2015 Holden Beach Half Marathon

Way back in September, I ran my second half marathon. I should have published this a long time ago, but the post has been sitting in my drafts for way too long with no words. Since I do want to be able to look back and remember this race, instead of the in depth post that I should have written I'm just going to leave a few quick pictures here!

My friend Susan and I decided to sign up for the Holden Beach races and make a girls weekend out of it. Who can ever say no to a weekend at the beach with friends? 

We drove down to the beach after work on Friday afternoon and made our way to packet pickup. It was just a little table set up outside of a restaurant, no expo or anything. I grabbed my half bib and Susan got her 5k bib. We also got shirts that are super soft and that I love!

We woke up way earlier than anyone should have to on a Saturday to drive the 5 or so minutes over the bridge and to the start. After parking, this was our view. Kind of worth the early wake-up, right?

Right before the race started (the 5k and half started together) we were rewarded with these colors in the sky. This was a smaller race than I'm used to at just over 600ish half marathoners. The start was easy to find and there was plenty of parking, but the one thing missing was bathrooms. Seriously- at least a thousand people (since the 5k and 1 mile runs start with the half) and TWO bathrooms. Zero port a pottys provided by the race at the start or along the course. That's a major issue in my opinion, and one I hope they fix for next year! 

The half course started by taking runners up and over the Holden Beach Bridge, down and around short gravel drive, and back up and over the bridge. Umm, wow. I knew the rest of the race would be flat but those first couple of miles going over the bridge were tough! But again, we were rewarded with gorgeous ocean views while on the bridge, so it was worth it!

After the back and forth over the bridge, I REALLY wanted to turn left and finish up with the 5kers....but I decided to stick it out and headed right to run nearly 11 more miles. And yes, it was all flat, which was amazing. But I totally didn't count on the crosswind, which was crazy. Like at times hard to walk upright much less run crazy. There were several water stops along the way with just water- so if you need any other fuel options, be sure to carry those with you! 

I was super excited to cross the finish line and get that huge (and HEAVY) medal!

 I didn't see any of the advertised post race eats (except bananas) - but being able to stick my toes in the ocean after finishing find of made up for that. (And I'm sure faster runners had more options.)

Overall, this was a good race. I was a little disappointed with some of the organizational things (lack of restrooms, running out of food, etc...) but I'm hoping that the race director will take the feedback from this heat and make changes for the better next year. I can see myself making this an annual event on my race calendar.

What's Up Wednesday

I had the urge to write today, but no real topic in mind, so linking up for What's Up Wednesday seemed like the perfect fix! So here we go...

What we're eating this week....

This week is my break in between rounds of the 21 Day Fix, so meal prep hasn't exactly been the best! BUT I have had some pretty great meals, such as breakfast for dinner while we were snowed in followed by a pretty great Sweet Potato Hash the next morning. 

What I'm reminiscing about....

A month ago yesterday, I had to make the decision to say goodbye to my sweet Bailey. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. A month to the day after that, this came in the mail from the vet clinic. Coincidence? 

What I'm loving....

My HyrdroFlask and Nuun! Drinking water has always been a struggle, but with the combination of being able to keep it super cold and adding a little flavor (but not sugar) and vitamins, it is getting easier and easier!

What I've been up to...

We were lucky enough to get just enough winter weather to keep us inside for a couple of days but not cause damage or power outages, and I loved it! I may be in the minority, but I LOVE having a reason to stay cozied up at home....and Echo may have loved it even more than I did!

What I'm dreading... 

This sounds pretty silly...but next week! Thanks to holidays and snow days, I've been spoiled by short week weeks since before Christmas! An actual five day work week next week is going to be rough!

What I'm working on...

This week was the start of the semester for online classes at the college I teach at. So it's been a busy week of making sure everything online is ready for students and answering messages and emails!

What I'm excited about...

The weekend! The weather is supposed to be better and I can't wait to get outside a little!

What I'm watching/reading...

Ohh...I watched the premiere of Lucifer last night. Did anyone else? I think I'm going to love it!

What I'm listening to...

I feel like I need some new music, so today I've been listening to Spotify's Spotlight on 2016 playlist.

What I'm wearing...

My workout clothes! I'm typing this in between my workout and getting ready for work this morning. Shirts and jackets with thumb-holes are the best! 

What I'm doing this weekend...

Hopefully running! Last weekend's weather meant my long run with my running group was cancelled, so I'm looking forward to getting back on track with 8 miles this weekend!

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Spending a night in the Asheville area! It's for a quick work trip, but hopefully we'll be able to have a good dinner out and enjoy a bit of the area the night before our meeting.

What else is new...

I made the decision to list my house! It's been a whirlwind and happened really quickly, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

2015 Charlotte SouthPark 8k Turkey Trot

I've always wanted to run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, but for various reasons never have. This Thanksgiving, I was determined to change that, and signed up for the Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot. This race had a 5k or 8k option, and I chose the 8k. Even signing up late on November 17, registration wasn't too pricey at $40. Since that included a long sleeve t-shirt (cotton, tech tee was an additional $15) as well as a finisher's medal, I didn't think $40 was bad.

Since I wasn't exactly sure how crowded race day would be, I opted to visit packet pick-up the day before, and it was super easy and fast to grab my bib and shirt. I tried to get to bed early and organize myself on Wednesday night so that I could get to the start on time. That meant that I finished cooking a Thanksgiving dessert, had my Garmin charged, and my Nuun bottles filled all before bed!

Prepping for race day!

On Thursday morning, I woke up and realized I didn't have Bagel Thins or bread in the house, so went with a bowl of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pecan Oats for breakfast before I left (prepping fail). Traffic on Thanksgiving morning was non-existent, so I made it to the start at SouthPark Mall with plenty of time to spare. I wasn't exactly sure where the best place to park would be, but decided to park closer to the start than the finish to hopefully avoid traffic leaving. I made my way towards the 8k start line and was super happy to see that it was actually right by an indoor food court that housed a Bojangles, so was open! This meant that runners had a warm place to wait inside AND indoor bathrooms with NO LINES! It was great - especially since it was around 40 degrees at the start.

I met a fellow #TeamrunDisney Facebook group member and we actually stuck together for the whole race! The race started right on time, and we were off! The 8k started at 9:00 am, with the 5k starting at 9:30 in a different location, but they finished at the same spot. Being Charlotte, the course was filled with rolling hills, and our goal was just to have fun and keep to our 30:30 run/walk/run intervals. The course was open enough that in the first few miles there wasn't really any crowding, which was great! At around the 2-mile marker, a couple families had set up a "water" stop with mimosas and Bloody Marys! There were a couple other families throughout the course that were out cheering runners on, which was nice!

Mimosas at Mile 2? Okay!

We kept up with our intervals, and before we knew it, there was only about a mile left. Somewhere around that point, the course merged with the 5k course. Well, it went from being not crowded at all, to being super crowded! It was fine for us since we were just running for fun, but I can imagine any 5kers who were racing may not have been pleased. There were around 7,000 finishers total, so it wasn't exactly a small race! You can see from the splits how much the merging slowed us down in the last miles! (That and what I'm convinced is a Charlotte rule that races must have a huge uphill in the last mile or two of every race.)

Turkey Trot 8k Splits

8k Turkey Trot Finisher

Once through the finish chute, we were handed our medals, which are pretty great! My only complaint about the race was the organization after finishing. Although we saw people walking around with fruit and Kind Bars, we never saw any and had to assume they ran out. Even water at the finish line was almost completely gone (and was cups, not bottles), so I was extra happy I had a bottle of Nuun in the car waiting for me. 

We finished in about an hour, so that means people were finishing the 10k for at least another 30 minutes, and the 5k for a little longer than that. As a solid mid to back of the pack runner depending on the size of the race, nothing frustrates me more than races running out of post-race food/water before everyone is finished!

Overall though, I thought this was a great race, and I felt great running it the whole time! I'll definitely be returning next year!

A Black Friday Hike

Today after a lunch of leftovers, I decided to take Echo and Boone for a hike. (They're brothers- Echo belongs to me, Boone belongs to my parents). The trail we hiked is part of the Carolina Thread Trail, and is a pretty easy 5.5ish mile hike along Lake Wylie. It also connects with trails at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, so you can add a little mileage or switch it up easily.

It was the first time I've used the double leash with these two...and geez it took about 3 miles for them to decide to calm down. But seriously, they did so great with the hike and with all the other dogs and people we came across! (My favorite is hearing "Look at the wolf!" which I've heard at least once every single time I've hiked with Echo.

The best part is, this trail is only about 3 miles from my parents house (and not much further from mine). I spent a lot of time just feeling thankful that I live in a county with so many public parks and trails- some city, some county, and even a couple state parks. I know it's early for resolutions- but one of mine is to take advantage of these more often!  

Now- off to Boone tomorrow!

OrthoCarolina 10k Classic

Way back in August, I ran the OrthoCarolina 10k Classic in Charlotte. I mainly signed up for this race because sign up included a pint glass, a t shirt, and a finisher's medal! I don't run for the "bling," but all that for a 10k isn't bad, right? It also didn't hurt that the 6 miles fit in pretty perfectly to my fall half marathon training plan.

What I wasn't thinking about when I signed up was how HOT it is in August in North Carolina. My dad was nice enough to go to the race with me (and wait on me to run). The race was in Charlotte, about 25 minutes from my house. We left in plenty of time to get to the start, which was a good thing since there was a bit of a traffic back up of people trying to get into the parking garage. The morning started with a bang as we were rear ended at a stoplight while waiting for traffic to move. Luckily there was no damage and we (and the runner who rear-ended us) were able to get parked and make our way towards the start.

Within just a few minutes of getting into line, we were off! I was planing on running the whole race using 30:30 run-walk-run intervals, so that's how I started off. I'd been training all summer running 13ish minute miles on long runs, and since I was running this as a training run, I knew I needed to slow down when I saw this for the first mile, I knew I needed to slow it down.

The course started out relatively flat, but in true Charlotte race fashion, seemed to get more and more hilly as the miles added up. I swear, it must be some sort of Charlotte rule that all courses finish with the last 1.5 miles uphill. You can see from my splits that by the last mile and the biggest hill, I was over it!

But, I did make it through the finish chute, and even with the hills and heath, managed to get a new 10k PR! The only downside was that they were out of finisher's medals! After a little confusion and some disgruntled runners, an announcement was made that more medals were on the way! So, a few minutes later, I had a medal to add to my collection! 

It's really hard for rate races after doing several runDisney events, because honestly, very little can compare. However, I really enjoyed this one! Packet pickup was quick and easy, there was free parking right at the start/finish, the course was really well marked, there were just enough water stops, and the post race festivities were pretty great! 

Even with the hills and heat to contend with, I just may make this a yearly must do!