Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, Tallahassee!!!!!!!!!! You never disappoint!!!!
The Tallahassee half marathon is one of my all time FAVORITES... see, ever since I started running the Tallahassee half, I have PR'D every single time!!!!! (for non-runners "pr" means "personal record")
Above...... my race bib, medal, and t-shirt (love the color).
Half Marathon Breakdown
Okayyyyyyy, let's get to business..... the run breakdown!!!
To begin with.... I needed to warm up, therefore, I performed a one mile warm up prior to the race (pace 12:14 pace). I hit the roads of downtown Tallahassee at around 6:30. It was a stop and go kind of warm up with needing to stop almost every block for traffic.... was kinda neat to scope out the starting line and see people gathering already.
*****Half marathon break down: Again, per garmin and not official time.... 13.11 miles at 1:49:02 with average pace 8:19
Mile 1- 8:08
Mile 2- 8:01
Mile 3- 7:55
Mile 4- 8:01
Mile 5- 8:09
Mile 6- 8:17
Mile 7- 7:53
Mile 8- 8:26
Mile 9- 8:20
Mile 10- 8:37 ( there is a hill that is so steep that I actually walked a bit.... A steep hill!!! I had heard that part of the course had been re-routed..... was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hoping that the re-route went around this hill!!!! This is a hill that stayed in my memory from last year!)
Mile 11- 9:24 ( mile 11 with elevation/hill-- legs were spent from mile 10 hill. I did check with other runners and Mile 11 was their slowest)
Mile 12- 8:06
Mile 13 8:55 (mostly an up hill finish!!! I swung my arms and pushed, but amazing felt pretty good. Last 0.15 was steep down hill- thank goodness)
ALL SMILES and RELIEVED to be D-O-N-E
Here I am after completing the half marathon..... NOTHING like stopping some random stranger to take a picture!!! HA! HA! But, I NEEDED a picture prior to getting a shower!!! LOL!!! Had to document this half for sure! :D
Tattooing to stay on track
At the Expo, the event organizers were giving out these goal time tattoos.... I snatched up one. Just the day prior, a friend of mine sent me a text picture of a timing tattoo that she found in one of her old race bags...... so, when I saw these at the expo, I decided to pick one up! The fact that they were free was even better!!!!! I wasn't 100% sure that I was going to use one, but the morning of race, I said.... "What the heck?!" I mean, at least I would have it available in case I wanted to check. I actually really liked this!!! I think I might have looked at it about 4 different times "to see" how I was doing........ See, my half goal for some time has been to sub 1:50:00; however, today, I was really focusing on getting a pr for course only..........but, when first 4 miles went well, I knew I had to "seize the day."
Always good to have friends there
Below, my friends Arlene and Angel...and Angel's boyfriend too!!! Always so fun to have familiar faces at an event!!!! Something about sharing with people you know! Arlene (on left) PR'd the heck out of this race by like 16-20 minutes!!!! This was Angel's first half and she did AMAZING!!!! And, with it being her first, she PR'D too!!! :)
Below...... Arlene and I...... I had to make a quick change to get sweaty wet clothes off!!! It was some what chilly, and getting out of those clothes as soon as possible was a must!!
Secret to a GREAT RACE DAY
Below is a ring that my 7-year-old son gave me a couple days ago.... he actually found it on the ground....LOL.... he told me that if I wore it during my race that I would do "GREAT!" It looked to be one of those rings that are handed out at a birthday party as a party saver gift.... lol.... nothing fancy... the back of the ring wasn't even solid. But, as I was packing, my son reminded me to make sure I wore the ring!!! LOL!!! And, when your son does such a sweet gesture, you must wear! I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to wear it the entire time.... heck, I didn't even think that the ring would even stay on!!! LOL!! But, you know what?!!! The ring stayed on like a champ, and I hardly was aware that it was there!!!!! And, I think it brought me enough luck and magic to achieve a pr!!!! No, of course it isn't magical, but each time I looked at it during the race, thoughts of my son motivated me!!!
Well, I have had a long day...... still need to unpack and get ready for the week. Tomorrow is my long day with walk in clinic until 7pm; therefore, I need to sign off.... will try hard to get another post up this week talking more about the Tallahassee Marathon weekend. I have videos that I want to share too! So, more soon!!!!! BUT, BEFORE I GO, THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORT ME ON MY JOURNEY!!! Whether you follow my instagram, Facebook page, email subscribe to my blog, text me positive vibes, email me encouraging words, or message me on Facebook......... I CAN NOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!! Seriously, throughout the entire 13 miles today, I thought of you all!!! You guys ROCK!!!!