Race morning I woke up to it pouring rain. I wasn't surprised. It WAS in the forecast. But I was really hoping it would clear up.
I will admit that I wasn't super excited about this race. I really wanted to run it but have been dealing with a hip issue and was worried running a half would aggravate the hip even more. So I was a little scared...which made me not as excited as I normally am for a race. But I just told myself I could do this one for fun. I could slow down and take it easy. That was my plan. Of course I know how I am come race day. I am super competitive with myself and will often push myself. But I was really going to try to not be competitive.
I met Donna, Sarah Beth, Paige, and Billy so we could all carpool to Mobile together. We got there in no time at all but it took us a few minutes to park and walk down to the start area. Of course we all had to go to the bathroom. The porta potty lines (there were two lines for the same cluster of porta potties) were so long! We got in line around 7:05 (race started at 7:30) and hoped we would make it in time. There weren't as many porta potties as there probably should have been.
While waiting in line I happen to look up and spot Jenny and Kristin! They came over to the line and we took a quick picture!
I told them I wasn't pushing it this race because of my hip and that I just wanted to run for fun. Kristin had just run the Statue to Statue 15K in Birmingham the day before (this is the south's most challenging race due to the major hills) so her legs were sore from that. I told them I would text them when I got to the start line and try to find them.
I got back in the potty line with my friends and I was literally in the porta potty at 7:26 and they were singing the National Anthem! To say I was a little panicked was correct! But I was thankful to pee lol!
I headed to the start line....and I couldn't get through! It was so crowded and I was in the back with the 15:00 minute mile pacer. I pushed myself as far as I could but people weren't budging. I really didn't want another race where I had to dodge people and risk losing my shoe again!
Then I saw Paige and decided to just stay with her. I couldn't make it any further up anyway. It worked out though because one of the volunteers put a rope in front of me and Paige and said we were in corral 3. I texted Jenny and told her where I was and she texted back saying they had just started. Crap.
Before I knew it we were at the front of the start line. I didn't even have time to get a proper start line picture...because we were too close! I mean we were toeing the line!!! It was awesome! Paige and I did a sprinter stance for fun!
I said a quick hey to JJ!
And then Dan Evans from season 5 counted us down!
I started running and Paige said bye. It was fun because I was ahead of everyone! It felt like I was winning lol! But it didn't last long. A guy came up beside me fairly quickly and I jokingly told him he couldn't pass me...that I was winning! He laughed at me and wished me a good race as he flew by! Well...it was fun while it lasted lol!
Then I was on a mission. I wanted to find Jenny and Kristin. I was running in the 8's but it felt great. My hip wasn't hurting at all!
Then around mile 3 I spotted them! I caught up to them and was so thankful! We ended up running the rest of the race together! We had so much fun! We talked and laughed! We took a few walk breaks when we needed to. I was taking it easy and my hip was thanking me for it. I had no pain the entire race!
The only bad thing about this race was the humidity. It was at 100% and it was awful! But on the bright side...the rain had completely stopped! But we were DRENCHED!
Hot mess drenched at mile 9! (Thanks for this pic Kristin!)
I can't remember which mile this was (I wanna say around mile 10) but we saw my favorite photographer Tim on the course! He got a great shot of us! I LOVE this picture! We were all smiles! Thanks Tim!!!
It was the first time in a long time that I've taken pictures along the course. Lately I've been so focused on running fast and trying to PR that I didn't pay much attention to the scenery.
When we made it to Dauphin Street I saw a building with this painting on it. I knew I needed a picture!
It was also neat running and seeing part of the Mobile skyline! My hubby used to work in the RSA Tower!
It was around mile 11.5 when we knew we could try to make it in 2:15. So we stepped it up a bit and started running to finish!
We turned onto Royal Street...and then Water Street. We knew the finish line was close...but we couldn't see it. Jenny and I kept saying, "Where is it?" We hit mile 13 and still couldn't see it but we knew it was close. There were people there cheering us on. I even saw one of my Sole2Soul Sisters Lorie cheering! She gave me that extra boost I needed to kick it into gear!
We made a right turn and there was the finish line! Yay!!! I stopped my Garmin and looked down...it said 2:14:43 (my official time ended up being 2:14:42)! I had made it under 2:15!
Now that is slow for me now. But I remember the day when I would have been thrilled to no end with a 2:15 half!
I was happy though! I ran this race the way my body needed me to. I took it easy so I wouldn't further injure my hip. And I ran it with friends and that made it so much more fun than if I'd been by myself.
They had tons of food at the finish line! There were cuties, bananas, bagels, and cheese sticks! I grabbed a cutie and a blueberry bagel. I only ate a few bites of the bagel though because it was just too dry. My body wanted fluids.
I was a happy girl! I did it! I wasn't sure what was going to happen during this race! But I did it and felt great the entire time! My hip didn't cause me any pain or discomfort and I was so glad!
And running with Jenny and Kristin was sooooo much fun!!!
After a race means celebration time! And as a blogger that means tons of pics! Serious and not so serious pics! Yeah...I love my friend Jenny!
And Kristin thought it would be funny to take a picture of us taking a selfie! Just look at the people in the background looking at us like we are crazy lol! I die!!!
At the finish area I saw my friend Sarah Beth who I rode with. She is in college, young, and super fast! She won first place in her age group with a 1:53:58!!! I was so proud of her!!!
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Another bonus to this race....I got TWO medals! Because we ran this race last year Kristin and I got the Legacy Finisher Medal as well! Sweet!
Since this race offers free digital photos, we made sure to get lots of finisher pics! (Pictures haven't been uploaded yet but as soon as they are I will be sure to show you!)
We also hung out with Gina from season 14 after she finished the half marathon! She is so sweet and such an inspiration!
On the way out I stopped by the Fleet Fleet Sports tent and got a free massage with the new Heal Blade! This thing is crazy awesome and I'll be doing a review soon!
On the way home we made a much needed stop for coffee! Yum!
The Biggest Loser RunWalk Mobile was just as amazing as it was the first time I ran it! I will definitely run it again! I hope they continue to come back to Mobile for years to come!
QOTD: Have you ever participated in one of The Biggest Loser RunWalk events?
