SLO Half Marathon Race Review & Recap (2015 Version)

My first race review of the year!

Wow.

This one is very, very late though.

Sorry about that.

Anyway,

This is the second time I have run the SLO Half Marathon,

and it was still as good as I remember.

This was my very first race in 18 months,

thanks to my injury.

So, needless to say, I was nervous…

So nervous in fact that I got about 3 hours of sleep the night before.

Typical.

[rolling my eyes]

My morning breakfast consisted of one of these…

and lots of this…

(Which ended up being not enough substance for 13.1 miles, but we will talk about that later)

Fortunately for me, I live in SLO,

so I was able to roll over there at 6:30 for a 6:45 start time.

The weather (as per usual) was perfect for running.

Since I have run this race in the past, I knew what to expect.

The first few miles through our beautiful downtown area is always awesome,

(especially at 7 am).

The crowd was out in full force and all were cheering their heads off.

Around mile 4 is when we hit the hideous hills on Johnson.

Ugh.

That first hill is ALWAYS a killer.

(This is why I need to continue running hills)

Miles 5-6 were okay, still a little hillier than I would like…

but that’s just me.

Extremely pregnant Stephanie Bruce passed by on my way up the HUGE hill at mile 7

She ended up winning the Half Marathon.

Did I mention she is pregnant? Yeah… 20 weeks pregnant.

What a champ.

Anyway,

I was hating life around mile 8,

which may or may not have had something to do with the

MONSTROSITY of a hill I had to climb.

But, I knew that once I reached the top,

it was all down hill…

(see what I did there?)

I am clever. I know.

We hit this lovely beauty around mile 10.

I got a little burst of energy that lasted for about 2.5 miles.

Then I started to bonk…

and my stomach started to growl.

I knew I had like 1/2 a mile to go, and could push through…

but running through a bonk sucks.

And then I ran (literally) into one of my many Arch Nemesis’,

the Madonna Hill.

I freaking hate that hill.

But, knowing that my best friend,

a couple Bloody Mary’s and an ice bath

were waiting for me at the finish,

I pushed through to the end.

Here I am at mile 13.

Smiling and sprinting to the finish.

Finish time: 2:19.20

This was by far the SLOWEST race I have run (by about 13 minutes);

but all things considered,

(injuries, weight gain and not competing for 18 months)

I am proud that I had the courage to get back on the horse.

Have you run the SLO Marathon?

Do you have a Running Arch Nemesis?

-RatherBeRunnin’