Check out that start line. Do you notice DES?? She ran the half marathon. I wished I had got to see her but they said she was at the Expo on Friday and we didn't make it there till Saturday and I didn't hang around after I finished the race on Sunday to try to see if she was at the after party waiting on awards. It was too COLD! I hear they have an awesome party afterwards with a band and all. I just couldn't stand out there freezing. I went to the room and took a very hot shower and waited on my friends to finish the full.
My husband was supposed to go with me to this race. The course ran through LSU's campus. He's a big fan and originally said he wanted to go see the campus, but a few days before the race he told me it was supposed to rain and be cold so he didn't want to go. I think he just wanted to be home to watch the football playoff games on Sunday if you ask me. LOL Anyway, I was very fortunate to have a couple of running friends that were also doing the race and they had already told me if I wanted to share a room with them I could. I had a great girls weekend rooming with Penny & Michelle. Candy was supposed to be with us also, but her granddaughter got sick and was admitted to the hospital so she stayed with family to help out. We missed her!
We meet up with Ronnie & Be on Saturday around lunch time. We drove through horrible rain to get to Louisiana. I was so glad it cleared up as we got into town, but then the cold wind kicked in. :(
Here we are at the expo.
Ronnie, Be, Michelle, Me & Penny (yes, I have on flip flops...it was humid and hot when I left my house that morning.)
As we were leaving the expo, Kathy was arriving so we stopped to get one more picture. :>)
Ronnie, Be, Kathy, Me, Penny & Michelle
Forecast for Sunday was calling for temps in the 30s with 10-12 mph winds and no sun until after lunch or close to lunch time. GEEZ So I dressed warm to run. First time I've ran in a long sleeve the whole race and kept on my gloves the whole race! I took my gloves off one time and my fingers got so cold they were hurting so I was glad I had not thrown them away and put them in my pockets. I put them back on and they never came off again!
Kathy and I started together up by the 4 hour and 2 hour pacer. She wanted to do a sub 4 hour marathon and I wanted to come close to a 2 hour half. I haven't done that in awhile and just really wanted to see if I could do it again. The first half was good. I felt strong. It was cold and there was wind, but it wasn't a headwind. However, as soon as we turned to come back in we hit a headwind so strong around the lake it almost blew me over one time! Kathy never wavered and kept her pace. She amazes me. The distance begin to grew between us. I kept praying for her to continue and be strong because it was all I could do to keep going against the wind. She finished in 4:03! What an incredible time. I'm so proud of her. She's worked hard and it's paying off. I know she'll get that BQ soon.
I finished with a time of 2:08. Not a PR for me, but I was very happy with it. It's been awhile since I ran a half under around 2:20. You can tell on my time that the first half I stayed right at the 9:17 pace, however the last half I went to a 10:17 so I ended up averaging 9:49 over all. I'm pleased with a pace under 10 minutes. AND the best part was I had no stomach issues this race!! not one bathroom stop! YIPPIE.
The roads weren't that great. Kind of reminded me of New Orleans. You really had to watch where your feet were going to not hit a bump and trip. I kept telling myself to make sure I was picking up my feet.
I was so cold when I finished and my fingers hurt so bad. I couldn't even open my bottle of water I was handed. I had to ask the guy to open it for me. GEEZ ... Not sure I want to do this race again. We heard from several people that it is always a very COLD race. I don't mind the cold so much ... it was really the WIND that I hated. :>) If there had been no wind, it would have been good running weather.
So glad to be done! and I wished I had kept my jacket on most of the race.
Our Medals... they had a back to back challenge so the medal has a point to attach to another medal... but we also learned that it would open a beer bottle. :>)
I love the shirt. It's that real soft blend material.
Well, that's a wrap on the Louisiana half marathon. I am very glad I had changed to the half instead of the full after St. Jude Marathon. I would have been miserable in that cold wind doing 26.2 miles. :>)
So what's on your agenda? Mine? More Run, Swim & Bike. :>)
Found this cool medal hanger at the expo. Had to have it since it's the female version.
Have a great day!
D
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