I ran the
Dallas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon with my two running buddies H and S they past weekend. I have to say that it was fun and turned out way better than I was expecting! I think the best part was that with my running buddies again. I'm not sure I would've been able to do it without them!
HEALTH & FITNESS EXPO (aka Packet Pickup)
The expo was really nice. I got approval to take a two hour lunch to drive downtown to Friday afternoon to pickup my packet. I understand their reasons, but I wish someone could've gotten my packet for me! Anyway, the organization for the packets was great and once I got my bib, shirt, bag I was off to shop as quickly as I could! I ended up buying a Fitletic
Ultimate Running Belt 1 like my RB's cause it can hold my phone, cards and eventually one or two small bottles
(extra add-ons) during my 5k - 10k runs. The best part of the belt... it doesn't bounce or jiggle! I haven't run with it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes soon!
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| Ooooh, new belt! |
RACE DAY
The morning of the race my buddies and I caught the DART train at the ungodly hour of 5:30am - in the rain. Oy! We got to the Convention Center at 6am and found the start line. I got a banana and some water. Visited the clean potties
(yay! for being the first one to use it!). It was chilly, but it stopped raining and you could hear the race crews saying that there weren't be any more
(yes!). Thankfully the weather was just right for my "go-to" outfit... my bleach shirt, compressions, and hat.
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| I often wonder if I need to broaden my shirt choice, but I like this one! |
We didn't gear check until until 7:30am cause we didn't want to give up our warm jackets until we really had to. Gear Check was pretty awesome. There were 13 or so UPS trucks lined up an you found one that had the letters that your last named fitted within. Once the race started the trucks moved to the finish line at the American Airlines Center. While we hung out near gear check I visited the bathroom two more times and stood near a generator for a portable street light to stay warm.
While waiting in Corral13 I got to meet up with my running friend and former co-worker Jane from back home! She also got to meet my current running buddies/coworkers too! Back in February we quickly hugged each other after we finished the Austin Half Marathon, but that was it. This time we got to take a picture of each other and talk and start the race together. She was extremely excited that I told her was I doing the Dallas Marathon in December, and had offered any help needed for training. I didn't see her after that, but we talked on Facebook afterwards. Out of 10,000 people we managed to find each other. This was awesome!!!
The start was really nice. Instead of just counting down just once at the very beginning with Corral 1 the MCs started each corral with a countdown. Not only did this help with spacing, but it also helped make it feel like the race really started when you cross the line, especially after you had to wait about 15-20 minutes before it you could cross the start. Does that make sense?
Just like we planned H and I ran the race together. We were doing 2 mile intervals to get our bodies use to the idea of doing this
(we plan on doing this for our marathon training later this year). We also planned to stay in front of the 02:45 pace group so that we knew we would finish before that - looking for that PR time. What sucked though was I needed to pee the moment we started running. My bladder was hyper that morning possibly due to over-hydration but especially since it was lady's time
(ugh!). All the port-a-potties had big lines - the downside of such a big race. I held it until around
Mile 4 or so then I got in the shortest line I saw. Just as I was stepping into the loo the 02:45 pace group ran past! Ack!
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| Let's turn it up to 11, Spinal Tap friends! |
We had to run faster to catch up to the pace group, and I think that's what burned me a bit later on in the race. We did eventually pass the group, which was an great. I felt good up until Mile 9, which was then things were getting hard for my legs.Granted there was a mountain of a hill around this time too. Mile 10 - with a 5k left to go - and I was dragging. H was doing great and she kept me going, which I was very thankful for. When we got Mile 12 - at the last hill - we walked our last interval. After going up it was all downhill. I love finishing a race going down! We basically sprinted to the finish line. I was so done! I beat H by a SECOND! Mwahaha!
Finishing time: 02:38:09! A new Personal Record!
The course was actually really nice. Good scenery. We ran through Dealey
Plaza. Ran over the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. I loved going down the
roundy-roundy ramp
(technical term in use here) after the bridge. There were just enough hills to
make it challenging, especially at the end. There were a good amount of water stations and good amount of port-a-potties. What I also found extremely cool was there were running medics. These jersey wearing runners ran the race and would ask how everyone was doing. If you were having any sort of issue they would help you. This is way better than getting to a water station and waiting for a medic or waiting till you get to a medic station. I got to say... that was pretty cool!
Post-Race food in the finishing chute included little packets of craisens, Lay's potato chips, bananas, bottled water, bottled Gatorade, and cartons of chocolate milk. I took it all, and consumed it all!
H and I got our medals engraved for $20. Then got our bags from the UPS folks.
I have an idea for big races...I hope someone sees this.... Please, please have a spot for runners to change clothes that does not involve a toilet!
I don't typically shy away from changing my shirts and such with people around, but I really wanted to change my bra
(If I had remembered to pack it - doh!) and to a dry pair of Runderpants. I didn't end up doing that cause the port-a-potty was my only choice of changing room. Just changed my top layers instead. Not entirely fun, but it was manageable.
Instead of waiting to get Tex-Mex when we got yummies at the
Samson's Gourmet Hot Dog tent. I just got a 9" dog with cheddar cheese, ketchup and mustard. The bun was amazing!I ate it in under 10 minutes!
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| YUM!!! |
After
momentarily getting lost finding the DART station I could finally text the family how it went an how achy I was
(I will mention here that the station needed more seats!!!). The ride home was long, involving a transfer, not entirely the comfiest, but it was so much nicer than trying to drive through the traffic.
The race was great. It would have gotten my complete "Awesome Stamp of Approval" if my legs hadn't tired out toward the end. I would definitely do it again. Right now they're offering a low-cost registration fee for next year. I think I just might do that!
Oh, and did I mention that I ran the entire race without a single earbud stuck in my ear? That's a first!
Did you run a race recently? What was it and how'd you do?!
Images found
here and
here.
