So this morning I ran the OBX (Outerbanks) Half Marathon! The race began in Nags Head and ended in Manteo. If I had run the marathon it would have started in Kittyhawk and run around the Wright Brothers memorial. :D How cool is that?
The race was great. I feel good about my time (actually, I didn't check it I have a good idea about what I ran) although if I had not gotten so out of shape over the past few months and slacked on my training I could have gotten a better time. Hindsight is 20/20!
Days before the Race
I drove home Friday afternoon and got back at a good time for once. No dead batteries or ridiculous Raleigh traffic this time around. It got home sub 3 hours. Once I was home I just chilled out and did some homework. I have a stack of magazines here from subs that I haven't bothered forwarding to my UNC address.
Saturday morning we got ready to head out, but once we had gotten everything in the car, my dad said that he didn't feel good. He still really wanted to go and I almost started crying when I saw how upset he was about not being able to go, but he really didn't feel good. It was better that he stayed home and recovered. I think he's feeling a lot better now. We got to Nags Head around 4:00, checked into our hotel, and headed to the race expo. We didn't buy anything at the expo mainly because we didn't have any spending money. Frankly, I'm lucky I made it to the race at all. I picked up my "Booty Bag" which was a reusable grocery bag with a cup, my nice shirt, and a myoplex shake in it. Not such a fan of the shakes when I have real food to choose from, but it was alright when I didn't have a chance to grab a real breakfast the morning of the race.
Dinner was, of course, pasta!
EAT PASTA RUN FASTA!
Race Day
I woke up at 5:30, munched on some pretzels, drank a cup of hotel brewed coffee, and sipped on my water. We were planning on stopping at Harris Teeter or something before the race to grab something for breakfast because we didn't think to bring anything with us from home. It would've been awesome to have some banana oatmeal or perhaps peanut butter sammies, but it was alright. I was running on empty by the end of the race though. Thank god for energy gels!
Here's me at the starting line. I put myself in a slower corral than I actually needed to. I suppose I just thought I would be running slower miles than I actually did. I passed most of these people up. Teehehe. ;) Oh yeah, it was COLD starting out. I was shaking from the cold mixed with my jitters.
Oh haay!
Sloooooow start.
I didn't expect to see my mom until the finish line, but she parked abotu 4 times along the race and got out to cheer me on and take pictures. :) It really helped me keep going. She even got my dad and brother on the phone through her Sebring carphone stereo thingy and put them on blast so they could cheer me on from home. It was awesome. I came home to a sign that my dad made me congratulating me. Warm fuzzies! I love my family.
This was the Washington Baum Bridge.... OF DOOM. Actually, not so bad when you run it. I think I would've had a miserable time walking it. At this point, I had a girl running with me who said I had a good pace and that I was helping her. Unfortunately she had to walk part of the bridge so we got split up. I was kinda sad!
The weather was beautiful and the swag was killer. My mom missed me crossing the finish line because of traffic issues. They rerouted her around the town before she could finally get to the family reunion center. I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures from the pros. AND I AM NEVER TAKING THIS MEDAL OFF. nyahaha XD
And oh yeah, ARRRRRRGH!! P)
