Race Recap & Review: 2018 Harrisburg Half Marathon

Earlier this month, I ran the Harrisburg Half Marathon for the third time. I'd previously run this race in 2014 and 2017 but this year was a totally different experience because of the weather. It poured down rain before, during, and after this 13.1 mile journey through Pennsylvania's capital city. Not sprinkled, not lightly rained, it POURED.

Let's rewind and start at the beginning, shall we?

Some of our running ohana were in town to run this race. Nathan missed running this last year because of hurricane Irma (he lives in Orlando, FL) so he was able to defer to 2018. Steff and Joe (and their 12 week old golden retriever puppy, Thorsten!) drove in from Pittsburgh so Steff could run the half. Since this race was on a Sunday, we were able to spend a rainy Saturday going to local breweries and showing off some of the excellent beers in our hometown.

Cheers!

I mean, really? This face!

Saturday night, we all started obsessively checking the weather. It had been in the 90's earlier that week but the forecast for race morning was rainy and cold- in the 50's. We all talked about what we were going to wear for the race and then I remembered my father-in-law gave us construction grade garbage bags the last time they visited- perfect for a rainy run! (thanks, Les!) With the garbage bags packed and our race-day outfits laid out, we did our best to rest and not think too much about the impending cold rain that we were going to spend hours in the next day.

Altra Timps to the rescue for a rainy run!

Sunday morning greeted us with windy, cold temperatures, and pouring rain. UGH. For only the second time in my running career, I considered not running this race and just getting brunch somewhere indoors and warm. But, I got dressed anyway and piled into the car with my running ohana to make the 45 minute drive to downtown Harrisburg.

The last time I was dry all day.

When we got to the race, we had about 30 minutes to kill before the start. We all grabbed an umbrella and stood in the port-o-potty line (which wasn't too long, thankfully) so we could take care of all our pre-race business. 😏

Can you tell who's the most excited for this race?

As we made our way back to the car, we talked about our post-race meet-up plans. Since none of us were carrying phones because of the rain- and because we knew we'd want to warm up immediately after we finished- we decided that we would meet back at the car. After putting the umbrellas away, we donned our garbage bags and walked the short distance from the car to the start line...which had actually been blown down by the wind (they got it back up and standing before the race start). Fabulous!

Since I have no pictures of the race to help me remember the mile-by-mile recap, here's the short list of everything I experienced/thought about during the race:

• Holy crap, it's cold. The wind is blowing rain into my face. Awesome.
• Ok, someone has drinks... oh, it's Fireball! Yay, shots!
• Wow, that warmed me up. Coming up on mile three and feeling ok.
• Oh yeah, I remember this part, we are headed to the trail.
• Wow, there are tons of puddles on the trail! It's like a damn mud run out here!
• I'm so glad I wore the Timps. Altra trail shoes are awesome in the mud. 
• Ok people, it's just a puddle! We're already wet- just run through it!
• Thank god we're off the trail... oh shit, the road is full of puddles too.
• First runners coming through- they're at mile 11 and I'm at 7. Damn, I've still got a ways to go.
• Oooooh, more Fireball! Thank you!
• I've worn this bag for nine miles and it's getting hot. Time to make a garbage bag cape. 
• There's Matthew! Hello, love! Mid-race kisses are the best!
• Ok, mile 10, time to ditch the garbage bag.
• And we've got one more Fireball station- awesome!
• Holy crap, I think that puddle went up to my knee. I can either laugh or cry at this point, ha!
• Inching closer to the finish line... damn, my hips hurt. I've got to train better. 
• There it is! Almost done! Thank God! Only a few minutes off my goal time, awesome!!

Initially, I was hoping for a sub-2:30 at this race. After just missing it in May at Pittsburgh, I had been hopeful (earlier in the summer) that I could reach that goal. But after a lackluster few months of training, I was ecstatic that I was able to bust out a 2:34:08 in those horrible weather conditions.

If you want to see just how awful the weather was, here's a great gallery of pictures from PennLive, one of the local newspapers. Luckily, I have just one image from the race (courtesy of PennLive), and I think it's pretty rad. 😜

Living my best life.

Directly after finishing the race, I snapped a couple of pictures and headed to the warm car. From previous years, I knew there would be tons of food at the finish line but honestly, I just wanted to be warm and dry so I bee-lined it for the car. We decided to celebrate our race finishes with a trip to Troeg's Brewery for lunch and beers and then stopped at Hershey's Chocolate World for post-race chocolate snacks. All in all, it was a good day. 

While I can't say that I prefer to run in the rain, I can say that it's not terrible. I kinda feel this way about rain: there's nothing you can do about it so you might as well try to enjoy it. After all, we humans are wash and wear; we will dry out... eventually. 😜

Have you ever run a race in less than desirable conditions? How did you cope?

Accountability Tuesday: 6/26/18

Hello, friends! It's another Accountability-Monday-on-a-late-Tuesday kinda week. 💁

Let's get right to it!

Training

Tuesday: 2.3 HOT  miles in the new neighborhood

Sunday: 6 trail miles, 11:58 overall pace

I got a chance to try out my new Altra Torin 3.5's on Tuesday's run- they feature an all-knit upper and are the most beautiful shade of pink. :-)

Disney Marathon training starts next week (!!!) which should provide me with a solid base for the Harrisburg Half in September. I have some big goals for both races and I'm excited to start training consistently again. 

😍😍😍

Best Run

Sunday's miles were as close to perfect as they could be. The temperature had dropped, there was a slight breeze, and everything on the trail was in full bloom. And the miles felt easy, so that's always a bonus.

"The earth has music for those who listen." - George Santayana 🌳 🌳 🌳 Tonight's run was exactly what I needed. Six miles to clear my head and get ready for a busy week. Perfect Sunday evening. ❤❤❤

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Jun 24, 2018 at 6:28pm PDT

Bravo Moment

I lost weight this week. Back down the scale we go... hopefully. ⇲

Quote Picture of the Week 

No quotes this week, just a picture of our sweet pup enjoying his new yard at our new house. He's such a doll, isn't he??

Have a fantastic week, friends! 

2017: A Year in Pictures

Y'all. 2018 is literally next week.  What?!?!

In lieu of a long post about 2017's triumphs and tribulations, I bring you my favorite photos/memories from each month in the past year- I can't wait to see what 2018 holds!

JANUARY

So many awesome and cool things happened in January 2017, but the absolute coolest thing was spectating the Inaugural Pop Art Half Marathon when the WDW Half was cancelled. Pure Disney magic.

FEBRUARY

 

After running in the sunny weather of Florida and the Bahamas for the Castaway Cay Challenge, coming home to very chilly and snowy runs in PA in February was rough. But luckily, this month was short and sweet and cold.

 

MARCH

 





Meeting Princess Tiana at Tiana's Place on the Disney Wonder? Easily the highlight of March. See the full review of the trip here.

APRIL

New race distances mean automatic PRs.  Matthew and I ran the Rails to Trails 15k and we both got shiny, new, personal best times. :-)

MAY

For our first wedding anniversary, Matthew and I snuck away to Walt Disney World for a quick weekend trip. And we met Baymax- definitely a highlight of the trip.

JUNE

June brought plenty of firsts for me- first mud run in several years, first time admitted to a hospital for an illness (pneumonia), and the first time I ever went parasailing. Two of those were pretty cool.

JULY

Much of July was spent recovering from pneumonia, one week of it in Cape May, NJ with my love. Cape May is one of our most favorite places and we are always thankful when we can escape to the beach.

AUGUST


Still recovering, August was a month of lots of rest and a few bike rides. It's also an insanely busy time of the year for both Matthew and me at work so this is typically a month we don't do much other than work, sleep, and eat.

SEPTEMBER

 

 

Finishing the Harrisburg Half on very little training was a favorite memory from September. You can read the full race recap here.

OCTOBER



The entire Runner's World Half & Festival Weekend was such a blast! HUGE shout out to the folks at Altra and Runner's World for inviting me to be part of the RW Run Crew. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience!

NOVEMBER

Crewing and cheering for Coach Jeff at the JFK 50 miler with our running ohana was one of those life-affirming events that made me love the running community even more than I already do.

DECEMBER

Most of my favorite memories revolve around this guy. ♥ Christmas-ing with my husband will always be the highlight of my December year.


With 2017 almost behind us, what's your favorite memory from this past year?





Race Recap & Review: 2017 Harrisburg Half Marathon

Two weeks ago, on an almost perfect Sunday morning, Matthew and I ran the 2017 Harrisburg Half Marathon.

We're always smiling at the end of a race.

Since first running this race three years ago, a new course route was adopted and I loved about 85% of it. What didn't change was the easy packet pick-up, the small, not-at-all crowded field, and the awesome food/swag at the end of the race. 

On race morning, Matthew and I arrived on City Island around 6:45 am. With an 8 am start time, we wanted to make sure we got a good parking spot and were able to get our bibs without feeling rushed. Packet pick-up was a breeze and we got a primo spot in the lot- mission one accomplished. 

After hanging out in the car keeping warm for a bit (it was a little breezy and cool), we walked to the start at 7:45 am. Because this is a small field (less than 800 runners), there weren't any corrals- we just lined up towards the back. There were pacers available for several finish times up until 2:30.

View from the back of the pack.

Before the race, I had connected with Matt (on instagram as @tallguyruns) as he was training for the Harrisburg Half as his first-ever half marathon. Because this is such a small race- and because Matt is like seven feet tall- I spotted him waiting for the start and we were able to wish each other luck before the race. 

Matthew and I decided to run this race separately so we could use the results as proof of time for our upcoming races in Walt Disney World. My race strategy was pretty simple- finish under 2:40. As pneumonia had kicked my ass all summer, my thoughts/plans for a sub-2:30 went out the window months ago. I hoped to keep my pace hovering between 11:30-12:00 minute miles and finish feeling strong and under 2:40. 

With the new course, we started out on the market street bridge and actually ran on the other side of the Susquehanna River for about a mile. Coming back across another bridge (no clue of the name) into downtown, we had a stunning view of the Harrisburg skyline for at least another mile. It was one of my favorite parts of the race. 

❤

The course took us along Front Street and into the Greenbelt- a trail that runs through part of the city. I was thankful for the shade- as the morning went on it started to heat up quite a bit. Just before we entered the trail, I got to see my friend Scott handing out beer at mile 4. Of course I stopped and had some. 😄

Friends with beer are the best.

This was a nice change of pace from the city streets.

After the greenbelt, we headed back downtown along the river to my least favorite part of the course. Basically, this was an out and back that felt like it went on forever. I hate courses like this because they really mess with your head. You watch all the runners going in the opposite direction for miles knowing that you have to eventually reach the turn-around point and then come alllllll the way back. 

My lack of training also showed up around this point in the race- my legs and hips were just screaming at me to stop. That's what a summer of barely-running and battling lung issues will get you. 

But there was one cool aspect of this part of the race- I got to see Matthew flying down the road! He was in between the 2:10 and 2:20 pacer and I knew he was going to be close to reaching his goal of 2:15 (he finished in 2:17). 

Heading towards the long stretch of the out and back section of the course.

Hi, Matthew!

Eventually, I made it to the turn-around and finished those last few miles along the river. Scott showed up again around mile 12 with more beer. Obviously I drank some more. 😄

Is there really anything better than mile 12 beer?

With my sore legs and aching hips, I was ready to be done with this race. I had been watching my time and knew that I would be able to finish well under 2:40 as long as I didn't give up and kept pushing.

Another back of the pack benefit? No crowded race pictures! Photo: Penn Images

I rounded the last corner and headed onto the Walnut Street Bridge back to City Island and the to the finish- my official time was 2:35:53 with an overall pace of 11:54/mile. 

Last bridge!

Beer me.

Directly after getting my medal, I was able to stop at a computer/printing station and get a little print-out of my results from the timing company- that was pretty cool. After catching my breath and finding Matthew in the crowd, we headed back to the pavilion (where we'd picked up our packets) for a full-spread of Panera sandwiches, cookies, and other snacks. We also bumped into my blogger friend Lindsay who I've known for about four years but never officially met in real life which was pretty neat. 

Delish.

Check out that bling. And those shoes! 😍

After hanging around for a bit, Matthew and I left the race for a visit to Troegs Brewery for a celebratory beer and ridiculously large soft pretzel.

Because running. 🍻

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

All in all, this was a really well-organized, fun race. I love the small field, the ease of parking and packet pick-up, and the relatively flat course. While the out and back section isn't my favorite, it was still pretty cool to see the runners in front of you. And of course, when you've got friends on the course with beer, that makes it a good race all around. 😉

This is a great, small, simple half marathon so if you ever find yourself in south central PA in September, you should definitely check this one out.


Do you have a favorite local race? What do you love about it?

Accountability Monday: 9/11/2017

Hi, friends! I hope Monday is being kind to you!

Please excuse my absence for the last two weeks; our semester started on August 28th and since then I've worked over 60 hours of overtime. Yikes. Because work is so busy, it's hard to me to find the time to blog. But, things should start to calm down here soon so there will hopefully be more posts in the near future.

Training
Sunday- Harrisburg Half Marathon, 2:35:53 (unofficial time)

Whoops, I probably should be doing more running if I'm actually supposed to be training for fall races! This week was nuts with crazy overtime hours and other commitments and I just didn't make the time for any running or strength training. But, I did run my third-fastest half marathon and didn't feel too awful afterward. I've got five weeks until Runner's World Half & Festival and I intend on making them count. The older I get, the less my training goals revolve around time and the more they revolve around how I feel during/after the race.

Best Run
Well, that would have to be yesterday's half... since I didn't run any other times last week. Ha! The half marathon was awesome- great weather, new scenic course, and a great spread of food after the race. Matthew did awesome and got a great qualifying time for Dopey in January. After the race, we went to one of our favorite breweries to get a little food (basically a giant soft pretzel) and some celebratory beers. Nothing makes a run better than a cold beer at the end. :-)

Because running. 🍻

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

Bravo Moment of the Week
As you know, I've been struggling with my weight and lack of training pretty much since last spring. One of the techniques we use in Weight Watchers is to look back at a time when you were being successful with weight loss and try to recreate that helpful environment.

I was in the best shape of my life in May 2015, when I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. I had been training consistently, fueling appropriately, and was at my lowest weight while also feeling super strong. One of the things that I did differently was keeping a written journal of all my training. Back in 2015, my sweet friend Stephanie sent me the Believe Journal after my stress fracture as a way to track my comeback. And man, did it work like a charm!

However, once it was filled (it holds about a year), I never bought another one. So this week, I ordered a brand new journal and will make my first entry today. My hope is that by manually writing and tracking my training, I'll be motivated to stay on plan and reach the goals I have set for myself. And, fingers crossed, lose the weight that I've gained.

a fresh start.

Quote of the Week

Persist in the pursuit of your goals this week, friends! Have a great week!

Accountability Monday: 8/28/2017

Good morning and welcome to fall semester 2017! 😜

For those of you in college or with a kid in college or who work at a college, the end of August marks the beginning of a new academic year. For me, this means I worked a crazy amount of hours over the last week and weekend as we welcomed in a new class of first-year students. I am thankful the semester officially starts today and I will soon get into a routine with regular work hours.

Training
Friday: 10 miles, 2:07:03, 12:42 overall pace
Saturday: 3.36 miles, 39:31, 11:47 overall pace
Sunday: Runner's World Core Workout

Holy shit, friends. That RW Core Workout is NO JOKE!  I like to think I'm reasonably in shape (I mean, I ran 13 miles this weekend!) but this 20 minute routine had me feeling like I'd never worked out in my life. That means it's working, right?!

Best Run
Friday night's 10 miles were solid. Really, truly, solid. The weather was perfect and the trail was absolutely beautiful. I felt strong and healthy, unlike how I've felt most of this summer. Here's hoping this is a good omen for fall racing season.

Ten date night miles with the hubs. Felt 💯 times better than last weeks' long run. 🌅🌾🏃

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Aug 25, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT

Bravo Moment
Through all the activities at work this weekend, with lots of access to college campus food (cookies, brownies, and long hours on my feet, I stuck to my food plan and only ended up -5 with weekly Smart Points. Oh yeah, and I ran 10 freaking miles on a Friday night before a 14 hour Saturday at work! 😎

Quote of the Week
Man, this one speaks to me on so many levels. I feel like sometimes I wait too long to take advantage of opportunities and my "ship" leaves without me. So this week, let's just get to swimming. 👊

Also, congratulations to Tammy S. for winning my Runner's World Half & Festival race entry giveaway! Don't forget, you can save 10% on any race registration by using the code "SPARKLYRUNNER" at check out. Hope to see you on the race course in October!


Have a great week, friends!

Accountability Monday: 8/21/17

Good morning, friends! I hope you had a great weekend full of all the things you love!

The end of August always is a very hectic time for me at work- all our students return on Wednesday so this week/weekend is full of planning welcome events and then executing them.

The end of August is also a very celebrative time as Matthew's birthday is tomorrow! And this year's he's celebrating a very special year... he'll be 40 years young in just a few hours :-)

Happy birthday, Matthew!

Training
Tuesday: 30 minutes, 2.42 miles
Friday: Squats, lunges, and dead lifts per this workout from Women's Running- 2 sets of 10 reps each
Saturday: 7 miles on the trail, 1:32:16, 13:10 pace with negative splits

So maybe doing squats and lunges the night before running the longest you've run in three months isn't the greatest idea? Yeah, I've been struggling to sit down/stand up for two days. LOL.

Best Run
Even though my quads were trashed, and sometimes I felt like death, Saturday's long run was still awesome. I've got nine miles on tap for this weekend- but this time I won't do any squats the night before. :-)

Bravo Moment
I ran the last mile of Saturday's long run in my sports bra because it was 80 damn degrees outside and we were running in full sun. I was a little self-conscious as I don't have the typical "runner's body" of someone who might be comfortable running in just a sports bra in public. But like I said, it was so damn hot that I got over my fear and just went for it. And it was much, much cooler without my tank!

Quote of the Week
This really resonated with me this week. Part of being more mindful is accepting where I am, rather than where I "used" to be- and if I'm currently in the midst of the "struggle" then maybe I need to accept it, learn from it, and help it motivate me to be where I want to be.

Don't forget! You can still enter my giveaway to get a FREE race entry to the Runner's World Half & Festival! The giveaway runs until 8/23 and you can tweet every day to get more entries! 

Accountability Monday: 8/14/17

Hola, friends! I am so excited to post this morning because I can finally share some awesome news that I received a few weeks ago- read on to find out how this benefits YOU!

Training
Wednesday: 3.1 miles, 12:41 pace
Saturday: 3.1 miles, 12:10 pace

This week, I finally was able to start running again with no issues from the pneumonia. It has been about seven weeks since I have been able to run consistently without any chest pain or coughing. Since there are only three weeks (!) until the Harrisburg Half Marathon, I'm going to have to really compress my training into the time I have left. I'm planning a seven miler this weekend, a nine miler the following weekend, and then a five miler the following weekend. Luckily, the Harrisburg Half is a walker-friendly race so I'll be able to run some of the race and walk when and as much as I need.

Best Run
Definitely the run on Saturday morning with Matthew. I felt really strong and even managed a sub-12 minute mile in there. Slowly I'll get back to pre-pneumonia shape. :-)

Saturday morning 5k with my love. 4 weeks until #harrisburghalf and 10 weeks until #rwhalf. Time to get to work!

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Aug 12, 2017 at 8:52am PDT

Bravo Moment
Ok, so here's the news I've been waiting to share- I've been selected to be part of the Runner's World Half Marathon Run Crew!!!

So, what's the big deal? In addition to a whole host of goodies, giveaways, and exclusive opportunities during the Runner's World Half & Festival Weekend, the awesome folks at Runner's World have extended the generosity and are giving you some cool stuff as well!

More details will be coming in a post this week, but in short, I've got a 10% discount code for you to register for the event (use "SPARKLYRUNNER" at checkout), a FREE race registration for one lucky follower, and an extra RW Half & Festival Swag Bag (worth $100+) to give away!

Seriously, how cool is that?! I can't wait to tell you more about the Run Crew program and why I'm so excited to be headed back to Bethlehem this October.

Quote of the Week
Because I'm super pumped to see him again at RW's Half & Festival, here's a good one by the "Mayor of Running" himself, Bart Yasso.

Make it a good week, friends!

Who will I see in Bethlehem this fall for the Runner's World Half & Festival?

Race Recap & Review: Harrisburg Half Marathon

This past Sunday, I ran my first race as an Enell Ambassador; the Harrisburg Half Marathon. One of the main reasons I was looking forward to this race was because the mostly-flat course ran over the Walnut Street Bridge- a pedestrian bridge joining City Island and Harrisburg, crossing the Susquehanna River. What can I say, I just like bridges :-)

Source.

We ended up with beautiful weather on Sunday morning- breezy with a temperature in the mid-60's. Matthew and I arrived at the race start around 7 am to pick up our packets. The race started at 8 am and the course would be open for four hours. But if you didn't think you could finish the course within that time frame, you could start at 7:15 am which I thought was really cool and was a great way to incorporate people of all fitness levels.

Both parking and packet pick up held on City Island and both were super easy. Our packets contained our bibs, race shirts, and the usual race swag stuff- samples of protein bars, advertisements for future races, etc. There were plenty of bathrooms to use at the start (always a plus!) and there was even water available for runners and walkers.

The view of the Walnut Street Bridge and Harrisburg from our parking space. 

After we walked our packets back to the car, Matthew and I had about a half hour to kill before the race. We found a spot near the start and just sat down and tried to relax and come up with a game plan for each of our races. Since I had been having foot issues, my plan was simple: finish. It was slightly disappointing that I couldn't try to push for a PR with this race especially because I had heard about how flat the course was. But, listening to your body is important and I absolutely did not want to aggravate any potential injury by pushing too hard.

Before long, it was time to start the race. Without much fanfare, we were off! Matthew started a little earlier than me as he was hoping to finish somewhere around two hours. I started in the back of the pack and luckily the runners spread out pretty quickly- there were only around 1,000 participants.

The course started with a quick little loop around some of the island and then across the Market Street Bridge to the main part of the city. We ran through a very industrial part of the city and then into the "Greenbelt" which I'd never heard of- it was sort of like a trail with a gravel path and lots of shade.

I felt fabulous all through this part of the race! We were running along the river to start and then once we entered the "Greenbelt," it was absolutely gorgeous. It truly was a beautiful run for miles 1-5.

Crossing the Market Street Bridge.

For real, I love crossing over bridges during races. 

On the "Greenbelt."

Yup, this about sums up my thoughts about this race :-)

Running back towards the bridge- so pretty.

The next part of the course took us back towards the Market Street and Walnut Street Bridges. We passed them at about mile 5 and then began our out-and-back journey down along the river for a few miles and then back across the Walnut Street Bridge to the finish.

Running along the river was not only beautiful, but there was also a nice breeze coming off the water. It was also cool to be able to see the front runners of the race- and Matthew! I was nearing mile 8 as he was nearing mile 10 and we were able to say hello and get a quick high five :-)

It was really cool to run this close to the river.

10 points for this spectator.

One of the front runners heading back to the finish. 

So, while I love out-and-back courses, they can really mess with your head. Watching lots of runners go past you, knowing they are miles ahead of you, can be somewhat of a mental challenge. I felt great all the way up through the turn-around and up until mile 10. Then, out of nowhere, I hit a major mental wall. I knew I had at least 2.5 miles to get back closer to the bridge I'd cross to finish and it just seemed like it was so far away. I started to feel run down, hot, and nauseous.

Luckily, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve for just this type of melt-down. First, I texted Matthew. He had already finished (2:05:34) and was waiting for me on the bridge. Just a few "you can do this" texts from him and I started feeling better. Second, I focused on the things that were within my control- breathing and form. I focus on breathing in for two steps and then breathing out for two steps. I concentrate on filling my lungs with air and then imagining that air bringing much needed oxygen to my muscles. I straighten up my posture and focus on hitting a perfect mid-foot stride. Third, I thanked the Sports Bra Gods that I was wearing an Enell bra. Wearing my Enell not only controls uncomfortable bounce, but it also helps me with correct running form. It actually helps me stand up straight. And by standing up straight, I can breathe better. And by breathing better, I can feel better while I'm running. Enell to the rescue!

I somehow made it to mile 13 and was able to see Matthew as I was crossing the bridge. The finish was literally just past the end of the bridge on City Island. I mustered up the strength I had left and pushed across the bridge. I finished in 2:37:54 and I don't know that I've ever been happier to finish a race!

As I crossed, there were plenty of volunteers handing out medals and these two wonderful women- at the same time- yelled to me, "You ARE a big deal!" as they gave me my medal. It was pretty damn awesome :-)

The bridge I'd been waiting 13 miles to cross!

Mandatory bridge selfie.

Matthew got a great action shot :-)

After we got our medals, we headed down to the packet pick up area to get some water and food. They had an incredible spread- Panera bagels, cookies, chips, and an assortment of fresh fruit. So delicious. We ate some fruit, got a few finisher's pictures, and then made our way back to the car.

Those cookies were hard to resist.

Finisher.

Another half marathon in the books.

The benefits of this race were numerous- small field of runners, flat and scenic course, very organized, good amenities for runners. There were only a few complaints- mainly the medal and the shirt. Last year's design included the capital building; this year it was just a generic "13.1." But those were just minor preference differences. Overall, this was a great race that I'm sure we will run again in the future.

QOTD: Your thoughts on bridges and running- love them? Hate them? Don't really care? I'd love to hear what you have to say. I can't be the only one who loves running over them!



Disclaimer: My registration fee for this race was paid for by Enell as part of their Ambassador Program. I received no other form of monetary compensation. As always, all opinions are my own.