Gulf Coast Half Marathon 2016 Packet Pickup!

We left around 10:30 AM to head to Louisiana for packet pickup! But first....it's tradition to stop at The Shed for some yummy BBQ for lunch! So that's what we did! And it did not disappoint!

We then made it to Varsity Sports in Mandeville for packet pickup. They usually have some great sales. And they did this time as well! I bought 2 new sports bras that were on sale and a super cute tank!

Packet pickup is always super easy. You get your bib and then your shirt. Usually they have several vendors there but this year there was only one there advertising another race. I did score a bite of king cake though! Yummy!

After packet pickup it was time for SNOBALLS! You can't come to Louisiana and not get a snoball! They make the BEST ones ever! 

I always get the wedding cake flavor! Soo good!!! 

After our snoball fun we headed to the hotel to check in, unpack some, and relax before dinner. Donna and I were rooming together and we also made some coffee! 

Before we knew it it was time to leave for dinner! We met all our other Sole2Soul Sisters at Mellow Mushroom for some pizza!!! 

My blogging friend Jennifer met us there too! It was great seeing her!!! And no...we didn't plan on dressing alike lol! 

Donna and I always order a side caesar salad and we split a small pizza and it's the perfect amount! We did the same this time! So yummy! 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel. But Donna and I made a pit stop first....we stopped at Sonic for some ice cream! I was really taking this fueling thing seriously lol! 

Some of our friends came to our room for a bit and we played a few hands of Phase 10! Then it was bedtime! 

But first I had to reveal my flat Road Runner Girl! We were all wearing these orange shirts in honor of our fellow Sole2Soul Sister Leah who is battling cancer. We were all so blessed to be able to run for her!

Stay tuned for my race recap...

QOTD: What is your favorite way to fuel before a big race?

SaveSave

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?

A Day in Mandeville, LA!

This past weekend I ran the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, Louisiana! I left Saturday morning with my roomies to drive the 2 hours to Mandeville! We were so excited!

The car ride consisted of a ton of laughs, stories, and loud music! It's so much fun being with girlfriends! Before we knew it we arrived in Mandeville. We headed to Varsity Sports to pick up our race packet. Every year we see this huge inflatable pumpkin that is our landmark for the road to turn on. :-)

I love the packet pickup for this race! It's not a huge expo but it's held in a running store that always has great sales that weekend. And yes...I bought something! I got a super cute running shirt (a Nike one for $15) and a cute gray chevron headband! :-)

As soon as we walked into the store we saw the course map for the race! Paige and I have both run this race 3 times before so we knew the route pretty well! It's a great route!

After some shopping we finally headed outside to the backyard to pick up our packets. There were a few vendors out there but not a ton. And they had free coffee and even some snacks! We didn't partake though because we were planning on eating lunch out.

And this race is never complete until you get your picture with Joe Relaxo!

After packet pickup it was time for some lunch! We walked a few houses down to a local restaurant called The Broken Egg Cafe.

It was such a nice day out so we decided to sit outside on the porch. This was a decision we later regretted because our shady spot turned into a sunny one and we got so hot! But the food was good...although they messed up my order. I order something called Simply Fish which was a grilled fish with a side salad and steamed veggies. When they brought out my order it was a different fish entree. But they insisted it was the simply fish. I remembered reading about the entree I got on the menu...it talked about redfish topped with a cream sauce with shrimp, sausage, and crawfish on top of a piece of bread. Sounds yummy but I knew it would be loaded with calories. So I wanted the simple grilled fish. Well I ended up just eating it because they insisted it was the simply fish...although when I got my receipt to pay it said redfish. :-( It was good but not really what I wanted. And I only ate half of it since I knew it was loaded in calories. And I only ate a bite of the bread. Oh well...I WAS running a half marathon the next day!

After lunch we had to find a snowball stand! You can't come to Louisiana and not have a snowball! We were worried they would all be closed for the season but we got lucky and found one! And it was so yummy! I got the strawberry shortcake one!

After our snowballs we headed to check into our hotel. We had a really nice room! We all unpacked and relaxed for a bit. Then we decided to visit the Goodwill store that we saw on the way in so we could find throw away jackets for race morning. The temps were supposed to be in the 50's and while that's perfect running weather it is cold for standing around before the race!

I found the perfect throw away...a black velour jacket! And it only cost me $5.42! ;-)

Then we headed to a grocery store to buy some bananas for race morning. And then it was time to meet the 17 other Sole2Soul Sisters that had traveled to this race. We met at Mellow Mushroom for pizza! Oh yes...I was thrilled everyone chose pizza for our pre-race meal since that's my tradition! I'd like to tell you I took a picture of my pizza but I failed to do so. It came out and I devoured it lol! It was so good!

After dinner me and my roomies took a trip to Wal-Mart. Paige forgot her armband for her phone and one of our friends told her she got hers there. We found one that fit and then it was back to the hotel.

We all made sure we had everything ready for the next day. And I, of course, posted my Flat Road Runner Girl for you all to see!

After some more girl talk and giggles, it was lights out!

Stay tuned for my race recap! :-)

QOTD: Do you like to go on race trips with friends or family?

Rock 'n' Fly Half Marathon Packet Pick-Up!

This past weekend I ran the Blue Angels Rock 'n' Fly Half Marathon in Pensacola! I'll have my recap up for you tomorrow. Today I want to tell you about packet pick-up!

This was a new race. Truthfully, there was a race called the Blue Angel Marathon that happened for over 20 years. But after the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 the race was not brought back. Some of the commanding officers at Pensacola Naval Air Station decided it was time to bring a race back to the beautiful NAS Pensacola!

Packet pick-up was not located on base. It was located in downtown Pensacola at Seville Quarter. I rode the 45 minute drive with my friend Donna to pick up packets for several of our Sole2Soul Sisters.

When we arrived at packet pick-up we learned that the race would be delayed an hour due to the predicted thunderstorms at start time. That put the start time at 9AM. Packet pick-up was really easy. They had everything organized by bib numbers. I didn't have to wait at all.

There were a few tables with advertisements for other races. But other than that there weren't really any vendors.

I made sure to get my traditional picture with my race bib!

The bibs for the race were super cute! I love the pink! And the shirts were awesome! The material was so soft and the shirts were fitted which I love. A brighter color would have been the only thing I would have liked more.

After a quick packet pick-up we headed home. I ate my traditional pre race meal of pizza. And then I got everything ready for the next day!

I was ready to Rock 'n' Fly!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my race recap!

QOTD: Have you ever ran a race that was delayed due to weather?