I can’t believe that this race happened over a month ago. I think I delayed this post since I had such a great time being an ambassador and meeting so many great folks through ZOOMA! Hello post-race blues! Well, that plus moving!
So let’s cut to the chase… Saturday morning, I woke up early to make sure that I was at the start of the ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon. First things first, I went to the porta-potties. I ended up running into a fellow Sweat Pink Ambassador, Lindsey, while waiting in line. We chatted for a while (she is so sweet!) before I made my way over to the Blue Angel to meet up with the ZOOMA Challenge Athletes. These ladies were very excited and nervous for their very first 13.1 race. It really was such an honor to get to know these athletes and help them on their journey to their first half.
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| Tracey, LaToya, Lara, Sarah Joy, Michelle, Mary, Me (Note: Lara is the badass Program Manager for the Challenge Program! She rocks!) |
After plenty of photos, I made my way to the corral and situated myself around the 2 hour pacer. I ended up running into Jill, a fellow Team Tough Chik teammate. It was nice to chat with her since we have run a lot of the same races but never before met in person before! Since we were chatty, before I knew it, we were off!
Mile 8 (10:07)
Mile 9 (11:05)
I seemed to have found a running angel around Mile 10. We were running at about the same pace and so we started talking. This helped me tremendously as we ticked away the final miles chatting about jobs, life, and running. I think my running angel distracted me enough to even help pick up the pace a little bit!
Mile 10 (10:41)
Mile 11 (10:52)
Mile 12 (10:49)
Mile 13 (10:00)
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| Apparently I have jazz hands while waving to my spectators! |
I was never more happy to cross a finish line. Looking at my watch, I knew the course was really short but I didn’t care because I was oh so happy to finish this one. But, half marathon #5 of 2013 is officially in the books and I definitely need to figure out what the heck is going on with my body in the heat. And, I probably need to stop being such a pansy and run outside more when the weather is less than favorable. Plus, it’s a good reminder that running is humbling. Not every race can be a personal record. And, you can even have FUN when you run 15 minutes slower than your last half marathon. I would say, valuable lessons learned, right?
And honestly, one of the best parts of this whole race day had nothing to do with my run but had everything to do with the race of the Challenge Athletes.
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| Helping Tracey cross her first half finish was AWESOME! |
Watching and rerunning parts of the course with these ladies reminded me of the heart and determination it takes to run distance events. To read more about their thoughts on crossing the finish line, check out this post on the ZOOMA blog that I compiled with help of these amazing half marathoners. I will be forever inspired by their first half marathons and am so happy that they allowed me a place in their running journeys!
Lisa
Disclaimer: As a ZOOMA Annapolis race ambassador, I was provided with a free race entry.
[…] The ZOOMA Annapolis course hates me. Okay, so that might be a bit dramatic. But, the rolling hills, the bridge and the temperatures had it in for me last year and I even ran close to a personal worst. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment but I am heading back to Annapolis in 2014. The third time is a charm, right? So with that being said, yes, I’m out for a redemption run in 2014. {2012 and 2013 race recaps are here and here.} […]