no way I was going to leave her behind.

THE FINISH

Finally the river walk was over and we were back on the streets of downtown Columbus. We had almost made it! I remember a race volunteer encouraging us on and hollering out, "Come on! You can do it!  Around this corner it's just one more block!" I teared up as I looked back at Michelle. We were going to make it. We were going to achieve this amazing goal.  I was almost overcome with emotion as I rounded the corner... and there was no finish line.  What the heck?  That guy totally lied to us! It was at least two more turns until the finish line.

Once it was in sight and I knew Michelle was set to finish I began to run as fast as I could.  In my mind I could hear the theme music to Chariots of Fire and I felt like an Olympic champion, or a even a cheetah on the plains of Africa.  The sense of triumph was palpable.  Then I crossed the finish line... and that was it.  I looked around and there were just a few people running the timing equipment.  I looked back in time to cheer for Michelle, then my husband ran over to us.  I had not even realized he was there.  He told us that up until about five minutes earlier someone was announcing each runner as they crossed the finish line, but they had just packed up to move around the corner to the awards.  Ok.  There were no medals being handed out- we already bought our shirts.  Our MRTT peeps were faster than us and had already finished.  So we grabbed some water and bananas and other snacks and headed back to the hotel.  Even though I was so happy to have reached my goal, sadly it was very anticlimactic. 

We headed back to the hotel where I took a long epsom salt bath and proudly donned my shirt. I was a half marathoner! It was a few weeks later that I proudly put my 13.1 magnet on my car.   It's amazing how I had lived my entire life kind of oblivious and not really sure what these random numbers on the back of people's cars were all about. But now, this number means so much to me.