Sunday morning came quickly for the Raleigh RNR half marathon. We were up and on our way to the convention center by 5:30 am. Parking was easy and we waited in the hotel lobby. I have never seen such a huge line for the Starbucks along with the bathrooms.
About 30 minutes before race time, we met our friends from the social meet-up. It was fun to see the girls again and everyone was psyched for the race!
I started about 7:45 am and was off. First, I hadn't run through this part of Raleigh and it was lovely. The course was flat at this point so it was easy going. I saw this fun yard about two and half miles into the race course. What a laugh!
I can't imagine what their neighbors say about this.
At mile four, there was a group of older ladies baton twirling and having fun, cheering on the runners. It was great to see this group who looked as though they were having more fun than the runners.
The bands along the course were also fabulous. I knew that between mile six and seven, there was a huge hill. I came up on that hill and remembered it from the
City of Oaks 10k. The top of that hill was the finish line for that 10k which was my first race in my new home state of North Carolina.
We started toward North Carolina State and a beautiful part of Raleigh. I saw the outdoor theater and the rose gardens-beautiful. I can only imagine what they look like when they are in bloom. As I came around a corner heading toward the NC State Bell Tower, I saw the Brooks guitar guy.
I started to jump up and down with excitement! This wasn't up in Washington, DC due to high winds and I was disappointed so it was great to see it! Again, the band and music were amazing.
Off to run through NC State and head back toward Dorothea Dix Parks. Now, I know that I was in the home stretch. I saw this great sign at mile 12 and had someone take my picture. However, they dropped my phone and the screen is cracked.
Accidents happen. :( I was a bit disappointed and it was hard for me to stay motivated. I also knew looking at my Garmin Vivoactive that my time would be much better than two weeks earlier in DC. That kept my motivation knowing that I would PR by about 15-20 minutes!
As I came to the home stretch of the last 3/4 of a mile, I saw one of my running groups,
Raleigh Running Nutz photographers and she took my picture while cheering me on!
I felt exhilarated coming into the finish line because I knew that I had a huge PR...15 minutes!! The smile on my face was amazing and I felt great!
Afterwards, it was getting my medal for my I run for buddy, Andrew and wait for Joe. The runners' village was wonderful with all the food (bananas, pretzels, water and Gatorade along with chips and granola bars) along with free beer. I grabbed my beer while waiting for Joe. The band
Cracker was playing and it was great plus having seats at the stadium was wonderful!
He finished his full marathon in just under 4 hours-AMAZING! He helped me take some pictures with the Raleigh Acorn.
And then we headed home because I had to get him to the airport. After all, this weekend couldn't have been better. Like I said in Part I, amazing friends, food, music-what more could I ask for in a running weekend! I look forward to attending the Raleigh Rock 'N' Roll race weekend next year and I'll see if it can be better!
Till next time and remember, my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!
Disclaimer: As a Rock-N-Blogger, I received a complimentary global tour pass, which I used as entry for this race. As always, the opinions are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you would like a response to your comment, please provide an email address and I would be happy to respond. Thank you.