Gulf Coast Half Marathon Mandeville 2015 Recap!

Be sure to read all about packet pickup and the day before the race!

My alarm went off at 4:45AM on race morning! I had slept pretty well but woke up several times so excited! So when the alarm went off I was ready to get up!

We all got dressed pretty fast. I was super happy that there was a microwave in the hotel room so I could eat my oatmeal. Then we headed out to a nearby hotel to meet the rest of our Sole2Soul Sisters.

Since this race is in a state park and there is only one entrance and exit you need to be there extra early to not get caught in traffic. We made it in plenty of time and found a pretty close parking spot. Another bonus...we were parked near a building that had a bathroom! A brick and mortar bathroom before a race??? That's luxury!!! I so enjoyed not waiting in line for a porta potty lol!

We had a few minutes to spare so we all hopped back into the car for warmth. The temperature was 51° and it was windy! That's perfect for running but not so great for standing around waiting on a race to start....BRRRR! Paige thought we were hilarious all bundled up in the backseat of the car lol!

Before long it was 6:40AM...which meant it was time to meet everyone at the start line for pictures and prayer. And...I had to find Jenny!

Luckily this race isn't huge and she found me super quick! We lined up for pictures but I'm disappointed in how they turned out. The lighting just wasn't good since it was barely daylight.

We said a prayer and then we had about 10 minutes before the start. Jenny had to use the restroom so I joined her in the porta potty line. Luckily it didn't take long.

I was so ready to run!

We headed to line up at the start line and who did I see? Karen!!!! I had to rub her cute little baby bump!!! And then we had to have a picture of course!

We got to the start line corral and it was packed! This race doesn't have actual corrals but you can line up by pace times. We wanted to be in between the 8:00 and 9:00 pace signs. I did NOT want to be stuck in the back like I was last year so we made a train and I squeezed us up to where we needed to be. No one seemed too aggravated by us. But even if they were I didn't care lol! It's better than having to weave in and out of people when running.

A quick start line corral picture!!!

My goals for this race were to finish under 2 hours. Jenny wanted to beat her previous PR of 1:59:57. I knew we could do that. But I wasn't sure we would beat my PR of 1:54:43. But Jenny had faith that we would.

Before we knew it it was go time!!! We started exactly where we needed to in the corral. We didn't have to do a whole lot of weaving around people and that was so nice! Jenny's husband Eric ran with us at the beginning. He's been nursing a calf strain injury and was unsure how this race was gonna be for him. So it was Eric, Jenny, and me all together for about the first 4 miles. I was feeling pretty good. The weather was perfect! Eric went ahead while Jenny and I stopped for our first water stop. We drank quickly and before long we had made it to mile 5 and one of my favorite parts of the course...running along Lake Pontchartrain! I love running by the water and seeing all the beautiful houses!

Jenny and I were keeping about an 8:30 pace. We both felt good although Jenny's leg (where her injury was) was tight but not hurting.

Mile 6 we turned into a neighborhood. I remembered that we would turn into the neighborhood, turn onto the main road and then turn around and reenter the neighborhood. I was hoping to spot some Sole2Soul Sisters here. I saw Laura but she was the only one I saw.

During this neighborhood we saw the funniest water stop too! All these guys were dressed in nothing but red speedos handing out water! I was laughing so hard! Jenny was covering her eyes as we ran by lol!

Sometime during this neighborhood I also noticed that my right calf had a really tired feeling. It wasn't pain. It just seemed tired. I prayed it wasn't anything serious and kept running. I did remember that I forgot to roll my legs with my stick before leaving the hotel. I had a feeling that was why it was doing this.

Around mile 8.5 we reached Varsity Sports where we picked up our race packet. In the years past they have always done a super fun water stop. But not this year. It was quiet as can be when we ran by. I was a little disappointed.

Finally around mile 9.5 we reached the bike path that would lead us back into the state park and to the finish! This part of the race is always tough for me. There isn't a lot to see but trees on each side of you. And you know you are so close but it seems so far away.

We were both so quiet at this point in the race. I will admit that I was struggling big time. I was so ready to be done. My legs were so tired. But I wouldn't let myself stop. I wouldn't let myself quit. It was on this bike path that I told Jenny I needed some music.

I turned on the song that I first heard at the Unique Conference the weekend before. It's called "No Longer Slaves." I told Jenny it was going to be on repeat and she said that was fine with her. The lyrics really helped me focus on something other than the run.

"I'm no longer a slave to fear 

I am a child of God 

You split the sea, so I could walk right through it 

All my fears were drowned in perfect love 

You rescued me, so I could stand and sing 

I am a child of God"

Finally we turned right off the bike path and into the state park. It was around mile 11.5. We were so close! At this point I looked at my Garmin and was a little in awe. I told Jenny, "We are going to do this girl. We are going to beat not just her PR but MY PR!" We were going to blow Jenny's PR out of the water! We just had to keep going and keep maintaining that pace. 

We reached the mile 12 sign. I kept thinking..."less than 9 minutes and you will be done." That last mile was HARD! But finally we made that left curve and I could see the finish line! 

Thanks to Jenny's husband Eric (who ran the half in 1:46 and with minimal pain...yay!!!) for this picture of us perfectly in step with each other about to cross the finish line!!!

I heard the race director Mike call out my name..."Mindy...Road Runner Girl!" And then we crossed the line!!! We finished in 1:52:31!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is over a 2 minute PR for me and a 7 minute PR for Jenny!!! Happy tears!!!!

The race director Mike also took a moment right after we crossed the line to announce that I had just reached day 500 of my run streak! So awesome!!! Thanks so much for that Mike!!! 

Thanks to my Sole2Soul Sister Heather for these finish line pics!!!

We grabbed our medals and hugged and cried! We had done it!!!! It was almost unbelievable to me!!!

Jenny's husband Eric met us at the end of the finisher's chute. And then we saw our friends Gina (who PRed with a 1:47 AND placed 1st in her age group!!!), Kristy, and Beth. We took some finisher pictures!

Then we headed to the after party for some food and celebration! They had red beans and rice, sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and the most amazing hamburgers! Yum! There was a live band playing too! SO fun!

Can you see the excitement on my face???!!!

1:52:31!!!!!

One of my favorite things about races is seeing my blogger friends....and meeting new ones! I saw Karen at the start line. And then I saw Jen at the after party!!! She had a great race as well! And it was so good to see her again!!!

I also got to meet Debra!!! It was so great to meet her!!! And she ran a PR as well!!!

Then we headed to find the race director Mike. He is seriously the best race director ever! I had to tell him thank you for the shout out at the finish line. And also share my PR!!!

Pretty soon we found more of our Sole2Soul Sisters. Including my Paigey! She's done this race with me every year!

And here are the best roomies ever!!! Susanne, Donna, me, and Paige!!! I always have so much fun with these precious ladies!!!

We talked for a little while longer and then it was time to head back to the car. We were all ready for a shower! And for some food!!!

Luckily our hotel gave us a late checkout of 1:00 so we were all able to take showers for the ride home. But first we stopped and ate at Zea's Rotisserie Grill. We eat here every year after this race and it never disappoints!

After lunch we stopped by Starbucks for a coffee for the road. I discovered when I was ordering that the barista's name was Mindy too!!! I don't meet too many Mindy's so I told her we HAD to take a selfie lol!

I was craving hot coffee so I got my new favorite...Toasted Graham Latte. I earned that Venti size!

The ride home was fun as always! The weekend definitely went by fast! But I was ready to see my prince and little men! I had missed them!!!

I am still in awe over my new PR!!! This was another great race in Mandeville! And I will definitely be back again next year!!!

Oh and just so you don't forget.....1:52:31!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

QOTD: Do you have a race that you run every year?

Road Trip to Mandeville!

So this past weekend I ran the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, Louisiana! This was my 5th time running this race. It is one of my FAVORITE races! The course is gorgeous, the weather is always perfect, and the town is just the cutest!

My roomies and I headed to Mandeville on Saturday morning. Our tradition is to always stop for lunch at The Shed BBQ in Mississippi. The food did not disappoint! So yummy!

From there we headed straight to packet pickup. This race always does packet pickup at a local running store called Varsity Sports. They always have a good sale for all of us runners coming in from out of town! I bought a new blue skirt that is super cute! (I'm not going to show it to you though because I'm wearing it to my 5K race this weekend)

After shopping we headed out back to grab our race bib and race shirts. And guess who I ran into out there? Jenny!!!!

We talked for a little while and then she headed out to explore Mandeville with her hubby. We also ran into a few more of our Sole2Soul Sisters there! We talked to them for awhile and I also talked to one of the running store workers. I just happened to mention to her how this would be me and Paige's 5th time running this race and that somehow we missed running it the first year (this is the 6th year of the race). She said...hang on! And then she presented me and Paige with a medal!!!! I remember they gave these out to runners last year who had run the race every year since it started since it was the 5th anniversary. Paige and I were soooo excited to get this medal!!! How awesome!!!

After we were finished at packet pickup we headed out in search of those yummy Louisiana snowballs!

Wedding cake is my favorite flavor!

Then it was time to check into our hotel. We stayed at the same place as last year so it was really easy to find. Paige checked us in and then came out saying they only had rooms left with two twin beds. And that they were searching for two rollaways for us. Yeah. I KNEW she was tricking us but Donna and Susanne totally fell for it! They really believed her until we got into the room lol!

Once we got into the room we all started organizing our things for the race the next day. And of course I had to take my traditional Flat Road Runner Girl picture!

A lot of our Sole2Soul Sisters were running for breast cancer awareness since it is national breast cancer awareness month! The shoe on the front of our shirts is made using the breast cancer symbol. So cute!

For dinner, Jenny and her husband Eric came and picked me up. We headed to Mellow Mushroom for our traditional pre-race and pre-long run pizza!

We saw this car in the parking lot and of course Jenny and I had to have our picture made!!!

I ordered my favorite pizza...pepperoni with mushrooms! It seemed extra yummy!

We had so much fun eating our pizza and talking for hours! Before we knew it it was 8:00 and we knew we needed to get back to the hotel so we could get some rest.

I got back to the room and realized that with all the travel that day I hadn't gotten all my steps in for the day. I had only gotten in about 8000 steps and needed to reach 11000! So Donna joined me and we walked the hotel hallway until I reached my step goal!!! Thanks Donna!!!

Then it was lights out! After all....the next day was RACE DAY!!!!!!

Be sure to come back to read my race recap!!!

QOTD: What is your favorite part of race weekend?

Gulf Coast Half Marathon Recap!

Be sure to read all about packet pickup and my day in Mandeville!

I slept really well the night before this race. I usually don't sleep well so I was really thankful! When the alarm went off at 4:45 AM I was ready to wake up! It's always fun getting ready for a race with friends. Everyone was in good spirits!

We left our hotel and stopped to meet some of our sisters so they could follow us to the race. It was quite chilly at this time. The temperature was in the mid 50's. I knew it would be perfect for running!

We met our friends and then we were on our way. This race starts in Fontainebleau State Park. There is only one entrance so traffic can get very backed up. One year we barely made it to the start line on time because of the traffic. So each year since we are sure to leave in plenty of time in case we get caught in traffic. This year there was a little traffic but it moved very quickly. We found our parking spot (which was pretty close to the finish line..yay) and then headed to the port a potties lol!

Since we were there fairly early the line was pretty short. It was still totally dark outside but the race area was well lit up thankfully. We found all our other Sole2Soul Sisters and took our group picture. There was a ton of us!

And of course we had a silly picture too!

My friend Katrina who moved to Auburn this past summer also came to this race! I last saw her in Talladega but it was so good to see her again!

Before long it was 7:00 and time to start! There aren't corrals for this race. You basically start in suggested pace areas. All my sisters were in the back. I told them we should move forward but they didn't want to. I didn't worry too much about it because I knew it really didn't matter when I crossed the start line since I had a timing chip.

In my head I had 3 goals for this race. Goal 1 was to finish in under 2 hours. Goal 2 was to beat my previous PR of 2:02:40. Goal 3 was to finish under 2:10.

I didn't think sub 2 would happen. I wasn't even sure I would be able to beat my previous PR since I felt so amazing that race. But I knew I should be able to come in under 2:10. I told myself I was going to just run the way my body felt. And that's what I did.

The first 2-3 miles I had to weave in and out of people. That was a disadvantage of starting in the back. We weren't even a half a mile in and people were already starting to walk which was frustrating because several just stopped right in front of me.

Mile 1 was in the state park. Then we turned onto the highway at mile 2. Mile 3 we turned into a neighborhood. That is one thing about Mandeville. There are some gorgeous homes there and along the race course!

When we reached mile 4 the crowd was starting to thin out some. I was no longer having to weave and I was in my groove. Then came my favorite part of this course at mile 5...running beside Lake Pontchartrain! It is always gorgeous by the water and the homes are beautiful!

I quickly snapped this picture but didn't know how it was going to turn out since I wasn't going to stop running! I think it came out pretty good!

Around mile 6 we turned into another neighborhood. I remembered this part of the course was where you went into the neighborhood, came out onto a main road, turned around, and then reentered the neighborhood. I was hoping I would see some of my sisters on the opposite side but I only saw 2...Gina and Cindy.

Finally I made it out of the neighborhood maze and I was at mile 7. I knew we would be passing by Varsity Sports where we picked up our packet around mile 8.5. They do a water stop and it's always really fun. Sure enough...they were all dressed up like superheroes! So fun! I grabbed a quick cup of water. I had been alternating water and Gatorade at every other water stop. That is one thing this race never lacks...water stops! There are plenty of them!

Around mile 9.5 we turned onto the bike path that would lead us back into the state park. This part of the race in the past has always been very mental for me. I usually end up walking some. But not this time. I kept on going. I reached mile 10 and looked down at my Garmin. I knew then that I had a shot to finish in under 2 hours. But it would be close. I started praying. I really really wanted that sub 2. Was this my day?

I thought about how proud Andy would be and how proud my friends would be. I wanted it. I could taste it. I kept telling myself to fight for it. Because yes....I was getting tired. But I knew I could do it. I just had to fight!

Mile 11 came and then we turned off the bike path and entered the state park about mile 11.5. I was so close! I reached mile 12 and looked at my Garmin. That's when I knew I was going to do it. I just couldn't stop. I had to keep going. I couldn't slow down.

There is a curve in the road and then a straight shot to the finish line. I was looking for that curve. I got close and could hear the race director, Mike, calling out the names of the people finishing. I reached the curve, I turned, and I could see the finish line.

I remember seeing a spectator on the right side of the road. He yelled at me that I was almost there, to keep pushing, to pick it up because I only had about a minute to come in under 2. I thought to myself that he must have been a runner because he knew the exact words to say to make me speed up!

And there it was....my finish line! And the clock had a time under 2 hours! I remember Mike saying, "Here's one of our friends, Mindy Bobe from Alabama...Road Runner Girl!" It was great hearing that as I crossed the line!

I looked down at my watch and there it was....1:57:26! Not only had I come in under 2 hours but I had 2 minutes to spare!

I got really emotional from that point. I was crying as they handed me my medal. I couldn't hold back the tears. But no one was there to see it. All my friends were still out on the race course. I walked away from the finish line and noise so that I could call Andy. But he didn't answer. I HAD to call someone! I knew Paige was still running but I also knew she would answer. So I called her and tearfully told her I had done it! I had come in under 2 hours! Her scream of excitement was amazing! She said she was proud of me and she would see me soon. She was at mile 9. Then I called Andria (my friend that I've been training with and running all my long runs with who couldn't be there for this race). Andria told me she was going to run a half marathon up and down her street that morning starting at the same time my race started. I figured she would still be running but I hoped she would answer. She did! She was so happy for me! She was at mile 11.5 and told me she would text me when she was finished. She did and had run her 13.1 miles in 2:18! She did about 26 laps up and down her street to reach 13.1 miles...amazing!!!

I took a post race selfie with my race bling! And of course I had to get a picture of my Garmin!

I grabbed an orange slice to refuel. I really wanted my lowfat chocolate milk but they didn't have any. And I had forgotten my cooler with mine in the hotel room.

I headed back towards the finish area and went to see the race director Mike. He gave me a hug and a huge fist bump for my PR!

I also got my official time and placement printed out. My official time was 1:57:24!!!!

Not long after that Gina texted me that she was finished and I met her. She had PRed too with a time of 2:06!!! She took a picture of me with my bling while we waited on our friends to finish.

About an hour later our friends starting coming in. Several of them had run with Lacey...who was 8 months pregnant! It was so awesome seeing her and her hubby come into the finish surrounded by friends!

We all met up at the end for our finisher group picture (minus a few unfortunately).

And I had to get a picture with the best roomies EVER!!! I had so much fun with Paige, Donna, and Susanne!!!

And one last finisher shot of the sub 2 girl!!!

We said goodbye to most of our friends and then me, Paige, Donna, and Susanne all headed towards the post race party! They had music and several vendors there. They had someone cooking hamburgers and pasta salad. There was definitely enough food but I wasn't quite hungry yet. They also had free massages (you may remember I participated in this last year). And there was a place set up with foam rollers so you could roll out those sore muscles. We all took advantage of that!

Then we headed to Paige's mom's house for a quick visit. Then back to the hotel for showers. That shower felt so good! And our hotel had free complimentary coffee that tasted amazing!

We checked out of the hotel and set out to find a place to eat. We were all starving by this point! We stopped at Zea's Rotisserie Grill. The hostess was kind enough to take a picture of all of us in our race shirts and medals!

I think my body was craving protein and salt. I ordered the Kobe Beef Hamburger and french fries. It was amazing!!!

Our super sweet server convinced us to order dessert. We ordered the sweet potato bread pudding to share. It was DIVINE!

We then headed back home. The car ride was full of more laughter! I kept telling everyone I had run a sub 2 half marathon...and of course the great friends that they are...they kept saying, "Really? That's awesome! Congratulations!" And the song of the weekend was..."Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift! We had some pretty awesome dance moves to that song by the time the weekend was over! ;-)

This race was amazing! This was my 4th time running it so I knew what to expect but there were some added perks this year. Everyone got a finisher glass at the end since the series has been running for 5 years. They added some games at the after party. They had officers directing traffic when you were leaving the state park (traffic has always been a nightmare after the race in the past). And my favorite...FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS!!!! The photos haven't all been uploaded yet but when they are I will be sure to post! I can't wait to see them! And I LOVE that they are free!!!

Should you run this race? You'd be crazy not to! Knowing this was my 4th year running it should tell you it's a great race! I'll definitely be back next year!

Oh...and did I tell you? I ran a sub 2 half marathon on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

QOTD: Do you get emotional when you cross the finish line?