Race Recap ~ St Pete Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon 2013

What. A. Day. After getting up at 3:45 yesterday and heading out the door at 5am, finding parking in downtown St. Pete and walking a good mile or so to Tropicana Field, and then running a great race, it was just an all around great day.

My friend Corinna started with me. It was her first half-marathon and she did amazing. It was fun to start with her and then to see her at the finish line waiting on me. Great job Corinna!

I ran a lot in this race. You can see it in my splits from my Garmin. The first 8 miles were amazing for me, I was on a roll (no pun intended) and I would run and walk pretty consistently. My pace ranged from 12:20 – 13:33. For 8 miles, this is awesome for me. When I hit mile 8, my right calf starting cramping up and it hurt to run. This is where I ended up doing more walking than running.

It was my goal to beat last year’s time of 3:11:33. That’s what I wanted. Even more amazing would have been to beat 3:00 hours. Had I not had to slow down to a walk in the last 3-4 miles, it would have happened. BUT!!! I did beat last year’s time, by a little over 8 minutes. HUGE!! This set a new PR for me. Here are my official stats from the race. Did I mention how proud I am of myself?And…. I burned 1460 calories and earned 35 WW activity points.

And… this half marathon time beat my second half marathon (Women’s Half Marathon) by a little over 25 minutes.

Here are my official Rock N’ Roll results…

I will say that when I first finished I was kicking myself for not finishing just 3 minutes sooner, but I quickly decided that I ran my best and I rocked it!

I was happy to finish, happy to beat last year’s time and set a new PR(!!!), and happy to have completed my THIRD half marathon. When I did my very first half marathon last February, I never imagined I would still be doing them a year later. The Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon will always hold a special place in my heart since it was my very first and once again, I can’t wait to do it again next year. Completing this race today puts me at 3 done for my #10in2013 challenge I set for myself!

When I crossed the finish line, I heard my name… It was my friend Caroline from My Fascinating Life. She was volunteering and handing out water. Thank you Caroline for the ice cold bottle of water!!!

One thing about yesterday… It was HOT. It was 64 degrees at the start of the race and when the sun came up and broke through the clouds, it really warmed up, it had to be close to 80 when I finished. I am surprised I did so well in the heat since I love to run in the cold much better. I am very glad that I wore my new tank top, it was comfortable.

This year, I am not nearly as sore as after my first one. Don’t get me wrong, my legs are sore, and my calf hurts, and I still took ibuprofen and soaked in a hot Epsom salt bath when I got home. But last year I couldn’t even walk after. Huge difference this year.

After the race, and the llooooonngg walk back to the car in the parking garage, we went to Hooters in Clearwater for a celebratory lunch. My wonderful family joined us (my mom, Nick, Jenna, and Autumn), as well as our friend Rachel. Thank you to everyone who came out for lunch. It was a fun time as always!

Hubby did the Mini Marathon 5K today, setting a new PR for himself as well. He finished in 36:59, which is 1:26 better than the first timed 5K he did last week at the Best Damn Race. Congrats, honey! I’m proud of you! Thank you for catching up to me afterwards and taking photos of my at mile 8/9 and at the finish.

Time for all the great pictures from yesterday. You knew there would be pictures, right?

So, did I enjoy my third half marathon as much as my first and second. ABSOLUTELY. I think it’s safe to say that I am hooked. Next half marathon is in April!

How may half marathons have you done? What was your favorite one? If you haven’t run a half marathon, do you think you ever will?