Hattiesburg Half Marathon 4-1-2023

Half Marathon #49 for me! 

My facebook post on race morning: 

~~Light thunderstorms this am… 92% humidity, 70 % dew point, 73 degrees already…. Going to make an interesting sticky Hattiesburg half marathon, 10K, & 5K race start this am.   🤪. Let’s have some fun PPRF & Team RUN4THEKIDS.~~

It was a HOT race! I was so thankful we got a little shower around mile 6! It kind of cooled it off a bit.  I had decided I would try to run the first 10K at a steady pace and see how my body felt.  I just got another nerve block shot in my back 2 weeks prior.   I haven't done a ton of running so far in 2023 due to my flair up with my DDD.  Lots of nerve pain going on lately.  Been trying to get it under control.  I've been getting Steriod shots since 2007! Talk about a long time! Some years I don't have much trouble an then some years are just plain bad.  It's been rough lately.  So my pain doctor has decided to move to the next step which is giving me a series of these nerve block shots and if I get relief, we will probably move to the next step which is burning the nerve root ends.  My aunt had this done and she got 1-2 years relief from her nerve pain.  Everyone is different and the nerve roots can eventually grow back.   I haven't decided  yet if I'm moving to that step or not... giving this nerve block a little time to see how my body reacts.   

So I started the race with my friends and Jane and I quickly took off together.  However, I only ran a little over 3 miles with her and then told her I was going to slow down.  I knew I could not keep her pace for a long time mainly due to the fact I haven't been doing that pace lately. 😁  I did finish the first 10K with an average pace of 10:30 which isn't fast, but for someone that hasn't been running without doing some walking intervals it was great. 😃  I was pleased with my time.  I was however, very HOT!  So I slowed down and stopped to take pictures, speak to other runners and just have some fun.  I ended up with like a 2:28 time over all for the half.  

  It wasn’t a PR… but it was a finish.  I’ve realized life ain’t all about chasing that PR.   It’s spending time with friends.    Proud of my niece Brooklyn for placing today in the 5K...she's fast!  

Here are a few pics from the race day:

Eating that huge slice of Pizza!

Our medals.  I love what they are doing with the medals each year. 

Ran into Joe when he was going in to the finish line and I was headed for a lap around USM. 

Finisher Picture!

Start line

Ran into Stan at the finish line. 

Post race picture... notice Brooklyn with no shoes.. ha 

I loved running by the Zoo... Hattiesburg Zoo is really developing into a nice zoo. 

Kissed a puppy along the course... PUPPY LOVE

My wonderful niece! She's wearing one of my old St. Jude Hero shirts.  I think I'm going to have to take her to Memphis with me and mom soon to run if it don't interfer with her college classes.  

So that's a wrap.  Next up for me is a bike ride for the Farm to Fork race in May.  I've got to get outside on my bike and ride!!! I've only been inside on my Peloton lately.  Dang rain, cold weather, etc.   I need to get back to riding outside and get back to my base training.  I slacked off biking and swimming last year due to my 6 marathons and it feels like I'm starting over with my TRI base training.