Happy happy 2019! I hope you all enjoyed your New Year's Eve/Day celebrations and kicked off the new year on a good note!
Last week I shared a little about the medals earned during my 2018 races, but I didn't share about my favorite race moments and memories! There were several high points to races for me this year, so I thought it would be fun to share them with you today!
Hands down, the highlight of my year was the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World in January of 2018. Running all four races throughout the parks for a total of 48.6 miles was nothing short of magical. Sure, the early mornings x 4 were gruesome, but crossing the finish line of the marathon made up for it all!
Stopping for character photos and seeing familiar faces throughout the race course added to the fun! Being around so many runners who were attempting to accomplish the same "crazy" goal made it all the more exciting. I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling a little FOMO for this upcoming Marathon Weekend in just a few short days.
Another highlight of the year for me was when I placed at the Warrior 5K held by the high school where I graduated. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I managed to keep the lead in all of the women and I crossed the finish line in first place! Yes, it was a smaller-ish 5K but I still won a pair of shoes from our local running store for placing! The fact that the race was put on by my old high school made it fun for me, too!
In May, I ran the Contraband Days 5 Miler after having planned and helped execute our local Relay for Life event the evening before. I didn't get to sleep until after 1 a.m. the morning of race day and after having been on my feet ALL day the day before, I was running this one on dead legs. Needless to say, this wasn't my greatest race but it's definitely one I can laugh at because I'm still wondering what in the world I was thinking by registering for it!
The 4 Miler on the 4th of July was another fun one this year. I'd just started Orangetheory about 6 weeks prior to the race and the consisted cross-training proved itself as a plus. Although I had to stop for a minute to get my heart under control mid-race (because it did that crazy PSVT thing), I still landed a 30 second PR! I couldn't believe how great I felt during this race (minus the heart part)!
In the fall, I ran my very first trail run at the Spooky Trail 10 Miler. To be honest this wasn't a fun one for me but it was definitely memorable. I was sick and running this race probably had a hand in turning said sickness into full blown bronchitis. Also, running trails alone in the woods is not a fun thing for me as I'm seriously the biggest chicken in the world. Needless to say, I stuck like glue to the runner in front of me. I probably won't be running this one again anytime soon, at least not alone.
Last but not least, I ran two Rock 'n' Roll events this year with Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans and Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio. Both were great runs and great ways to see both New Orleans and San Antonio. The bands at every mile were fun and I loved how each race included a unique glimpse of the culture of the area - New Orleans included a second line/jazz band and San Antonio had several mariachi bands along the way!
2018 was a great year, running wise and I'm excited to see what 2019 has in store!
What was your favorite running/race memory from 2018?
The close of 2018 is right around the corner and with that comes blog posts that reflect on the past year. Since I'm one of those sappy, reflective, memories type person, I thought it would be fun to participate in a Tuesday on the Run topic and take a look back over the race bling that was earned in 2018!
There were three sets of races that I ran this year where I earned medals, and all three are very special to me in different ways!
It all started in January with my favorite race of the year, the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World!
This race experience included four different races, one of those being my 6th full marathon (and last for a little while). I ran this entire event with a friend of mine and we had a BLAST! Crossing the finish line of the full marathon after 48.6 miles through the most magical place on earth was truly a race highlight!
In February, I ran the Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon and had a marvelous time!
Rock n Roll New Orleans is another favorite of mine (I run it every year) and LOVE love love the course! I also added the 5K this year (as a first at this event for me) and really enjoyed myself there as well! With the addition of the 5K, I also earned an extra medal for a three medal weekend! Rock on!
Last but not least, I ran the Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon just a few weeks ago and had another amazing experience!
I mainly registered for the San Antonio Half because I heard about an "extra bling" opportunity for running both New Orleans and San Antonio in the same calendar year. This race was definitely well worth the extra effort and I love the bling!!
Three races and eleven medals - sounds pretty legit to me! It was definitely a great year filled with lots of fun racing memories!
It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty.
There's only 14 days until Christmas and it's so hard to believe. I absolutely love this time of year and I'll admit - I get really sad once it's all said and done. Soaking up the memories and moments this season brings and seeing the wonder in a child's eyes are some of my favorite things about it.
Thank you for being patient with me on this Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon recap. Over the weekend, we performed a Grinch production that reached right at 5,000 people, so this recap is a little behind and I'm sorry for that. More on The Grinch later...now, on to Rock n Roll San Antonio!
Although this race was held in downtown San Antonio, I stayed at my brother and sister-in-law's house which is about 45 minutes or so from downtown San Antonio. With this being my first time to run Rock n Roll San Antonio, I had to do a little research on the start/finish line and parking. Thankfully, this one started and finished right in the same general vicinity (unlike New Orleans...which I'm not complaining about, because Rock n Roll NOLA has its own special charm). In the end, I decided to go ahead and purchase a ticket to park at the Alamodome so we didn't have to fight traffic and parking garages. If you missed the Expo recap and would like to read that also, you can do so here.
After laying out my clothing the night before the race, I was ready to go!
The Alamodome was all lit up for Christmas and even had Christmas music playing from the speakers! It was such a fun start to the morning!
My dad and sister-in-law (Kayla) rode down to the start line with me and hung out until I finished! I thought that was so very nice of them!!
This race was a large one, kind of like New Orleans with 20+ corrals and began right above the River Walk.
I ended up in corral 9 and this was the crowd ahead of me!
Before long though, we were at the start line and ready to go!
As I was standing there waiting on the race to start, I started to ask around to fellow runners about the hills and was relieved to hear their perspective. From so many others, I'd heard that the hills were horrible here and unrelenting. Thankfully, I was informed that the route was changed this year and shouldn't be "that bad". In my head I thought "we'll see about that..." Being from Southwest Louisiana with completely flat ground and zero elevation kinda makes you see even the slightest incline and term it a "hill".
Also, I went over my race game plan in my head again. Since I'd been so sick most of November, I didn't get to properly train for this one and wanted to just finish standing upright. My longest run was a 10 mile trail run at the end of October. I also only went to Orangetheory maybe three times in between. I knew I could do it, but I just didn't know how fast. So, I decided to walk when I needed to walk, take my time, and take pictures. This was actually just a training run planned for Princess, anyway!
Before long, we were at mile 3 and I had 10 miles to go!
Rock n Roll always has such entertaining bands along the way and I loved
it! At mile 4 or so, there was a praise and worship band which was fun
to hear on a Sunday morning! They also had mariachi bands all over the
place and a group of dancers at one of the major hills.
With this being San Antonio's Tricentennial year, there were celebrations going on all over the city! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take this picture. I had to laugh though...runners didn't form an orderly line for this one and people kept slipping in to take their photo in front of me. I thought in my head "obviously these people have never run Disney!" (It truly was comical!)
One of the most touching parts of this race was around mile 8 or so. It was called the "Military Mile" and for about half a mile, photos of fallen soldiers with their names, ages, and the date they were killed in action were listed on these pictures.
Never in my life DURING a race has a moment touched my heart like this one did. It seemed like an endless number of pictures kept going by. Nothing but complete silence could be heard, except for the sound of the runners shoes hitting the pavement. My eyes filled with tears at the photos of soldiers with their babies and families. My heart so admires our veterans and those who dedicate their lives for our freedom. We truly should be thankful for them.
As we neared the end of the military mile, I stared to hear cheering. It grew louder and louder and as I looked up from the photos, I saw people with flag after flag after flag...and they were cheering US on. This is where I could no longer hold the tears back and I lost it. Some of those holding the flags were dressed in fatigues and it was so great being able to give them a high five and thank them for their service. It might sound a little cheesy, but my heart was definitely swelling with pride for our great nation we live in. Yes, we have our flaws just like any other nation...but for real, it's pretty great.
This whole entire mile has seriously made my top 10 favorite race moments list!
Around mile 11, we hit our first major hill. This one reminded me of the underpass near the Contemporary (for my runDisney friends)! At the top of the bridge were dancers dressed in their cultural costumes - it was so cool!
Ya know I gotta take my traditional mile 12 photo!
As we were nearing mile 13, I started to realize that we hadn't seen The Alamo. I thought maybe I missed it, but at that moment, I heard another runner say to her friend that she was bummed we didn't run in front of The Alamo. Kinda funny since that's one of San Antonio's biggest landmarks. My brother later told me that they were doing construction at The Alamo so maybe that's why? I'm still not sure!
My dad and sister-in-law were waiting for me near the mile 13 sign, so I stopped to say hello and take a picture!
The finish line wasn't far behind and just like that - I finished my 32nd Half Marathon and you know what? The hills were NOT bad at all. There were only two of them which was totally doable to me! (I'd honestly had this environment of one giant hill that just kept going up and down and up and down the entire race!)
I also received an extra medal since I ran Rock n Roll New Orleans this year, too (lets face it, that extra medal is one of the only reasons I signed up for San Antonio)! We didn't stick around long because the race took a little longer than I wanted it to - I think I finished in 2:36 or something along those lines.
On our way back to my brother and sister-in-law's house, we stopped for a coffee break and I ordered the Candy Cane Mocha. It was SO good!!!
We also had a late lunch at McAlisters which I (of course) loved!
Brayden wasn't amused that he had his own Rock n Roll San Antonio shirt, too...but I still made him take a picture with me anyway!
That's a wrap on our Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon weekend! If you're interested in a video recap, check this one out below! :)
This past weekend, I ran the Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon in San Antonio, Texas. Although I've run numerous Rock n Roll races in the past, I'd never run this particular race and was excited to see a new (to me) city!
To be honest, I wasn't incredibly excited about this race because I'd been sick throughout the month of October with lingering bronchitis, wasn't able to train right, and every time I thought about running 13.1 miles after not having properly trained, I kind of panicked.
The expo was just what I needed to put me in the running spirit!
The Expo wasn't hard to find, but finding a parking spot was! We ended up in a pay by the hour garage. The expo was located inside the Henry B Gonzales Convention Center which was right above the River Walk.
This expo was very similar to all of the other Rock n Roll races I'd run.
Runners entered via the red carpet for check in and bib pickup, then made their way over to the tshirt/bag area.
We arrived about an hour and a half before closing time, so the expo was not crowded at all.
Of course, I had to take a picture with my bib at the "finish line"!
After browsing the official race merchandise (and purchasing a finisher shirt) we headed into the main expo floor. Before that though, I had to find my name on the list! Too bad these shirts were all sold out. Oh well!
It didn't take long for the excitement to hit! I couldn't believe I was about to run another half. This year of running was so much fun, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue my running journey!
However, I was nervous about the hills. Oh, the hills. I'd heard crazy stories about how unrelenting they were, so I knew I was in for a much slower half than normal and I was ok with that.
We literally stayed at the expo until almost closing. During our time there, we had the chance to see all kinds of vendors from The Stick (I convinced my sister in law to buy the hand held trigger point release...that thing is amazing!), One More Mile, The B.F.F., Flip Belt, and more! This Expo was on the medium-ish size and very close to that of Rock n Roll New Orleans.
We left excited and ready for another half marathon the following day!
Stay tuned for a recap of my race adventure throughout San Antonio!
Well, despite not being fully prepared (due to this prolonged sickness I'm finally almost over), Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio weekend is here!
I'm currently registered to run the half and am looking forward to experiencing the sights (and hills...yikes) of 13.1 miles in a new city. To date, I've only run 10 miles of training, so I'm not expecting a lot from this race experience other than just that...the experience. This will also be a good training run on my way to the Princess Half Marathon in February.
Some things I'm looking forward to this weekend include:
Seeing the River Walk all decked out for Christmas
Visiting with my brother and sister in law again and spending time with family
Expo shopping
Things I'm not looking forward to:
Running hills
Hills
More hills
Did I mention the hills?
I had to seriously laugh out loud last week when I was reading a review of this race course that called it a "flat course". Clearly the person who wrote that has never run a race in Southwest Louisiana...with zero inclines or even the slightest bit of a hill. We shall see what I think about the course after running this race!
Ready or not, here we come!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for all of our race weekend fun!!
Have you ever run Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio? Any advice?
