Iron Horse Half Marathon race report

This past weekend my friend Kelly and I ran the inaugural Iron Horse Half Marathon in Midway, KY. It was a pretty good sized race (800+ runners), but it was also fairly low key.

The race started at 8:00am, and we arrived in Midway around 7:00am. It was dark and freezing when we arrived, but things warmed up a little bit as the sun came up. The race started in the middle of Midway and went out to the east (or north) and then back into town, and then out west (or south) and then back into town for the finish (a guy who ran the race posted the map and elevation of the course here: http://runkeeper.com/user/bencjedi/activity/19251117?&channel=web.activity.shared.facebook.manual)

The first part of the course was beautiful and we knocked out the first 6 miles keeping between an 8:50 and 9:00 pace. Our goal was to finish under 2:00 hours, so we were hoping to build in a little bit of a time cushion. The 6 mile mark was right in the middle of town, and then we headed back out into horse farm country to finish up the rest of the miles. The second half of the race was the Midway 10k course that I did earlier in October, and it is pretty hilly. The word brutal even comes to mind!

Nonetheless we kept chugging along at a pretty good pace. As we were nearing the end of the 11 mile mark, I was definitely starting to get fatigued. I was actually feeling pretty fatigued at the 10 mile mark, but Kelly is great at keeping the pace up so I just tried to hang with her. So when we were almost to mile 12, a girl came up behind us and said "we have 11 minutes to finish under 2 hours, let's do it!" And we were like "we are sticking with you!" I'm not sure who the girl was, but we stuck with her and really picked up the pace for the last 1.3 or 1.4 miles - more than I would have picked it up if I was on my own. We came back into downtown Midway and crossed the line at 1:58:44! At the Lexington Half I finished in 2:00 on the nose and set a PR, so it was nice to set a new PR by 1 min. 22 seconds!

After the race we got some water, food and Gatorade and headed home. Once I got back to Nicholasville, I went straight to Taco Bell! Then I took Emma for a long walk to ease some of the soreness in my legs.

A special thanks to Kelly who has been my running partner for the last 3 years (or is it 4?)! We have trained together and raced together many times, and I know I wouldn't have made it in 1:58 without her!

And another shout out-to Tony, Kelly's husband, who came to the race and carried our bags, cheered for us, and took lots of great pictures. Thanks, Tony!

Here are some pictures from the day (taken from Kelly's Facebook):

A dark and spooky shot for Halloween morning

Walking to the start

(Ok, Megan. I guess you are right after all these years...I DO have a big butt!)

Ready to race!

At the start

The Midway water tower was like a beacon to us!

Downtown Midway - so cute!

Proud finishers! We got engraved rail road spikes instead of medals, pretty cool!

Darlin' Jeans, which was race HQ

The end.

Midway Race for Education 10k race report

I repeated my normal pre-race meal of gnocchi, green beans, and toasted sourdough bread before the Midway Race for Education 10k on October 9th.

I was up at 5:30am, had breakfast, got ready, and hit the road at 6:50am. Midway is about 40 minutes away, and I wanted to get to the race site around 7:45 to pick up my packet and be ready for the 8:30am race start. It was about 39 degrees that morning, so I didn't want to have too much standing around time.

I made my way to Midway, which is nestled right in between Lexington, Versailles and Frankfort. It is an awesome little town! I've heard great things about it, but never been. It is a great little place with a cute downtown that is filled with local restraunts, cafes, shops and art galleries. There is a place called Darlin' Jeans Apple Cobbler Cafe and that is where the packet pick-up was located. I hear they have amazing cobbler! Chad was out of town and couldn't go to the race, but I think he would really love the town. We are planning on going out to Midway to have lunch and pick up my race packet the Saturday before the IronHorse half-marathon, which is in Midway. I will probably make my way to Darlin' Jeans, too.

So it was pretty cold that morning, but it warmed up and was a perfect clear morning for a race. I think there were around 200 or 300 people racing the 5k and 10k. The race started in downtown Midway and went through town and then out into horse farm country. It was a nice out and back course that was pretty flat for the first part, got hilly near the turnaround, and then flattened out again near the finish. I was really hoping for a sub 55 finish, but I ended up finishing in 55:06. The only bad thing about the race is that there was a pretty narrow finish line, and so as I was finishing running the 10k there were also groups of people who were finishing walking the 5k so it was a little congested there at the end. Overall it was a great race and I wish that I would have done it the past few years. The race packet was great and came with a long sleeved t-shirt, a water bottle, cereal samples and Larabar samples.

When I got back from the race I relaxed outside and read the November issue of Runner's World while Emma played in the backyard. It was a perfect morning/afternoon - and it was my birthday, too! Chad got home from Atlanta around 4:30 and then we went to dinner at my favorite mexican place, La Hacienda, then we went to see Secretariat. If you haven't seen Secretariat yet, it is a must see!

A lot of it was filmed in Lexington and Louisville, so it was really cool to recognize a lot of the locations. Spindletop Hall (which is basically UK's country club) was in the film, and that is where I did the Markey Race for Women's Cancer triathlon this summer. Keeneland was used for all of the Belmont scenes, and (obviously) Churchill Downs was used for the Kentucky Derby scenes.

It is a fantastic story of triumph of the human (and equine!) spirit. That is something about horse racing that I have really come to appreciate during our time in Kentucky - the stories of dedication and determination and perserverance that the owners, trainers, and jockeys put into these thoroughbred horses is pretty incredible. In honor of Secretariat, I will leave you with some horse-related pictures from our time here in Kentucky!

Dan the Bluegrass Man at the Old Friends horse farm
Georgetown, KY

Me petting a horse's nose at the Kentucky Horse Park
Georgetown, KY

Chad and Emma at the Mutt Strutt at Keeneland
Lexington, KY

Emma and me at Keeneland
Lexington, KY

The Barbaro statue at the Churchill Downs Kentucky Derby Museum
Louisville, KY

The famous Twin Spires at Churchill Downs
Louisville, KY

RJ Corman Duathlon Race Report

On Friday evening I had a pre-race dinner of whole wheat gnocchi with marinara sauce, toasted sourdough bread and green beans. It was a good meal! I went to bed around 9:00pm and slept soundly until my alarm went off at 5:30am.

I got up at 5:30am and had a bowl of Cheerios with a banana, and a cup of coffee. I woke up Chad around 6:15 - I was so happy that he was able to come to the race! We finished getting ready and left the house around 6:50, getting to the race site about 6:55. Yep - it was only 5 minutes away! That was really nice. It was freezing outside. Not quite 32 degrees, but 45! It was very chilly. I was dressed in layers and moving around a lot, so it wasn't too bad. And it did warm up a good bit once the sun came out.

After dropping off my bike and bag in transition, I picked up my chip and got body marked. The race was held at the RJ Corman Railroad company property, which is extremely nice. RJ Corman is a big runner and cyclist, so he has his whole property (which is huge) paved with running and biking trails. He hosts a lot of 5ks on his properties, but this was the first duathlon.

There was a duathlon and a 5k going on that morning, and we all gathered at the starting line around 8:00am. I think there were about 100 duathlon participants and 100 5k runners, but I'm not 100% sure on the totals. The men's duathlon started first, then three minutes later the women started, and then a few minutes later the general 5k started.

The women's field was pretty small, so it was tempting to want to take off and be near the front of the small pack. But 1) I am not that fast and 2) there was no way I could maintain that pace for even 5k without burning out. I tried to stay nice and steady during the first 5k, and I was shooting for a 9:00/9:15 pace. I felt good and finished the first 5k in 25:35, an 8:15 pace. Whoops! A little fast, but I felt good at the end. I wore my tri shorts, a t-shirt, a long sleeve tech tee, and gloves. I really warmed up during the run, and I took the gloves off for the last mile of the 5k.

The transition area was about a quarter mile from the start and finish of the 5k, so I crossed the finish line and kept going right on through to transition. Once there, I decided to keep my long sleeve shirt on but ditch the gloves. I pulled on my sunglasses, helmet, and bike shoes and headed out on the bike course. The bike course is steep, hilly and pretty fun. I was really excited about this race because I know the majority of this bike course pretty intimately. I've been riding these roads for two years now, and the duathlon course covered a lot of my regular riding routes. The course also featured some great riding on RJ Corman's property, including riding the length of his private air strip! I was hoping to finish the bike course in 1 hour, and I pulled in at 1:00:17...pretty close. The whole pack was pretty spread out, so most of my ride was alone. I really liked that - I hate when courses get congested and a lot of drafting occurs. My legs were hurting when I got off the bike, but I knew I had one more 5k in me. As I was running out of T2 Chad saw me and said "oh, you look tired!" Well, thanks! It was pretty funny though. As I was heading back down to the 5k start I took off my long sleeve shirt and tossed it on the ground for Chad to pick up like 10 seconds later. I didn't think anything of it, but after the race Chad told me I almost got DQ'd for doing that! I couldn't believe it! He said the volunteers saw me do it and almost reported me for getting "off course assistance". I know abandonment is a USAT rule (littering on the course), but I didn't know that you can't hand an article of clothing to a spectator. Now I know! Luckily I didn't get DQ'd.

The last 5k was a steady shuffle. I felt like I was on the course all by myself - it was like a ghost town out there! The 5k course is one big loop, and towards the end I started to catch up to some guys but they were still a good bit ahead of me. My goal was 2 hours, and I finished right at 1:59:34:30, so I was pleased. I think I could have raced smarter and trained better for this race, but this was my first duathlon and I had a great time. I do think that duathlons are much harder than triathlons! The swim in a tri is a great warm up and doesn't tax the legs quite like a 5k does. Overall, it was a beautiful day and a great race!

Here are some race details, and some pictures!

• Total time: 1:59:34:30
• 3rd place in 25-29 age group
• Run 1: 25:35 (8:15/mile)
• T1: 3:33
• Bike: 1:00:17
• T2: 2:43
• Run 2: 27:23 (8:50/mile)

Time to get up, sleepy heads!

Our extra bedroom doubles as a staging ground for my races

He was being sassy here, but he really did have a good time!

Ready to start (#107)

It was a true shotgun start.

Coming in on the bike

Heading out of T2, exhaling!

Bringing it on home

Trying to pick it up at the end (that's Chad in the black jacket)

The fantastic volunteers handed me Gatorade at the finish

I ran into some friends who ran the 5k!
Some of these pictures are from Tammy's (#426) Facebook album.
She set a PR and got 3rd in her age group in the 5k-awesome job, Tammy!!

25-29 age group winners - I got 3rd!
The lady on the right is the President of RJ Corman Railroad Group.

2k Race for a Cure race report

This past Saturday I ran the Jessamine County 2k Race for a Cure (a race title that always reminds me of Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure), which was part of the Jessamine Jamboree festivities. I love the Jessamine Jamboree!

I started off the morning by watching September 11th footage, which was not a good idea! It was pretty horrifying watching the minute by minute play by play of the events, and I had such a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What a horrible day for so many people in this country and around the world.

At 8:30 a.m. I headed down to the race site to pick up my packet. It was a pretty stormy morning, and on my way home it began to absolutely pour. It was good though because the storm moved through quickly and the rest of the day was pretty clear and sunny.

Last year the race started at 10:00am, but they encouraged everyone to arrive by 9:45 since Main Street would be closed for the race and then the Jamboree parade. I planned to leave the house at 9:30 to get to the start in plenty of time, but "digestive issues" delayed me a bit and I didn't get started on my run to the race until 9:40. I was sure I would be ok though, because I could be at the race start by 9:50 in time for the 10:00 start.

I ran down Main Street towards Lake Mingo, and when I was about .1 miles away, I heard a siren and saw the first couple of runners heading right towards me. Oh no!! I guess the race did start at 9:45! I wasn't really sure what to do, so I just ran to the corner where runners were turning onto Main Street and turned around joined them, cutting off about .1 miles of the course. My adrenaline was really pumping and I easily settled into the third place spot. However, I had no intention of "taking" third place since I didn't run the whole course. I ran pretty steadily the whole way, and I loved passing by our house and seeing Chad and Emma cheering me on from the front yard! As I neared the finish, two girls (an older lady and a younger girl) were really booking it, so I dropped back so that they could take 3rd and 4th, since they actually earned it!

I finished in 8:33 (7:07 pace) so I was pretty pleased. I beat myself up for a bit about missing the start, but the reality is that if I would have left our house any earlier I probably would have pooped in my pants at some point during the run. I will gladly take a DQ over that, especially when it comes to a local 2k race!

Chad and Emma walked down to meet me at the finish, and then we walked home and got ready to watch the parade. Our friend Marilyn happened to be downtown to take care of some things at the post office, which is caddy-corner to our house, so we asked her if she wanted to watch the parade with us. It was a really fun morning sitting on the porch with Chad, Emma and Marilyn, drinking coffee and watching the folks of Jessamine County stream by on parade floats. Nicholasville is a very, very interesting community - there is extreme wealth, but there is also extreme poverty. I would say that the majority of the residents are lower-to-middle class blue collar folks. Marilyn is from Canada (but has lived in the U.S. for years) but it was still funny to see her reaction to good ole American things like kids in pageants, elementary school cheerleaders, and politicians on floats.

Chad and I have loved our time in Nicholasville, and it was kind of sad to think that this was our last Jamboree! We spent the rest of the day enjoying the festivities - we got burgers from the Cattleman's Association and then deep-fried moonpies (on a stick) from a vendor.

I ended the day by staying up until 11:30 (unheard of!) watching more 9/11 footage on the History Channel. I was completely enthralled with it, and I could not quite believe that this actually happened in NYC 9 years ago. It seemed so surreal, but I remember sitting in my 11th grade political science class in Clear Lake, TX watching it all happen live. When we go to New York in November we are going to visit Ground Zero, which I am sure will be very moving.

Overall, Saturday was such a fantastic day spending time with Chad and Emma and celebrating our little town. I know this is cheesy, but I was reminded of how very grateful I am for the freedoms that we have in America.

Tri for Sight race report

The Tri for Sight was hands down one of the most well organized races I have ever done! The transition set-up and the swim start helped to ensure that the bike and run would not be extremely crowded, which was great!

Let's start from the beginning. On Saturday morning, I headed down to UK's Commonwealth Stadium to pick up my packet. Pick-up was very easy, plus they were giving away Powerbars, Power gels, and new Powerbar Ironman drinks. Free samples are always nice! I picked up lunch from Moe's (vegeterian burrito) and headed home to rest for the rest of the afternoon. Our good friends Justin, Charis and their daughter Ruby came into town on Saturday, so we had dinner with them at Ramsey's on Saturday night. It was so good to see them! I had a grilled chicken salad, and a pretty big piece of black bottom banana pie...the salad was "eh" but the pie was to die for!

After making sure I had all of my gear ready and packed, I went to bed around 9:15, with my alarm set for 4:30am. Morning came soon and before I knew it I was up eating Cheerios and drinking coffee. I wanted to get to the transition area around 6:00ish, so I left the house at 5:40 and headed into Lexington. I felt pretty weird on race morning though - I think it is because I wasn't really excited! I didn't have any adrenaline pumping or anything, it was more of just a "let's get this over with" feeling, which I didn't like! I figured that once I got to the race my spirits would improve.

Chad wasn't able to go the race as he had obligations at our church, but I did drive the truck. It was nice to not have to deal with a bike rack! I just put my bike in the bed and off I went. Once I got to the race site I easily found a good parking spot - plenty of parking is a big plus of having a race that starts and ends in a stadium parking lot! I got body marked, got my timing chip and then found my spot in transition. The racks were a little crowded, but nothing too bad. Oh and I may have forgotten to mention that it was only 49 degrees at this point! I was a little concerned about freezing my butt off on the bike! After getting set up in transition and making a few port-a-pottie stops, I stripped down to my tri shorts and top to try to get used to the cool weather. It actually wasn't too bad! There was no wind, so that helped.

After a brief pre-race meeting, all of the triathletes (there was also a duathlon going on) headed down to the Lancaster Aquatic Center (UK's pool) which was .25 miles away. I wondered how I would fare after the swim - running soaking wet and barefoot in 50 degree weather for .25 miles! Once we got to the pool (which is an incredible facility with a 50 meter pool) all of the athletes gathered up in the balcony. Groups of about 30 or so people were brought down to the pool deck, by number. Athletes then went into the pool every 10 seconds or so. I was #335 out of 450 or so, I was definitely towards the back. The race started at 7:15am, but I didn't get into the pool until after 8:30! This was great because the sun was out and warming up the temps by the time I got out. The swim was a 50 meter pool, and there were 8 lanes. We were to swim up and down each lane for a total of 100 meters per lane, 800 meters total. By the time my group got in the pool it was kind of crowded, but not too bad. We actually got down to the deck a little later than we were supposed to, so most of the group in front of us were already well on their way through the pool which helped.

I usually panic at some point during the swim, whether in a pool or open water, but it is usually due to going out too hard and not being able to catch my breath. I stayed nice and steady and relaxed during this swim and never got panicky feeling. The wide lanes really helped, plus I had a lot of clear water behind me and in front of me for the most part. I ended up passing 6 people, which is always a nice feeling. I was hoping to finish the swim around 20:00, and I climbed out of the pool at 19:45.

The run back to transition included a flight of stairs, but other than that it was pretty much a straight shot back through campus to Commonwealth Stadium. It was a gorgeous day already - bright sun, no clouds and no wind, so the cool temps actually felt good! Since the racks were set by race number and the swim was done by race number (rather than age group), all of the racks leading up to my rack were empty (for the most part). This made finding the rack super easy! In transition I threw on a long sleeve wicking shirt, my helmet, sunglasses and shoes and off I went.

I did not do very well on the bike. I haven't been riding nearly as much as I should have (should ride at least 3 times per week, I've been averaging 1!) and I wasn't really prepared for a fast 18 mile ride. The course was beautiful and mostly flat, which was very nice. The police were out in full force, blocking intersections for us which was fantastic. Also a UK sorority was volunteering for the race and they were spread out among the whole bike course shouting genuine words of encouragement - it was really nice! The best thing about the bike is that I hardly saw any huge clumps of bikers or drafting. I think this is because the swim was spaced well (by projected finish time, not age group), which spaced the bikers well, which spaced the runners well. Organization is key!

I finished the bike in 1:09:02 and was happy to start the run. It was a four mile out and back run around the perimeter of Commonwealth Stadium and over into the UK arboretum. I felt great on the run and was able to maintain a decent 8:33 pace. As always during the run, I usually get my legs under me around mile 2. Since this was a 4 mile race, it was nice to pick up speed after the turn around as I headed back to the finish. I passed two ladies in my age group in the last mile and then had a short sprinting dual with another lady at the very end. I turned the final corner and put the wheels on, confident that I could pass her. She picked up the speed too and we were neck and neck but I think I beat her by a few steps. It was pretty fun! The crowd was cheering and the announcer was like "who's it gonna be!" - she wasn't in my age group, but this is a race after all so it was nice to finish strong!

Official results:

• Swim: 19:45 (11th in AG)
• T1: 4:16 (included .25 mile run from pool to transition)
• Bike: 1:09:02 (13th in AG)
• T2: 1:55
• Run: 34:11 (8:33 pace, 5th in AG)
• Overall time: 2:08:46

I saw a lot of photographers out on the course, but I haven't been able to find any pictures online yet. Once they are posted I will try to post some here!

I am a little happy and a little sad that my triathlon season is over. I hope to do one more race in Kentucky next April before we move to Louisiana in the summer. There are lots of great road races and triathlons in Louisiana, so a new racing "scene" is definitely something to look forward to!

Next up, the Jessamine County Race for Cancer 2k this weekend where I will hopefully defend last year's 3rd place overall finish!

River Cities Tri Race Report pt. 2

With the cork situation taken care of, I felt much better about the day. After we all ate and gathered all of our gear, we loaded up the truck and headed out to the race site. We left at 5:45am, and got to Cypress Lake around 6:30am. After parking, we got things situated with our bikes and bags and then headed to transition. There were a ton of people already there, but it was easy to get into transition, find our racks and get body marked. As we were entering the transition area a race official did check my stem cap, but waived me through - whew! I was glad my DIY cork project passed inspection.

Megan was number 682 and I was number 681, so our bikes were racked right next to each other. I knew this would make our little competition more interesting! We would be able to easily see if the other one was done with the swim or done with the bike. And since we are in the same age group (twins!) we started in the same swim wave, which made our competition a little more head to head.


After getting set up, I left the transition area and ran straight into my parents! I was so glad I was able to find them so easily. Not long after that, I found Chad, his mom and his sister and they all walked down to the swim start. I want back into transition and lost Megan and Genie for about 15 minutes, but eventually found both of them. I did a short little warm up swim, and then waited for our wave to start. Our wave was set to start around 8:30am, and Genie's started about 8:40 or 8:45.

Megan and I hugged and wished each other good luck, and then before I knew it, the cannon boomed and we hit the water. From the get go, it was pretty easy to find clear water. It took me a long time to get into a good rhythm with my breathing, but by the time I hit the first buoy (the course was a rectangle shaped out & back) I felt pretty good. I couldn't tell where Megan was, but I was convinced that she was right next to me. That really made me push myself until the very end of the swim! I was so happy when I made the last turn and started heading back to shore because I knew the end was in sight (literally!) for the swim. I hit the beach running at 18:30 and was very pleased with my time - I was shooting for 20 minutes so I was thrilled with 18:30.

I saw everyone cheering for me as I ran down the chute to transition and that gave me an adrenaline boost. When they told me I was ahead of Megan that really gave me a boost! I headed straight into transition to get ready for the bike. When I left transition I still didn't see Megan, so I knew that I needed to hit the bike hard to increase my lead.

The bike course was good, but WAY hillier than I imagined! It was almost like riding in Kentucky! I was glad that I had trained on hills. The worst thing about the bike was that everyone was drafting and some people were riding 2 and 3 deep, across the road. There were 4 girls wearing LSU triathlon jerseys that were riding three across - that made me so mad! People were swerving into the oncoming traffic lane in order to pass them, and even then they would not drop back. I yelled out that they were going to kill someone riding like that, and they finally got over. I later saw a USAT official on a motorcycle taking down their numbers, so at least justice was served! I ate one gel on the bike and drank one full bottle of Gatorade/water mix, and about half of my second water bottle - it was pretty hot out there!

I finished the bike right under 1 hour, and I was very glad to be done. Megan didn't pass me on the bike, but I didn't know if she was right behind me or a few minutes back. I saw Chad as I was coming in on the bike and he was cheering for me, which was so great. As I was running into transition I saw Mrs. Suzy and Payton and my dad, who yelled out "Go Megan!...I mean Meredith!" That was pretty funny!


I was so glad to start the run. I felt good from the start and just tried to keep a nice and steady pace. The course was out and back, in almost a light bulb shape. There were two water stations on the course, and both had icy cold small cups of water and icy washcloths. Those were both very refreshing! At each station I drank a cup of water and poured a cup on my head.


As I rounded the turnaround area, I knew I was in good shape. I hadn't seen Megan yet, so I knew I had a good enough lead to be able to beat her without a sprint to finish. I saw her when I was on my way back, around mile 1.5. We waved and laughed and I might have said "I'm #1!" Seeing her gave me the final boost that I needed to finish strong. I did get a little close to blacking out somewhere between mile 2 and 3, but I kept going and gradually got my wits about me again!


As I was nearing the finish I saw Aunt Genie and she looked great! As I came down the finishing chute I saw my parents, Chad, Mrs. Suzy and Payton and I was just so happy to be done, and happy to make them proud. At the finish line volunteers handed me a great River Cities water bottle full of icy cold water, so I sucked that down as I made my way to my family. Pretty soon Megan finished, and then Aunt Genie finished. It was a great race, and a great day with family! I hope to do this race with them again!

Overall Results

• Total time: 1:51:19
• 14th out of 37 in 25-29F Age group
• Swim: 18:30 (12th in AG)
• T1: 2:40
• Bike: 59:36 (17th in AG)
• T2: 2:30
• Run: 28:01 (14th in AG)

Some pictures from race day!

My number #1 fan.
He strategically wore yellow so that he would be easy to spot from the course!

The lake before the swim start - it was a beautiful morning!

Coming in from the swim, all smiles when I realized I was ahead of Megan!

Waving to my fans!

Heading out of T1

Megan heading out of T1

"I'm #1, I'm #1!"

Happy to be done! (and #1)

Megan accepted her defeat well

Hug it out

Aunt Genie sprinting to the finish!

My family! Dad, Megan, Mom, me, Chad
(My mom's shirt says "Twins Tri Harder"!)

River Cities Race Report pt. 1

On Friday (7/30), I got off work mid-morning and went straight home to finish packing and load the truck, and then we set off for Mississippi. I knew we would have a long time in the car, so I tried to pack somewhat healthy snacks like grapes, pretzels, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for me to eat. I am a sucker for fast food meals and gas station ice cream bars, but I didn't want to eat any of that junk before the race.

We stopped just north of Jackson, MS about 10pm on Friday, and settled in for a short night. We were up and going at 5:30am, and back on the road by 6:00am. This was Emma's third stay at a hotel, and she did pretty good! She even got to ride the elevator a few times.

We pulled up to Chad's parents house in Alexandria around 10:30am. We were so relieved to be out of the car! I was full of nervous energy for the race and so excited about our week in Alexandria. It was great to be back on Louisiana soil, at the front end of a great week to come! Not long after we arrived, Chad's sister Payton and her husband Jay arrived with their German Shepard, Miles. Chad's mom (whom I call Mrs. Suzy) whipped up a great lunch of big baked potatoes with brisket. They were great for carbo-loading! I went easy on the brisket though.

After hanging around for a little while, I said goodbye to everyone and headed north to Shreveport. The plan was that I would go to Shreveport early Saturday afternoon to meet up with my family, pick up our race packets, etc. and Chad and his mom and sister would drive up to Shreveport for the race Sunday morning, and then Chad would stay with me and my family in Shreveport on Sunday, and then we would drive back to Alexandria on Monday when my parents and sister left for Houston. And Chad's parents would baby-sit Emma through the whole thing. Try saying that 5 times fast! I wish Chad's dad (Mr. David) could have come to the race, but he is a pastor so he is usually pretty busy on Sunday mornings!

I got to Shreveport about 3:00 pm and headed straight to my grandparent's house to meet up with my sister Megan and my Aunt Genie. After getting unloaded and arranging our triathlon gear in the garage, we headed to Sport Spectrum to pick up our race packets. I have always heard that the swag at this race is incredible, and this year was no different. This year was the 30th anniversary of the race, so we lucked out and got a really, really nice triathlon suitcase (with a $250 msrp tag still on it!) a New Balance race shirt, a fitted technical hat, socks, and a pair of sunglasses. Nice!!

After organizing our stuff and applying our race numbers to our bikes, helmets, and race belts, we headed to dinner at Cypress Inn with my parents, grandparents, and my cousin Emily. Cypress Inn used to be located on Cypress Lake (the location of the tri) but the original building burned down a few years ago and they relocated to a newer building just up the road. My grandparents and parents love Cypress Inn (it is the first restaurant my sister and I ever went to! My parents took us there when we were just little babies). I haven't been out that way (Benton, LA) in a long time, so it was nice to get an idea of where we would need to go in the morning for the race. I had grilled shrimp, a baked potato, salad, and a roll. It was very good and I ate it all, but I didn't feel stuffed. I was so happy Emily could go out to dinner with us and that we were able to see her for a little bit!

We were home from dinner by 8:30 pm, and after making some last minute race preparations, I was in bed by 9:30 pm. Also, on Saturday night my grandma gave me, Megan and Aunt Genie really cool Clean Bottle water bottles! Thanks, Darling!

Once I was settled in bed, I thought it would be a good idea to read through the race instructions and information booklet. I felt pretty good about everything until I saw that race officials would disqualify you if the stem cap on your handlebars was not plugged. The stem cap on my handlebars came out over a year ago, and I have just taped over it for races this year. Usually this satisfies race directors, but the River Cities information clearly stated that tape would not suffice! I was too tired to do anything at that point about it, and I knew that I would have more brain power in the morning to address the stem cap issue. My grandpa has a well stocked garage shop, so I figured that I could find something to plug it with.

My alarm went off at 4:15 am and I was up and ready to go. I drank a Starbucks Doubleshot (thanks, Mom!) and had a bowl of cereal with a banana and then headed out to the garage to figure out what I was going to do. I found a bottle cap that worked, but I was afraid to have something on the outside of the handlebar rather than something plugging up the inside. When I explained to Genie what I was trying to do, she just said "put a cork in it." Duh! Why didn't I think of that!! I will forever be grateful to Genie for that advice, because it ended up working perfectly. After I spent some time with a saw and a piece of sandpaper, the cork fit perfectly in the stem. We even colored it black with a Sharpie so that it matched. Talk about redneck ingenuity!

Next up, the actual race report!

Markey Tri Race Report

The Markey Tri was a blast! The race was well organized, the facilities were top notch, and it was a beautiful day to be out swimming, biking and running. Here is my race report!

Overall time: 1:26:50

• 300m swim- 10:03 (pool time was 9:30, 33 additional seconds were the run to transition)
• T1- 1:22
• 14 mi. bike- 46:44
• T2- 1:08
• 5k run- 27:30

On Saturday morning I headed to the race site (Spindletop Hall in Lexington) to pick-up my packet and attend a pre-race at 11:30am. After picking up my packet (which included a t-shirt, hat and water bottle - nice!) I checked out the pool and transition area. The pool was a 25 meter, 4 ft. lap pool. I asked the race director how the swim would be done, and she said it would be a serpentine swim (European style, left to right) that would involve going up and down one lane, then going under the rope into the next lane until you got to the end of the 8th lane. I was kind of nervous about the swim - I knew it was going to be pretty crowded in those lanes!

After getting some more details at the meeting, I headed home to rest for the afternoon. I stopped at Moe's for lunch and got a vegetarian burrito with rice, black beans, cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole to fill up the ol' glycogen stores.

Later that afternoon Chad and I went over to our friends Rob & Kate's house to watch the NBC broadcast of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships that they had DVR'd for me. After that we headed home and had pizza for dinner - I had a few slices of thin crust with black olives and a big spinach salad. I got all of my gear laid out, checked, re-checked and then packed, put the Yakima rack on the car, took a shower and then fell deeply asleep at 8:30!

I woke up naturally at 3:59am - my alarm was set for 4:00am. I hopped out of bed and got the coffee going. While I was fixing the coffee, I had an internal debate. What should I eat for breakfast - oatmeal with peanut butter and banana, or Cheerios with peanut butter and banana? I always eat the oatmeal combo before races, but the Cheerios combo when training - so I knew either one would be an ok choice. It was so hot and humid out already (80 degrees at 4:00am!) and I just couldn't stomach the thought of eating hot oatmeal. So, Cheerios it was!

After breakfast, I got dressed, triple checked that I had all of my stuff, checked the tire pressure on the bike, got my bike on the car rack, took Emma out, topped of water bottles, went to the bathroom about 5 times - all of the normal pre-race things. I left the house at 5:15 and got to the race site at 5:45.

After getting body marked and getting my chip, I found my spot in transition. The bike racks were set up by race number which was really nice. The transition area had a "bike out" area and a "run out" area - my rack was the first rack on the run out side, so that was good. The only problem is that it was the very last rack (i.e. farthest away) from the bike out side! But it was great and I had plenty of space. After setting up my cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses, running shoes and race belt, I went up to the pool at 6:30 (the transition area was in a parking lot just down from the pool) and did a few warm-up laps. It was pretty weird swimming in a pool that was only 4ft the entire way across, but I liked it!

At 7:00am, we all gathered at the pool for the start. The triathletes were corralled into an adjacent pool area while 10 swimmers at a time got ready to start. The timing mats were just inside the gate, so a volunteer held you back until it was your time go, then you crossed the mat, lowered yourself into the pool (no running, diving or jumping allowed) and off you went. Swimmers were released every 20 seconds. It was pretty much self-seeded, so I was a little nervous that people would be swimming over me or I would be swimming over them, but it actually wasn't bad at all. The person in front of me took off like a bat out of hell, so I didn't have to worry about being on her feet the whole time. I ended up passing like 4-5 people in the pool - one guy just stopped in the middle of the lane and stood up and let my pass, and the others let me pass them at the wall. I didn't get passed, although someone was definitely on my heels at the end. The up and down and down and around was a little disorienting, but I got used to it by the 3rd lane. I had a minor freak out in the middle of lane 2 - I think I went out a little too hard and I wasn't in a groove yet, but I knew I couldn't stop, so when all of that combined together it was just a little too much. I told myself "Meredith, get it together!!" so I got my wits about me and just kept on swimming.

I was very happy to reach the end of the 8th lane. I climbed out of the pool (a little awkwardly, I'm sure) and started the run down to transition. When I got out of the water my watch read 9:30, so I was pleased with that. I wanted to be closer to 8:00, but oh well. Next time! On the way down to transition I pulled off my goggles and swim cap. Once in T1 I wiped off my face and feet, put on my sunglasses and helmet, slipped on socks and my cycling shoes and then headed out. I was praying that I would not crash or fall or do something stupid at the mount line, but once I got there I hopped on the bike and off I went without any calamities.

The course was beautiful - it is out by the Kentucky Horse Park and tons of horse farms. It was a rolling hills type of course - I was steadily shifting between my 2nd and 3rd chain rings. I never had to get in my granny gear. I ended up with an 18.2 average mph, which is pretty good for me! I passed a good amount of folks (8-10?), but I also got passed by a few people. It seemed like there was a lot of drafting out on the course, so I really tried to avoid that - I did not want to get a time penalty or a DQ!

I drank about 3/4 of my Gatorade/water mix throughout the ride, and ate 1 chocolate Gu around mile 5. I taped the Gu to my top tube, so when I pulled it off the tube, the top pulled off and it was ready to go. I definitely felt the energy boost 4-5 minutes later. Before I knew it I was heading back into Spindletop Hall towards the dismount line. I hopped off the bike and headed back into T2 to get ready for the run.

I took off my helmet, sunglasses and cycling shoes and put on my hat, race belt and running shoes. I left T2 at 59:00, so I knew I had to run a 31 min 5k in order to meet my time goal. I knew I could do that, so my confidence got a little boost right at the start of the run. I felt good during the entire run - the only weird thing was that the course involved a gravel path at first, then .25 miles on grass, then out onto the road. It was hard to get into a good groove on the grass, but it was a good time to get my legs back under me. I felt great when I hit the road and tried to pick up the pace a little. There were two water stops (at mile 1 and mile 2) so I sipped a little water at both and poured the rest over my head. It was HOT out there!

I didn't get passed on the run, but passed 8 or so people. That is always a good feeling. The run was an out and back course, so once I got back to the grass and gravel I knew I was on the home stretch. I passed two ladies as we were heading into finishing chute - my adrenaline was pumping and the crowd was cheering, so I just gave it all that I had. I finished feeling tired, but like I still had some left in the tank. That's the tricky part I suppose. When do you turn on the gas? If you do it too soon, you can hit the wall and burn out early. If you stay nice and steady, you can finish strong, but then you finish feeling like you didn't put it all on the line. I feel like I could have had a faster overall run, but oh well - I know this for next time! Racing is a great training tool. I am going to try to race more 5ks and do more race simulation bricks, as I think this will help me gauge how hard I should push myself on the bike and in the early parts of the run.

I hoped to place in my age group (25-29), but alas I did not. I still felt like I had a good race and was pretty pleased with my effort for the most part. The results were posted today and I found out I was 4 minutes away from the person who got 3rd in my AG, but I did place 4th out 15. I was pretty happy to see that I was in the top 5! My main goal for the day was to finish under 1:30, so I was happy that I did that. Overall, it was a fantastic race and I would recommend it to anyone. I had a lot of fun out there, and I am really happy that I decided to dive into the world of triathlon last summer (no pun intended). I have two more races planned this year - the River Cities tri in Shreveport in August, and the Tri for Sight in Lexington in September.

Here are some of my goals for the next 10 weeks:

• drop 10 pounds
• eat more fruits and veggies, not so many sweets (my biggest downfall)
• increase my swim volume-gain confidence in the water, increase lung capacity
• set a 5k PR by September-goal: sub 24:00
• Don't run "junk miles"-every run needs to have a purpose: tempo/speed-work/hills, etc.
• Continue with at least 3 rides/week, 4 when possible to build leg strength and confidence
• Implement heart rate training - a big key to improving training & racing
  
• Turn myself into a lean, mean triathlon machine!

Country Music Marathon (Race Day)

I woke up at 4:00am from a nightmare. A race-related nightmare. In the nightmare, I overslept and woke up around 11:00am on the day of the race. The dream seemed so real, and I remember feeling such a crushing disappointment over doing something so stupid. I woke up from this at 4:00am and hopped out of bed. I had planned to get up at 4:45, but I wasn't risking going back to sleep and oversleeping. Even though I had three alarms set.

Since it was so early, I got up and read for about 45 minutes and then took a quick shower. I got dressed and went down to Starbucks in the hotel lobby to pick up a tall dark roast and a cup of hot water for my oatmeal. Back in the room, I prepared my oatmeal with 1 banana and 1 tbsp. of peanut butter. Normally I have to choke down food on race days, but I was able to eat most of the oatmeal with no problem. I did a few more things around the room to get ready, including several trips to the bathroom, and then headed to the start around 6:15am.

I had planned on walking to the start, which was only 1.5 miles down the road. It was PERFECT! The weather was so nice - it was sunny and clear, about 60 degrees. I was hoping that we might miss all of the severe weather that was predicted for the day. The walk to the start was super easy - I basically just had to walk down one road for 1.5 miles. Didn't have to make any turns or anything! The road was closed to traffic, and it was basically a mile of gas stations, hotels and restaurants...a nervous kidney's dream!! I stopped in at two hotels to use their bathroom, which were empty and clean - sure beats a port-a-potty! I got to the starting area around 6:45am, and then I heard the starting gun go off. What? The race started at 7:00am...but I found out later that due to the impending severe weather they decided to start at 6:45am. Since there were so many people participating it didn't make too much of a difference, though. I was supposed to be in corral 13, but after one last stop at a port-a-potty I joined the runners in corral 18. After waiting for a few more minutes, our corral got to the starting line (they were releasing the corrals in waves) and off we went.

As the marathon started, I realized I was surrounded by a sea of half-marathoners. There were very few blue marathon bibs (I think there were something like 24,000 half marathoners and 3,000 marathoners) and I remember feeling proud to be running the full. I felt ready, relaxed and prepared for the day. My plan was to stay nice and steady throughout the whole race. Miles 1-11 were very crowded, and actually went by pretty slowly. I thought the first half would go by quickly, what with all of the spectators, other runners and adrenaline - but it actually seemed to take forever! I did see one guy running in a Paducah, KY bike jersey so I struck up a conversation with him. He said he was mainly a cyclist, but had gotten into running. I asked if he had done a half-marathon before, and he said his first race was actually an ultra marathon! He was just doing the half in Nashville because his foot was broken! Crazy.

It was starting to get pretty hot (upper 70's) and the sun was out in full force. I tried to be very conscientious about taking in plenty of water and Cytomax at the aid stations. By the way, the aid stations were perfect! Every time I started to think "I'm a little thirsty" there was an aid station stocked with cold water and friendly volunteers. I tried not to drink too much - didn't want any bathroom breaks - and I also started pouring water on my head to cool down. The race split just after mile 11 - the marathoners went left and the half-marathoners stayed straight. After the split, it really thinned out which was nice. I read some reviews that said the last half of the race was pretty desolate (before you swing back into town for the finish) but it really wasn't that bad. It was kind of nice to have a little serenity and quiet on the course for a while! Amazingly, miles 15-19 went by really quickly. I felt like I was holding onto a steady pace, and the miles were just clicking away. We went through a park near the Cumberland River, and ran on a levee up by the river for a while. Somewhere around here a girl broke down crying and her boyfriend/husband was like "what! what are you doing?" And she was like "I'm listening to my body!!" And he was like "No you're not! Come on, keep going!" And she was like "No - just leave me!" It was a very dramatic exchange. I'm not sure what happened after this, but I hope she continued on!

Around mile 18 we were headed back into town and we came to a long, steady 5 block climb up a pretty substantial hill. That was tough, and everyone around me was walking up it. I did not want to walk at all, so I kept trucking my way up it. I actually did think "well, maybe it would be better if I walk up the hill now to save my energy for later in the race" and I took one walking step, but then I quickly started running again because I could tell that walking would only equal misery.

Around mile 16 I stopped being able to stomach shot blocks. Up until that point I had been eating one every 30 minutes, but then I just could not eat any more. At mile 19 we were back in the downtown area and it started to get very dark and windy and started to rain. Just after mile 20 I noticed they were packing up the timing mats on the course and then everything kind of got chaotic. Spectators and other runners were saying "they're cutting the course short" and "they're making us stop now" and "there's a tornado warning." Honestly, I was like well, that wouldn't be too bad right about now. My quads were definitely starting to ache, but I know I had 6 miles left in me. I was so excited to be at mile 20, in the home stretch, and then the next thing I knew I was crossing the finish line for the half-marathon. What? Basically, the half and full were supposed to split one more time on the course - the marathoners were supposed to go left and do some more miles and finish from the right side of LP Field, while the half-marathoners were to take a right and finish from the left side of LP Field. They blocked off the left turn to the marathon course and forced everyone to finish at the half-marathon line.

Here is the info from the website:

Due to severe weather in the Nashville area on race day, a large number of Country Music Marathon runners were subject to a route diversion at one of three different locations. While we know that this was very disappointing to all those affected, this plan was in the best interests and safety of all involved, especially the participants and volunteers. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation on race day.

The marathon diversions that were in place are as follows:

1. If you did not reach the 11.2 mile at approximately 9:20 you were diverted to the half marathon course and your results will appear as a half marathoner.
2. Just past the 20 mile point at 1^st and Woodland runners were diverted to the half marathon finish and completed approximately 20.4 miles. If we recorded you on the 20 mile mats and you had a finish at the half marathon, you were moved to a newly created 20.4 mile race.
3. Just past the 21 mile point at 5^th and Davidson runners were diverted to the marathon finish and completed approximately 22.2 miles. If we recorded you on the 20 mile mats, had a finish at the marathon finish and took less than 30 Minutes to complete the last 6.2 miles, you were moved to a new 22.2 mile race.

The race results are all kinds of messed up. I was not recorded on the 20 mile mat, so I am listed as a half-marathoner with a 3:28:44 finish time and 15:56 pace! That is disappointing, because it is not accurate at all. I actually did 20.4 miles in 3:28:45, with an average pace of 10:13. If I could have kept this pace, I would have finished in 4:28:04 - just meeting my 4:30 goal. But, oh well - I'll never know what could have been!

I got my medal (I felt justified taking the full marathon medal) and walked into the finish area. My legs (quadriceps mostly) immediately began aching upon walking, and I could feel the toll that all of the hills had taken. I didn't mention this earlier - but Nashville is one hilly town! I train on a lot of hills so I was prepared, but for some reason I thought it would be a flatter course.

There were lots of fruit cups, bananas and apples, but I was craving something salty like chips or pretzels, and then I had the weirdest craving for beer. I don't even like beer, and have never really even had it. Which brings me to a point that I read on another guy's blog. He ran the race and was pretty pissed about being diverted. His point (a good one) was that none of the tents in the finishing area had been packed up. There were still finisher's merchandise tents, medal engraving tents, beer tents, etc. Were we all in such grave danger that we couldn't run run 4 or 6 more miles, but we could take the time to hang around and get our medals engraved and buy a finisher's t-shirt? That is pretty frustrating. If they were going to shut down the race to get people out of the weather, they should have shut down everything.

Since I finished 1 hour earlier than expected, I borrowed someone's phone and called Chad. He was waiting for me at mile 25, so we quickly decided that we would meet at the foot of the big pedestrian bridge that goes from downtown Nashville over to LP Field. I was basically right at the foot of the bridge, but for some reason I thought it was on the other side of the stadium (and a lady told me it was on the other side) so I walked entirely around the stadium just to get back to where I started! Oh, and it was absolutely pouring rain at this point.

I finally found Chad and explained the whole thing to him as we walked over the pedestrian bridge in gale force winds to get to the car. We headed to our hotel, stopping to eat lunch at a Jack in the Box. I was so tired and so hungry, and my Jumbo Jack, fries and Coke were delicious and full of the sodium I was craving. I know I only ran 20.4 miles, but I felt like I ran a marathon that day!

After lunch we checked into our hotel and I took a shower and changed into warm dry clothes. We wanted to explore Nashville a little more, but the weather was still pretty hellacious outside. Then the power went out in the hotel for about 2 hours, so that was wild. We ventured out that evening for barbecue, and then came back to the hotel and watched more episods of The Pacific and Mayweather Mosley 24/7. And then I went to bed about 8:00pm! Overall, it was a nice and restful low key afternoon and evening.

Overall, I had a fantastic time in Nashville. The race was a great experience, for the most part. It really sucked to have the race cut short, but what can you do. I know the Race Director did what he had to do, and as a participant I should respect that. I think that some of the major decisions (like the early start) could have been communicated better, but you live and learn. Overall, it was a really great trip and I had so much fun with Chad. I don't know if I will do any more full marathons in the future (I think I am going to stick to half-marathons and triathlons), but I would definitely recommend the Country Music Marathon to anyone.

Finally, here are some pictures from the day!

Breakfast of champions, thanks to Starbucks!

I was watching CMT while getting ready (appropriate in Nashville)

and lo and behold there was Keith Urban. Goal #2 accomplished!

My support crew, resting up for the big day
(oh yes, Chad got a big ass tattoo in January!)

Race clothes all ready to go.

Ready to race at 6:00 am!
I am not sure why there is a weird bulge near my belly button...this is NOT a baby bump!

12 hours later...ready to eat at 6:00 pm!
This involved chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fried pickles

Headed home - Chad drinking a latte from Starbucks and wearing my sunglasses

Lexington Half-Marathon Race Report

This past week was a fun training week. I'm in my taper now, but I was still able to get a good amount of miles in. It was also great getting to do some race-day simulation with the Lexington Half-Marathon yesterday!

On Saturday morning, I ran 10.25 miles with friends Sarah and Angela. They are both training for the Kentucky Derby Festival half-marathon in Louisville next month. This will be Sarah's second half-marathon, and Angela's first. They are doing AWESOME in their training, and I know they will be strong on race day. Our 10.25 mile run on Saturday was strong and steady, and I hope it was a confidence booster for them. They have logged a lot of miles over the past three months, and they are now entering into the taper phase. I wish I could be there to cheer them on in Louisville, but the race is the same day as the Country Music Marathon! I'll definitely be thinking of them during my race.

Saturday afternoon was absolutely beautiful - sunny and in the 60's. After picking up my half-marathon packet in Lexington, I sat outside in the sunshine and read for a few hours while Emma frolicked around in the backyard. This is our Saturday afternoon routine in the spring and summer and I love it! We had an early dinner of linguine with a spinach/marinara sauce and bread, and then headed into Wilmore to hang out with friends for a little bit. We got home early, and I was in bed at 8:45 pm.

On Sunday morning I was up at 4:15 making coffee and oatmeal. This has become my standard pre-long run/pre-race meal, and it has worked really well for me. I always have regular instant oatmeal with 1 tbsp. of peanut butter and a sliced banana. This is also a meal that will be easy to recreate in Nashville on race day. As I was eating breakfast, it was raining cats and dogs outside - not a good sign! I was hopeful that the storm would move through the area, though.

The race site was only 30 minutes away, and we arrived at 7:00am. It was cold and rainy, so we ventured out to the starting line at 7:15 in search of port-a-potties and shelter. Luckily we found both right at the starting line! An article in the Lexington Herald-Leader this morning stated that there were 2,400 people registered for the half-marathon, with 2,250 finishers, so it was a fairly small race. Pretty big for this area though! And especially since this was the first half-marathon in Lexington. The race was held at Fasig-Tipton, North America’s oldest Thoroughbred auction company. Some big name horses have come through Fasig-Tipton, including Seattle Slew, 2008 Derby winner Big Brown, and the 2009 Derby winner Mine That Bird. Needless to say, the grounds were beautiful!

The gun went off at 8:10, and off we went. The pack was pretty congested for the first few miles, but it was not too bad. It started raining again at mile 3 and gradually increased to hard, pelting sideways rain. Everyone was immediatley soaked to the bone! It wasn't all that bad though - it was kind of uncomfortable but not miserable. It was definitley motivation to run faster, though!

The course was a pretty simple out and back. We started at Fasig-Tipton, then followed Newtown Pike to Iron Works Pike, then looped through the Kentucky Horse Park, then returned to Fasig-Tipton via Iron Works and Newtown. It was really neat getting to run right in the heart of Lexington's horse farms. Race horses are a HUGE industry in central Kentucky, and Lexington is actually the "horse capital of the world." This was the race logo:

The logo reminded me of a picture that I took at a horse farm in Lexington last summer:

I felt pretty good during the race - my legs felt really good, despite having 10 miles on them from the day before. The only thing that give me issues was my lower back and shoulders. I know that I need to do more core work, and I think swimming more will also help with this as well.

Kelly set off on her own pace - she was seeking a PR and was really moving. We lost sight of her after the first few miles! Chris and I ran together - we both wanted to keep a nice, steady pace and would be happy with a sub-2:00 finish, but we figured we would finished sub-2:10. I didn't want to go all out for this race, so I wasn't seeking a PR. We did keep a nice steady pace, and I realized at about mile 8 that we were on track to finish right at 2:00.

Chris and I finished in 2:00 on the nose, a PR for me by 2 minutes! It felt great to be done. After getting my chip clipped off, I got some water and some wheat bread with honey - it was so good! Kelly smashed her previous half-marathon PR by 6 minutes, and Lindsay finished in 1:59. I think 2:00 was a PR for Chris as well. Overall, a GREAT day at the races!

After finishing, I immediatley began to freeze. I had a change of clothes in my car, so I booked it back to my car and quickly and discreetly changed from sopping wet clothes to nice warm dry clothes. It was a beautiful thing. After the race, I went to Calistoga Cafe with Kelly and her husband Tony. Tony was our one cheerleader out on the course - we saw him around mile 4 I think, standing in the rain and cheering runners on. What a sport! I really wish Chad could have been at the race, but he had commitments at church that he couldn't miss. I am so excited that he will be there with me in Nashville!

At Calistoga I got chicken noodle soup, half of a chipotle chicken panini, some hot tea and a huge cookie. It was all so good, and it pretty much included everything that I was craving at the moment. Once I got home, I took a shower and then a 20 minute nap. The skies had cleared, so I decided to take Emma for a walk to stretch out a bit. Once we got we got about 4 blocks away it started pouring! So we had to book it back to the house because Emma hates the rain. I just couldn't escape the rain yesterday!

Overall, the Lexington Half-Marathon was a great experience. Since it was the inaugural race, I expected there to be some kinks. There were a few minor ones (i.e. parking and post-race traffic were a little crazy) but overall it was very well organized. It is a small race in a fairly small town, so I didn't expect all of the hoopla of a big city race. It was actually nice to have a more low key setting!

This is a pretty long post so I'll wrap it up. Here are some pictures from the race, followed by some cute pictures of Emma. She's been cuddling with Chad a lot lately and it is just so precious that I had to capture it on film!

Chris, me, Kelly, and Lindsay (with daughter Annabella) in our spring colors

Tony and Kelly at lunch

me and Kelly at lunch

A cookie the size of a small hubcap

Emma resting her booty on daddy's arm pit

My two sweeties relaxing on a Sunday afternoon