The Race in Numbers:
30,000 runners
13.61 miles... how is that considered a half marathon? I think Nike forgot how to count!
3,481,239 hills (okay, slight exaggeration)
3 potty breaks
4 mini walk breaks down the hills
45 seconds of tears shed at the finish line
4 shot blox consumed during the race
2 free chocolate bars grabbed at the chocolate mile (they were a great post-race snack!)
My time? 1 hour slower than I my fastest half. Do I care? Not one tiny bit.
The Race in Pictures:
 |
| Moonlit Start! |
 |
| Here we go! |
 |
| Ready to run! |
 |
| Up another hill! |
 |
| True Story. |
 |
| Finish Line in Sight! |
 |
| Finished the race! |
 |
| Got the Tiffany's Necklace! My firefighter is a million times better looking though... |
 |
| The box! |
 |
| 10th Anniversary Race! |
 |
| Love it |
The race was just as fun as I remember. A beautiful course, a great cause (Leukemia & Lymphoma- something very dear to me as my Grandpa died from Leukemia when I was 11), great goodie bag and tech shirt, and a TIFFANY'S necklace at the finish line. The only thing I will say about the race is that there were almost 10,000 more people running it this year which = way too crowded. The finish line was chaotic, although I think that was because they had to cut the finish line area since it was partially on government land (and is a no-go because of the shut-down). Hopefully next year the finish line will be as amazing as past years because this year was pretty anticlimactic! That's okay though!
So how was running a half marathon at ~20 weeks pregnant? Well... not like running a half marathon when I'm not pregnant, that's for sure! Unfortunately, my body decided to go into freak out mode in the last week and the sacro-iliac joint (SI) pain that I've been having went from slightly annoying to constant. Luckily during the race I was able to pull through and I had more energy than I've ever had in a race (probably because I was running at snail speed!). I had no issues whatsoever with baby and I'm so proud of baby boy accomplishing his first race! :)
After the race, we went to lunch near our hotel and I enjoyed an amazing chicken salad. The best part however, was this:
Cheesecake Factory, you never let me down.
As much as I love this race, I think I might try to venture out next year and try a new race! Any recommendations for fall races??
