Spring Break, Family Time and Yoga Poses

This week was Spring Break for many of the local high schools.  Although it has been YEARS since I myself have been able to enjoy an entire week off from reality, Spring Break does affect our work schedule and actually frees up a little time in our training.  On the plus side, Hunter and I are able to get some work done and even have a little fun together.  On the downside, with my schedule thrown off, it can be a little difficult to stay focused and committed to my fitness.  With that being said, I still managed some good workouts this week and here is a recap in training.

Monday: Taught spinning to a smaller class, assuming many were out for Spring Break.  The weather was gorgeous, a little cooler but sunny and beautiful.  After spin, I met up with Hunter and we knocked out a few miles.  He said he wanted to push to 4 and hold a solid pace similar to our last run.  We ended up doing 4.25 with a pace of 9:02.  Which in my opinion is super awesome for a big guy who has only been running for 3 months.  He's made so much progress in such a short period of time.  I couldn't be more proud of him!

Monday also started the Runners Love Yoga Challenge for March.  I had so much fun participated in the February challenge while tapering for my marathon and I even won the challenge!  This month is all about the Flow with a series of poses that will build on each other.  Here was day one with a Warrior I:

Tuesday: Normally I run on my lunch break on Tuesday, but with the freed up afternoon as well as free tickets to a fitness convention center here in Orlando, Hunter and I took advantage and headed down to the convention center.  We spent the afternoon checking out all the latest and greatest in the industry and we even ran into a few of our former coworkers.  It's always fun to get to catch up with people!  We had to head back to train our afternoon groups so this left no time for my run.  Luckily, since the sun is going down later now, I was able to get an evening jog in.  This used to be the only time of day I could run because of work and kiddos.  It had been so long since I've had a solo evening run and I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is out there just before the sun goes down.  I definitely want to take more time for runs like this.

And this was my Reverse Warrior pose from earlier in the day for the Yoga Challenge:

 

Wednesday: Hunter and I had a busy afternoon planned so I didn't have much time for a workout.  I stayed back at the gym while he went for his run and I knocked out a quick MetCon circuit.  My knee and hip had gotten really sore over the past few days so I did spend some time on rolling and mobility work.  In between MetCon sets I went ahead and did my Yoga Challenge pose which was a triangle pose.  It was juts what I needed to help loosen up my tight adductors.

Thursday: On Thursdays I typically run but my legs felt like absolute lead.  With my run on Monday and Tuesday, I was already at the mileage I'm typically at for the week, so I figured I should hold off on running more and have fresh legs for hopefully a good Saturday run.  So I decided to just do a quick, easy mile and a half then hit the pool for some laps.  My swimming has gotten so much better and I swam a whole 1200m without stopping!

Yoga pose for the day was the low lunge.  Took the picture at the pond in front of my house before the rain came.

Friday: Went to Planet Fitness and focused solely on upper body.  My knee was feeling much better and my legs were loosening up, but I didn't want to wear them out before my 8-10 miles I had scheduled for the next day.  Got in a great pump at PF then headed to meet Hunter for lunch.  After lunch we met with a realtor about potentially selling our house and buying a new one, eeek!  Then we went to a high school baseball game to cheer on our kiddos from the gym, then to our own kid's school to watch their Easter parade, then finally home!  What a crazy busy day, we were exhausted!  But here are some adorable pictures of the kids' Easter festivities:

And of course here is my standing L pose for the Yoga Challenge:

Saturday: The forecast was calling for rain all weekend.  Since I have been helping a friend prepare for her first half, I was disappointed the rain would keep us from meeting out on the trail that morning.  I, however, was excited to get to sleep in a little though.  It's been while.  So I caught a few extra ZZZ's and headed to LA Fitness for a treadmill run.  My plan was 8-10, which is my usual Saturday mileage.  My knee was a just a pinch twinge-y, my allergies were not too bad, and the extra sleep had me feeling good and rested.  I could have pushed harder and gone longer but I felt good about my 8 miles in 58:41 (avg pace 7:21).   Pretty pleased with my run and feeling prepared for my 15k next week, I finished off with some foam rolling and stretching.  Spent the rest of the day with friends at an Easter party.

When we got home from the party, it was raining.  I still needed to do my revolved half moon pose for the Challenge, so here I am doing so in the rain!

Sunday: Easter Sunday and also rest day!  We decided to spend the day at the beach.  It was a little overcast at times but it turned out to be the perfect day to spend at the beach and finish out an awesome weekend.  The boys had so much fun building sandcastles and splashing in the waves.  Hearing their laughter and seeing the smiles on their sweet little faces makes everything seem right in the worlds.

And of course, the beach is also the perfect place for a great yoga shot, so here is my high lunge for the Runners Love Yoga Challenge:

What's on tap for the next few weeks...
It's about to get really hectic!  April is a super busy month with work and races.  Next Sunday, I will run the EA Riverside 15k.  The following weekend, my mom will be in town helping with the kiddos while Hunter and I help run a football camp.  Also that weekend, I have an 8k on Saturday and then on Sunday, I drive down to Sarasota in the wee hours of the morning to run the Iron Girl Half Marathon with my friend (it is her first half)!  I will have a week to recuperate then it's the Lake Minneola Half Marathon April 24th, then two weeks later it's my sprint tri!  After that, we take a vacation and I will have no other races planned until the Chicago Marathon in October.

Race Recap: Pacing the Swamp House Half Marathon

I have been running for almost 2 decades, starting out just running for fitness in my teens, then running my first organized race in my early 20's.  Since then, I have ran almost 50 races including everything from 5k's to full marathons and have even participated in some sprint triathlons!  I have come along way in the past several years, with some big PR's and even finding myself on the podium for several races.  As much as I love to compete with myself and others, I also love to run with friends, make new ones and be there for encouragement and support.  So when I was presented with the opportunity to be a pacer, I felt it would be the perfect opportunity to help other runners with their own goals.  In fact, pacing is something I have been wanting to get into for a while now, and it turns out it was all I could have hoped for and more!  So my race recap for my most recent half will be from a different perspective as I not only get to talk about the event itself, I will also get to recount my first ever official pacing experience!

I actually ran this race last year and I had a huge PR.  I had thought about doing it again because it was such a great experience for me, but since I already have such a full race calendar this Spring, I figured it would be best to sit out on March races to give my body and mind a break.  But, just a few days before the race, I got a call from Jim of MarathonPacing.com, informing me that several pacers had to drop out last minute and he was in need of a pacer for the half on Sunday.  He still had my inquiry from over a year ago and had kept me on the list of reserves for this event.  Fortunately, I had no plans for the weekend and I agreed to help.  I was so excited, a little nervous but mostly excited!  He sent out all the information, informed me I would be pacing the 2:05 group and the next thing I knew, I was registered for the Swamp House Half Marathon in Debary, FL!

As soon as he sent me the information about pacing, I also received an email information from the fine folks at Final Mile Management company with all the information I needed for race day, including my registration, travel, parking and a timeline of the day's events.  Quick and very informative!  Swamp House Half Marathon & 5k also has its very own Facebook page (I received the link the email) with plenty of helpful information on there too.  So needless to say, they did a great job covering all their bases.

Packet pickup was offered on Friday, Saturday and even the morning of the race for everyone's convenience.  I was only able to attend the Saturday time, which was also the time I was to pick up my pacer information, so that worked out perfect.  Having ran in this event the year prior, I knew where I was heading and about what to expect with the "expo."  This is a smaller, more of a local event, so the expo is not really an expo at all.  Rather it is a table in the back of Swamp House Bar & Grill where you receive your packet, including T-shirt (which I will discuss soon) and bib.  Last year, there was a bit more to it and the pacer table was located in doors.  In fact, last year is how I learned about MarathonPacing, and met the pacer who helped me with my big PR.  This year, they were kinda shoved over to a corner outside, so I am not sure how many people actually got to meet the pacers this time around.  Hopefully next year they will organize that a little better like the years past.

With my packet in hand, my family, who joined me for the day, and I headed down to the riverfront to enjoy some sunshine and warm weather, then back up to the restaurant for lunch.  The food was delicious and the restaurant was packed with runners picking up their packets for the race.  It was a lot of fun running into my running friends and making new ones!  It was like one big party just for the race participants and their families.

The night before any race, I like to get everything situated, snap a "flat runner," then pack my bag for race morning.  The bright, lime green singlet was perfect for runners to recognize me as a pacer and of course my large sign should help too, hehe.  I did my best to match up my outfit and of course had to coordinate my two favorite long run essentials including my Tiux compression socks and Headsweats Moms Run This Town visor.

The race was about 35 minutes from me and fairly easy to get to, so I had my alarm set for 4:45am and figured as long as I got out there before 5:45, I should be good to go with the road closures.  The email indicated they would close the road down around 6:30, but I did not want to chance it being closed sooner or the parking lot filling up, so in true Christina fashion, I got there super early.  I wasn't the only one with the same idea, but luckily, it was easy to get to the parking lot and into a spot before it started filling up fast.  It was only about 49 degrees outside, and since I was in my singlet and shorts, I figured I would sit in the car until I needed to head over to meet up with the other pacers.  Around 6am, I figured it was about time I brave the elements and go meet up with everyone.  The air was definitely crisp but with little to no wind, it really wasn't that bad.  I felt a little relieved when I noticed several other people, including fellow pacers, in just tank tops and shorts too.

To the side of the parking lot, was a covered area with several picnic tables.  Here is where they were doing the race day registration, yes that's right, they offered same day registration, as well as packet pickup.  In this area, there was also coffee, water and Gu gels and blocks available.  There were two port-a-poties for volunteers that luckily they allowed us pacers to use as well.  I met the rest of the pacers, saw a few of my Moms Run This Town mamas, then headed over to the starting line.

The sun was coming up at this time, so the air was starting to warm up some too.  I know it would warm up soon enough, so as cold as I was at the time, I would feel good within a few miles.  At the starting line, the music was bumping, there was someone getting people hyped up over the loud speaker and people were socializing, dancing and taking pre-race pics.  The atmosphere was great!  Not too far from the start line were 10+ port-a-johns that hardly had lines for!  Potties this close to the starting line without lines is practically unheard of, so that was a nice amenity!

There were large banners with pace times lining the starting line area, taking you from fastest pace on back.  This was perfect for runners to line up according to pace and keep the start of the race from bottle-necking and slowing things down.  Luckily the pace I was suppose to be at was smack dab in from of where my MRTT chapter was meeting up and also near the bathrooms, so I got to see so many of my running friends.  It was so awesome!

The guy on the loud speaker did a great job announcing the pacers, with our goal time and paces.  We all hoisted out signs up a little higher when he said our names and info, so runners can located us.  About 10-15 minutes before the start of the race I had a corral of about 10 people looking to keep up with me.  I got their names, introduced them to each other and we started chatting about everything from the course specifics, to other races we have run to our jobs and families.  I wanted everyone to feel at ease and like one big family, since we were going to be spending the next 2 hours and 5 minutes of our lives together!

The race got started right at time and since we were a good ways back, it was about a minute or so walk up to the start time.  And then we were off!  Despite having the pace banners for people to line up at, there was still a little bit of congestion with slower paced runners and walkers for about a quarter of a mile, but we were able to get around it and settle into a solid pace before the first mile mark.  Around that came the first of many hills. As a pacer, we run at a slower pace than our average in order to be able to hold onto a steady pace will talking to runners if need be.  So over the course of the next several miles through rolling hills and neighborhoods, I chatted with about 5 of my runners and we were having a good ole time!  I learned that in my group I had a first timer, an ultra runner, a lady who had run 30+ half marathons with no desire to ever run full and a guy who had actually ran a half marathon the day before!  I had people hoping to PR and others just wanting to hold onto a steady pace they are used to and wanted to company. I really didn't know what to expect but about half way through, it has already far exceeded what I could have imaged and I was having an absolute blast!

As far as the course goes, it is definitely hilly for the first 7 miles or so.  We run through a couple of neighborhoods but a good chunk of it is on the main road.  I suppose they could only block so much of the road off so traffic was still whizzing past us as we ran.  On that particular stretch of road, however, there was great crowd support.  People lined up several portions of the streets cheering, playing music, waving signs and giving out high fives.  So that definitely makes the experience much more fun.

Around mile 8ish, we turn a corner and start getting away from the hills and into the shade.  This is also the time the road gets a little rocky.  At this time, about 4 of my runners started lagging behind and a part of me wanted to slow back with them to keep encouraging them and see them through to the finish line.  But I knew my job was to hold a steady pace and help the runners that were keeping that with me.  I periodically would shout back to my girls who were not too far behind me telling them to keep it up, they were doing great and had this!  They shouted thank you's back but eventually I couldn't see them any more, which definitely bummed me out, but I knew they would still finish and that was all that mattered.  Plus it seemed like they had formed a bound throughout the miles and had each other out there, which totally warmed my heart!

Around mile 10 or so I picked up a couple of runners who had fallen back from the 2 hour pace group.   At this time I also noticed a girl who had been in front of me the whole time was now shoulder to shoulder with me and started to slow down even more.  She had her head phones in but when I turned to talk to her, she pulled one out and was more than willing to chat for a minute or two.  It turned out it was only her second half and if she reached this goal time, it 10 minute PR for her.  I told her to stick with me and we would get it.  She put her headphone back in and we went for it!

The pavement was terrible, but fortunately the hills were gone.  The temps had signifcantly come up, so it was getting rather hot out there.  By mile 11, I could tell a lot of my group was starting to struggle, so that's when I went into full peppy Christina mode and all the cheering and encouragement I could muster came out.  We were having ourselves a good ole time as we came up on the rowdy mile 12 aide station.  They were handing out water and Gatorade, as well as beer.  No beer for me but me and my group got a lot of high fives!

At this point they took us on a dirt road for a several yards then through a neighborhood.  This was a new part of the course that I wasn't sure I would like at first but it turned out to be really nice.  There was absolutely no shade but the houses were beautiful and the road was nice and smooth.  We were coming up on the 13th mile when I picked up about 3 runners who had fallen back some.  I did everything I could to convince them how close we are and to just hang in there.  We turned a corner and there it was, the finish line.  I said to my group this was it, let's turn on the jets and finish strong.  I had a handful of my group in front of me, another handful or so behind me and a couple shoulder to shoulder with me as we pushed through that last quarter of a mile through the finish line!

After we crossed the finish line, I checked in on the folks I had spoken with throughout the course.  I got hugs, high fives, thank you's and even a few tears from them!  But what I think excited me the most were the several runners who I hadn't even realized I had helped!  I saw them a few times in front or behind of me periodically but I guess it just didn't click they were using me and my pacing.  These several people, some exhausted, some beaming with pride and some even crying tears of joy thanked me and even hugged me for helping them through.  I found myself getting choked up too!  It was then that I truly realized what pacers do, how important they are and the impact they can have on people and their race experience.  Whether it is to chat up a storm with for 2 hours or to have in their sights, pacers help people reach their goals.  And I was beyond honored, humbled and touched to get to be a part of several people reaching their goals that day!

Swamp House is a great, well organized event, with a fairly nice course and a lot of excitement, but hands down one of my favorite things about this race is the after party!  It is rather small, but it is on the riverfront with bumping music and free beer!  It is like one big party out there and I had an absolute blast hanging out with my MRTT mamas, chatting with the fellow pacers and hanging out with my new runner friends.  I was having so much fun I almost lost track of time!

FINAL THOUGHTS
Pros
Well organized with great correspondence
Kicking after party
Sweet gator medal that is also a bottle opener!
Plenty of parking
Same day registration
Fairly inexpensive
Pretty good crowd support
Plenty of aid stations (including beer at mile 12)
Mostly shaded through the final miles
Awesome pacers ;-)
If you run the race in Orlando the day before, you get a double medal

Cons
If you're not into hills, you wouldn't like the course too much
The rough pavement through the final miles was a little tough
Easy to get to the event, but kinda off the beaten path (Debary isn't exactly a happening tow)
Lackluster expo
Henious forrest green shirt

My two personal biggest take aways from this experience are 1. I most DEFINITELY want to pace again and 2. I will most CERTAINLY continue to participate in the Swamp House Half Marathon each year!  Here are a couple of the high's and low's specific to the race but all in all it's a super awesome event that I would highly recommend!

Race Recap: Orange Blossom Half Marathon

This Orange Blossom Half Marathon & 5k has been held annually in Lake County for Several years.  I ran this one in 2013 and was actually my first half marathon since having my sons.  I remember it being scenic, but so cold and windy running around several lakes.  It was tough and since I was only about 3 months postpartum I was just so excited to have made it out alive, but swore it off from then on out.  Of course when I saw Sommer Sports was offering a big deal on this event for 2016 and they had changed the location, I figured what the heck I should give it another go.  I am so glad that I did!

Registration for this race was on a scale in which the first X amount of people would get the race for $1, the next group would get it for $5, then so on.  By the time I hit register, I think I paid maybe $10 or $15 bucks, so it was a steal as far as I was concerned.  Not to mention I was excited to try a new course and the medal (above) looked beautiful.  I even looked back at the registration page a few weeks before the event and the cost still didn't reach over $50, making this quite possibly one of the least expensive Half Marathons you can do in Central Florida if not the whole state!

Communication leading up to the event was great.  We received several emails indicating the date, time and location of packet picket.  Since the event was over an hour away from me, I was so relieved to see they had race day pick up.  And based on the information on directions and parking they sent out, it looked like it would be fairly easy to get to and park at.

The weather forecast was another iffy one, which is par for the course this time of year.  Though temps were expected to warm up later that day, they were calling for upper 30's to low 40's at the start of the race.  These temps were very similar to when I ran 26.2 With Donna two weeks prior and I remembered how quickly I warmed up once I got going.  So I opted for shorts and long sleeves for this one.  As I do for each race, I lay my outfit out the night before, snap a "Flat Christina" to share on Instagram and with my Moms Run This Town Facebook group and gt ready to hit the hay.

I was coming down with either a cold or my allergies were really starting to kick into high gear, so I was not feeling at 100%.  In fact, by Friday night, I had full blown laryngitis and I was coughing quite a bit.  I figured if I felt iffy in the morning, I would skip the race since I didn't want to make things worse for myself.  When the alarm clock went off at 4am, I didn't really have much time to think about how I felt, I just hopped out of bed, got dressed grabbed my race bag and hit the road.  It wasn't until I was about 3 or 4 miles down the road when I started coughing terribly.  Oh that's right, I'm kinda sick, not horribly, but I certainly do not feel great.  Oh well, no turning back now, let's just go see how this goes!

MapQuest was not kidding, it was definitely over an hour away and when I pulled into the parking area, it was a little shy of 6am.  It was pretty dark out still and a frigid 38 degrees.  The website said packet pickup started at 6, so I figured I would have to wait in my car for a few minutes, but as I saw people going in and out of the banquet hall, I thought maybe they had started early.  Sure enough, when I got in there, they were already doing packet pick up.  They were READY, I like it!  I remember this race being smaller when I ran it back in 2013 and it by the looks of the set up, the ease of parking and the amount of people there at the time, I could tell it was going to be another quaint event.  Those to me, can be just as awesome if not more than the larger races.  It makes it feel more like a family.  Rhere is a lot of excitement for everyone from the first to the last finisher.

I met up with a couple of my MRTT mamas and we headed over to the start area a little before 7am. There were no pace groups for this event, so I figured I should just head up close to the front.  After some announcements, course descriptions and a playing of the national anthem (that cut in an out, oops), the race began right at 7am.

The sun was really starting to come up by then and the temp had also come up some.  The first part of the course took us through some houses skirting downtown and up a hill.  When we finally got up the hill and out of the downtown area, we took a sharp right after a school and then it was a mile or so on a beautiful country road with farm lands to our left.  I could see the sun really starting to rise on the horizon, the air was cool but crisp and refreshing.  This part of the course we had a tailwind and a slight decline, so I was able to really pick up my pace and hit a great stride.

Only mid race pic snapped by a friend of mine.

Around mile 3ish we took another sharp right turn and soon after a left turn.  Here comes the orange groves and the hills.  For about a mile, we ran uphill until we turned onto some clay roads.  I was a little nervous about the clay, but this was actually where I did the best.  It was very pretty running through the orange groves (despite all my coughing and sneezing) and the clay was hard packed and mostly flat.

Once we left the clay and were back on the road, we were also back to the hills.  Mile 7 was actually one big hill and that is where things stated to fall apart for me.  I was keeping an average pace of about 7:35 but to get up that hill, I found myself running in the low 8's.  By the time I reached the top of the hill, my legs and lungs were burning.  Once things finally flattened out, we were faced with a pretty strong headwind.  The saving grace was the course was actually really pretty, tough but pretty.

They took us through a dirt/gravel path for a mile or so then it back on to the original course to head back to the start/finish line.  Knowing how far I had left and what it would look like, I felt relieved and excited.  A little under 4 miles to go, I figured I could kick it into high gear.  Unfortunately, I was wrong...

Those lovely earlier miles that were downhill with a tailwind were now my last miles and the complete opposite as before.  From mile 10 on I struggled uphill with the wind at my face.  The cold/allergies/fatigue situation I was experiencing was really taking over me and I was struggling.  Knowing if I could just keep a certain pace, I would finish under 1:43, so I worked on that.  Not a PR, but a strong finish nonetheless. 

Around mile 11, I could see a shadow of someone approaching to my right.  I looked over my should and she gave a big smile and seemed like she wanted to chat.  I paused my music to say hello.  She was ironically someone I knew through Instagram but had never actually met!  We ran and chatted for about a quarter of a mile, but she was a little too fast for me and all the running and talking got my lungs going again, so I had to pull back while I coughed up a storm.  She ended up finishing a few minutes ahead of me and we met up after.  It's funny how social media and running can bring people together and forge new friendships!  Here we are pictured below and we have already discussed plans for running again soon!

Back to the race.  We passed back by the same school and I knew we were getting close, but it seemed a little too close.  Yep, my suspicions were confirmed when I came upon someone directing us down a narrow trail, which we ran out and back for a little over mile to give us the extra miles needed.  The trail also had our last water stop.  After chugging my last bit of water I realized a couple of things.  First, the water tasted a little funky, almost like chlorinated pool water.  Also, there had been no Gatorade or Gu along the course.  Most distance races offer those at some point along the course so I felt that to be a little odd.  I was at least grateful for the pool water they served us.

As the trail came to an end, we took a sharp right and up a hill.  There was less than mile to go at this point and fortunately, what goes up comes down.  The last little stretch to the finish line was mostly downhill so I was able to kick it into high gear and finish in my typical sprint.  Luckily that last little push got me in at 1:40:58.  It was about a 45 second PR but a PR nonetheless!

The after party was quaint, but they had plenty of food (including full bbq sandwiches for the runners), places sit and a lot of socializing.  The sun was up, it was warming up and it was shaping up to be a beautiful morning.  I was able to meet up with some of my MRTT mama's as they were coming in and spend some time recapping our adventures out on the course.  The general consensus was that it was a tough, hilly course but very beautiful.

It turns out that my time was enough to get me up on the podium.  I placed second in my age division, receiving a super cute little plastic orange in it's very own wooden crate with the name of the race and my place engraved on it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Here are my final pros and cons to recap this event.

Pros
Great pre-race communication and instructions
Race day packet pick up available and was simple
Easy to get to and from
Plenty of parking
Clean bathrooms inside as well as port-a-johns outside
Race started on time
Beautiful course
Plenty of instruction along the course
Free finish line photos
Instant results on large screen
Great food for runners
Medal is large and very pretty
Got right to awards ceromony
Results were emailed right away

Cons
No pace groups for those who like to use them
Course was rather challenging (fun but tough)
Clay and dirt roads
Lots of hills
The added out and back narrow trail was a little dauntingWater tasted icky
No Gatorade or Gu
Crowd support was lacking, even at the start and finish line, no real areas for crowd support along the course
No course photography (just finish line)
After party could use more vendors, activities and excitement

All in all, it was a fun event that I plan to do again next year.  In fact, I think this would be a great one for my husband and I to do together if I can just convince him to train for and run a half

No Rest For the Wicked

Well, it's only been a little over a week since my big exciting marathon and now it's time for my next half.  I had actually planned this half way before I chose the marathon.  Sommer Sports was running a deal late last summer where if you jumped on the computer to register quick enough, you could purchase some of their races for as little as a dollar!  I happened to be one of those lucky few who grabbed the Orange Blossom Half Marathon for dirt cheap.  Then of course the injury happened later that Fall, I signed up for Donna and well you know the rest.  So now I find myself in a situation of running virtually back to back races like I have been a handful of times before.  So I can handle it...I hope!

With that being said, let me recap these past two weeks actually.

So obviously the Monday post marathon was NOT spent teaching spinning or working out.  It did involve jumping right back to work though.  It was a good and a bad thing.  Bad because I did not really get much rest but in a way good because I spend so much time on my feet, it actually kind of helped loosen up my legs.  Life goes on, so as tired as I was, I had to suck it up and push through.  The next day, I was feeling much better and thought I'd try a light swim.  The universe must have disagreed with me because when I got to the pool, it was insanely packed.  Since I'm crunched for time, I ended up soaking in the hot tub then headed back to work.  Wednesday I managed to squeeze in a quick upper body work.  My legs were really starting to feel the effects of my marathon just days before, so even getting around to do my arm exercises was somewhat difficult.  But it felt good to get in a quick pump.

Thursday of post marathon week, I figured I would brave my first run.  Despite some serious calf tightness and a little flare up to my Achilles, it went far better than I had expected.  I felt like I was flying and had to tell myself to slow down several times because of the calf pain.  I didn't want to over do it.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and I got in a super fast 3 miles.

Friday was a quick lift with the hubster.  We did mostly upper body but I did incorporate some kettlebell swings to get the lower body going.  Again, the only issue was the calves.  Later that night, I attended hot yoga and it was as if the instructor designed the class specifically for me!  We focused a lot on posterior chain, especially the lower legs!  I think it was a combination of rest, listening to my body when working out and the amazing yoga class that had me just about back to my old self by Saturday morning.  On Saturday, I ran a conservative 5 miles and got in a 1200m swim. and of course some foam rolling.  Later that night, Hunter and I finally celebrated our Valentine's Day.

Sunday was rest day and then of course Monday was back to spinning and lifting.  This was my first attempt to lift legs in close to 3 weeks and boy did I feel it the next several days!  I will say as much as I love distance running, getting after it in the weight room has my heart and I am really looking forward to growing.  Tuesday, was my first speed workout in a while too and it was freaking awesome.  I was a little apprehensive how it would go because of the heavy legs the day before and the fact that they probably are still somewhat fatigued from the marathon the week before.  But I was able to do some of my fastest 400's ever so that is wonderful!  Calf and Achilles felt pretty good, required some stretching and rolling but nothing too serious, so I was pretty excited about that.  Also, as you can see below, even though I still have a ways to go, I am finally getting my abs back from all the crazy carb loading and post race indulgences, not to mention the holiday weight gain I was still trying to work off!  It's an ongoing process for me and a constant battle.  But hard work and dedication does pay off, so I'm trying to stick with it and will hopefully be back in shape for bikini season.

Wednesday, I was hoping to attend the monthly pub run that night, but since I have been feeling some issues with allergies and/or a cold coming on, I figured it was best to skip out.  I did get in a little lift that afternoon at our gym.  I wanted to focus mostly on upper body and core, but it had felt like eternity since I got to do some plyos.  So I incorporated some box jumps into my workout.  I also gave an exercise we have been putting our athletes through these past few weeks a try.  It involved a twist on our traditional valside knee tucks where I also use a band and do triple threat knee tucks.  It was definitely a burner and I will be doing this one again!

On Thursday, I wanted to get in a 5 mile tempo run then a 1200m swim.  I figured since my speed work had been so great on Tuesday, the tempo run should be effortless.  Well, Thursday morning, I woke up with a scratchy throat and an itchy nose.  You guessed it, allergies in full effect!  I popped my Allegra hoping to nip it in the but by my lunch break, when I would get my workout it, I was struggling.  I did manage my 5 miles and my swim, but it was not as easy as I had hoped for.  Later Thursday night, Hunter and I got to sneak out for another date night!  Two date nights in a matter of months is unheard of for us, but twice in one week is crazy insane.  But when some good friends of ours offered us club seats to the Magic v. Golden St. game (aka the Steph Curry show), we couldn't turn them down.  Unfortunately our Magic got beat down but it was still a fun time out!

Friday, I wasn't worse off but I certainly wasn't any better.  With a race the next morning, I knew I should take it easy.  So I knocked out a quick, but potent upper and core workout at our gym.

It's hard to go light, it's just not in my nature, but I am also learning to listen to my body better these days.  As the day went on, my allergies were really starting to kick my butt.  I had full on laryngitis, I was coughing up a storm and fatigue was sinking in.  I went to bed early Friday night in hopes to be rested and ready to go for my half on Saturday...

When I woke up Saturday morning at 4am, I wasn't sure if I should get back in bed or hop in the car and head to the race.  I was definitely NOT 100% but didn't feel terrible, so I chose the latter.   The temp was pretty chilly at the start of the race but it turned out to be pretty nice.  The course was much more difficult than I had anticipated with several hills, clay roads and even a dirt trail.  I was coughing and sneezing the whole way through, but still managed to squeeze out a baby PR with a finish time of 1:40:59 (my former PR was 1:41:49), and I placed 2nd in my division!
[FULL RACE RECAP TO COME]

Later Saturday afternoon, we took the boys down to Fort Mellon Park in Sanford.  It was an absolutely beautiful day and they really enjoyed the playground there.  It was a dual purpose heading down there because a few of my MRTT friends were running in the Dawn to Dusk Challenge around the park.  They were doing the one mile loop as many times as they could in the 12 hour period!  All of my buddies who participated ended up doing over 33 miles each and one of the over 40!  Seriously considering joining them next year.  After cheering on the ladies, we strolled the riverfront, dined at the German cafe down there, then headed up.  I think it's safe to say, our who family was pretty warn out from the day.

Taking the day off today to rest, re-cooperate, hopefully get my voice back, but most importantly enjoy some quality time with my favorite boys.  Happy Sunday!

Back To Back Races: The Good, The Bad, The Crazy

6 Days Apart: Space Coast Marathon & MOAT Off-Road Half Marathon

Last Sunday, I ran a marathon and this Saturday, I will run a half marathon.  I have done this a couple of times in my running "career" and each time I do it, I am reminded why I don't do it very often, lol.  Now, I am by no means an elite runner, but I am definitely out there pushing it each time I race.  And by the time it's all said and done, man oh man do I feel it!  But with that being said, there is also something fun and exciting about multiple distance races in a short period of time.  In fact, there are even groups specifically for runners who enjoy filling up their weekends with half and full marathons.  Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs are two groups I am aware of and I am sure there are others.  Since I know I am not the only crazy runner out there, I thought I would share, in my opinion, the pros and cons of running back to back races as well as some tips to survive both (or several) race weekends.

No Taper Madness
With such a quick turn around from one race to the next, one does not have much time to focus on a proper taper.  We all know how crazy tapering can be for a distance runner, so in a way, it may be kind of nice not to go through the 2-3 weeks of "taper madness."  The decrease in mileage and intensity, however, certainly helps prepare our bodies for the big event.  O the plus side is our mind is already in race mode, hopefully our legs follow suit!  My advice when there is no time to properly taper, do the best you can to rest up and scale back that week or two between events.  Kind of like an abbreviated version of a taper, better than nothing!  Also, be sure to listen to your body.  If your legs, head or heart aren't feeling it, a day or two off before your next event would probably do you more good than harm.

Goals (aka PR's)?
I talk A LOT about setting goals in my blogging, but sometimes I suggest throwing them out the window.  This is one of those times.  Back to back races can not just take a toll on you physically, but it can burn you out mentally as well.  Since we are not professional runners here, it's important we remember why we do these events.  The answer is typically because their fun and it's our passion.  Of course it is nice to PR and don't sell yourself short if it feels like a good possibility out on the course.  But after you just ran a half or full distance and are about to run another, you have no idea how your body (and psyche) will react to another weekend of high mileage in a high energy (and competitive) atmosphere.  So my suggestion would be to just go out and have fun, see what you can do, make some friends out there and enjoy the journey!  The is, after all, why most of us run anyway.

Bring on the Bling
If you're like me and most of the other runners out there who do this for fun, we also do it for the bling.  Let's face it, we like big shiny rewards for our efforts, hehe!  An obvious plus to doing multiple races is receiving multiple medals.  So you may acquire some blisters, exhaustion and soreness along the way, you will certainly have some pretty new medals to show for your hard work and badassery!

Eat All the Food
Again, I make mention of proper nutrition and moderation in my blog, but another fun thing about multiple races are the post races goodies.  Of course I do not suggest a week or two of a pure pizza and beer diet (I would be in heaven if I could do that), but enjoying some good eats not only serves as a reward but also helps to replenish all those calories burned out on the course(s).  My advice is to have a cheat day after each race where you can enjoy some of your favorite indulgences.  Do try your best to keep portions in check during these cheat days and once they are over, do your best to get back on track with your healthy nutrition.  Also, don't forget to stay hydrated with beer, I mean water and electrolyte drinks!

Find Out What You're Made Of
You never know your limits until you push yourself to them, and running long distances back to back will certainly push you to the limit!  Like I said above, there is definitely something exciting about multiple high mileage weekends.  Running a half or full is a big deal in itself, so to do more than one in a matter of days is a big freaking deal!  It takes guts, grit and maybe a little insanity.  But you will feel such an amazing sense of accomplishment when it's all said and done.  You will learn a lot about yourself and what you are capable of.  And if you happen to do exceptionally well at one or both races, well then all the more reason to be even more proud!

Learn From Your Experiences
Every experience in life is an opportunity to learn and running is no exception.  The more races you run, the more opportunities you have to gain knowledge, confidence and experience that can help to better prepare you for each subsequent event.  You learn more and more about what works for you for everything from training to nutrition and hydration to recovery to even your mental game, and everything in between.  Back to back races, though taxing physically and mentally, give you real time race experiences and of course opportunities to learn and grow as a runner.

Have Fun!
I know I sound like a broken record pointing out the obvious that we are not elite athletes here.  We are weekend warriors doing this for fun, fitness and friends.  Of course we would be lying if we said we don't like to push ourselves, we are crazy distance runners after all.  But all in all, we are doing this for ourselves and nothing more.  So keep that in mind.  Be proud of how hard you are working.  Feel special that you are doing something challenging, unconventional and only for the crazy brave.  But most importantly, enjoy it all.  We are so lucky for the gift our bodies give to us, so don't take it for granted, soak it all in and have some dadgum fun!

Rest and Recovery
Last but certainly not least, once it is all said and done...GET SOME REST!  Holy Guacamole you deserve it!  Sleep, eat, drink water, foal roll, ice bath, massage, yoga, lay in bed.  Whatever it takes and whatever you can make time for, do it.  Your body and mind will thank you for it.


If you need more tips on training and recovery, contact Coach Christina today.  Be sure to follow her running and fitness journey on her INSTAGRAM page.  Happy running everyone!

26.2 With Donna

It seems like I had been training for years for this one race!  It was certainly a long journey but all totally worth it.  I actually signed up for this particular race as a knee-jerk reaction after getting hurt in last Fall.  I had my sights set on a BQ at the Space Coast Marathon Thanksgiving weekend, but when a deep calcaneal bone bruise lead to Achilles Tendinitis as well as Plantar Fasciitis, I was left sidelined for over a month!  I knew it would be impossible to reach my goal even if I could run Space Coast, so I immediately hopped on the computer and found the next race I could do in the area that was a BQ race.  I came across 26.2 with Donna, and before I even knew much more about it, I was grabbing my credit card and hitting submit.  I was going to heal up and BQ at this race, simple as that.  Haha, I wish!  Well, Space Coast came around and even though I hadn't really been able to train, I still gave it a shot.  4 hours and 11 minutes later, I limped through the finish line and my body and mind were SPENT!  At that point, knowing I had just weeks until my next marathon, I made a difficult but necessary decision to go ahead and let go of my goal to BQ (for now) and just have a fun, stress free time during training and of course throughout the race.  BEST.DECISION.EVER!  This was hands down, the least stressful, most enjoyable marathon experience I have had since MCM in 2010!

I will get into a little more about my race experience but first, let me start off with a little information about the race itself.  26.2 With Donna is a non-profit organization that offers several events in the Northeast Florida area throughout the year, with the marathon weekend drawing their largest crowds.  Since it's inaugural race in 2008, 26.2 With Donna has donated over $4 million towards its vision to finish breast cancer.  Funds go to the Mayo Clinic for top breast cancer research and to The Donna Foundation to provide financial assistance to those with breast cancer.  So going into it, I knew it was for a good cause and it would be very touching experience, but little did I know how amazing and inspirational it would truly be!

I have talked a lot about my injury and training in previous posts, as well as the goals I had in mind for this race.  So as the weekend approached, I made the commitment to myself to just relax, have fun and soak it all in.  Saturday came around and it was time to leave for the expo.  The website and several people I have spoken to have claimed it to be one of the best expos in the industry.  Having been to a huge expo experience like Marine Corps as well as a local, inaugural one like the Celebration Marathon, I would have to admit the Donna Expo fell somewhere in between.  Access and parking to the expo were great, especially since parking was free.  There were several great vendors there with tons of freebies as well as great products to purchase, but unfortunately but 2pm Saturday afternoon, over a handful of vendors had already left for the day.  I know it was a long weekend for them, but it was a little disappointing, as well as rather disrespectful (IMO) to not stay until the end.  But luckily there was still plenty to see and do and packet pick up was seamless.  There was a very friendly gentleman at the entrance directing us to where we needed to go.  We first got our bib then our shirt and bag.  There were even extra bags so my husband got one.  This came in big handy since we had our two young sons with us and they wanted EVERY freebie at the expo.  My sons scored cowbells, signs to make, pens, coloring books, sunglasses, coozies, etc., so they were so excited!  With everything we needed and them some for race day, we headed out to our hotel.

I chose the Sawgrass Marriott because it was a host hotel and from what I understood, to be a stones throw away from the race start.  Pulling up to the hotel, we immediately knew we had chosen great accommodations and that they were ready and excited for Donna participants.  The valets had Donna jackets on, there was a massive banner hanging in the lobby and there was no mistaking they had rolled out the, ahem, pink carpet for the Race To Finish Breast Cancer.  We settled into our room, left to grab a bite to eat, then came back so I could everything I needed for the next morning.  The weather report kept fluctuating so I kept going back and forth on what to wear.  I decided the night before to go with shorts and even took my "Flat Christina" photo of them before going to bed.

The alarm went off at 6:07 (which is actually over an hour later than I usually get to get up, so woohoo for extra sleep).  And when I checked the temp, it had dropped even more.  38 degrees for race start, so back into my suitcase went my shorts and out came the pants.  Outfit was on and everything I needed to get going was in my nifty new draw string bag.  I kissed my babies on their sleeping foreheads, high fived and kissed my husband who had awoken, and off I went.  Well not before he took a quick pre-race pic of me.

It turns out the hotel was not quite as close to the start as we had thought.  It was about a mile and a half a way.  I chalked it up to a good little warm up, plus I met some really nice ladies who had came in from Texas to run the half.  It is always nice to meet new runner friends, it kinda helps take the edge off with some mindless chatter getting to know each other.  When we finally got to the pre-race area, it seemed a little disorganized and lackluster.  There were the several quintessential port-a-potties lined up as well as some vendors and VIP tents.  But it took me several minutes and finally having to ask someone where to find bag, which was actually located in a different area from all the pre-race tents and activities.  A little strange, but I found it nonetheless and the process of checking my bag was super simple, so no big worries.  I did however, cut it a little close and had to dash over to the restroom.  And since EVERYONE has to use the restroom before these things, the lines were insane.  And of course took forever.  I was still in line when the national anthem was being sang and I feared I would miss the start of the race.  As soon as I did my business, they were announcing it was go time.

I had to practically sprint to get as close to the front as I could but just could not catch up to my pace group before they made my "coral" stop.  The starting area was so narrow and since I hadn't gotten up to where I needed to be, I had no idea that the crowd I had been herded into was planning on doing mostly walking.  So once it was go time, I spent most of the first quarter to half mile elbowing through crowds of walkers and light joggers.  I finally broke away from that pack and found myself with the 4:15 group.  I figured the 3:45 couldn't be that much further and that was my very hopeful goal for the race.  So I sped up a little to see if I could eventually catch them within the next few miles.  Shortly after passing the 4:15 pacer, I found the 4 hour pacing, so I was moving along well.  By mile 3, however, I had yet to find them but soon realized I was going way to fast.  My TomTom indicated I was averaging around 7:25 minute miles and even though I felt amazing, I knew I couldn't sustain.  I pulled back a little and hoped to soon find the pacer to settle in with them.  Like I said I felt great, so I just kept rolling.  The course support through those first several miles was amazing.  People lined the streets with signs, cowbells, cheers, high fives and and friendly smiles.  I also noticed several runners wearing "SURVIVOR" or "I'M RUNNING FOR..." bibs and it made me realize just how many people breast cancer effects and how awesome these runners are out here showing their support or even more so how much many of them have overcome!

Around mile 6, I saw that the 3:45 and the 3:30 were practically neck and neck.  I had yet to feel any need to slow my pace down, so I caught the 3:30 and thought, hey this was my original goal, let's freaking go for it!  I pulled out my headphones, introduced myself to the pacer and the lone runner keeping up with her and for the next few miles we were cruising along great!  The scenery was beautiful, people where lining up along the streets to cheer us on, the temperature had warmed up just enough with a great breeze and I was no longer running, I was coasting!

By mile 10, I was averaging around 7:45 minute miles, chatting up a storm with the pacer like we were on a leisurely stroll and I thought to myself, "don't jinx it, you have a ways to go, but keep it up and you are going to do this Christina, you are going to BQ!"  That is, of course when things took a little turn.  The pacer informed me before that before the half marathon mark, there would be a different pacer to carry us through the finish.  No biggie right?  Well the catch was, there would be a lapse in a pacer, for some odd reason.  She didn't offer an explanation as to why, or when and where I would find said pacer but assured me to keep doing what I was doing and I would be fine.

I bid farewell to the pacer before the turn around and just kept plugging along.  The sun was fully up and the weather was shaping up to be absolutely beautiful.  I managed to take my jacket off and toss it, but did so just a little too soon, because I soon caught quite a headwind!  Luckily, around the same time, I was able to catch some beautiful glimpses of the ocean and of course continued to hear the great cheers from the amazing crowd.

Around mile 14, they had us going through some neighborhoods for a few miles.  There was nothing incredibly exciting about these neighborhoods and though multiple families had come out to cheer us own, these next several miles became very daunting for me.  I had slowed some but managed to keep a good pace in hopes to eventually find this alleged pacer.  But by the time I hit the 17 mile mark and was finally heading out of this unimpressive portion of the course, I was starting to hit that proverbial wall.

By mile 18, the course really got exciting again.  We were heading through the downtown areas once more and there was that great crowd support I was missing.  Unfortunately my pace and body where starting to deteriorate then.  I had committed to myself before starting the race that I wanted to have fun no matter what.  If at any point I questioned why I even do these, if I hated myself for doing this or if it even became painful, I promised myself I would slow down or even walk.  After mile 18, my calf was cramping terribly and I was starting to get frustrated, so I had to honor my commitment and slow down and even walk at water stations.  But I managed to pick right back up, put a smile back on my face and push through.

I will finish my recap of the race in just a minute....

Meanwhile, back at the hotel...

My husband was getting our sons ready to come see me finish.  They were coloring signs, eating donuts and having a good ole time.  I was following me on the RaceJoy app, so he had a pretty good idea when I should be finishing up.  So he headed out with our 3 and 4 year old sons to catch the shuttle at the starting line.  Little did he know (like I had to learn earlier that morning) how much further the starting line was than we had anticipated.  And if you have ever tried to get preschool kids to cooperate and move when you are crunched for time, then you know how stressful it can be.  Fortunately, they managed to catch the shuttle and get down to the finish line area with what the app indicated, 4 minutes to spare!  Once down at the post race area, there was no clear direction where he needed to go.  He asked several people but no one seemed to be able to help.  Eventually they just kept walking (poor him and our kiddos) and soon found it and was ready to see me finish!  And luckily for them, unfortunate for me, I had slowed down enough that they had even a few more minutes to spare.

Ok, now back to the race itself.  By mile 20, I was back into a good stride, all be it much slower than I had started.  Normally this is when things really start to go bad for me.  But this time, despite my insanely tight calf, I felt good, slow, but good.  I knew I only had 10k to go and I should do that just fine.  I wouldn't PR my 10k, I wasn't going to make my Boston time, but I could do a 10k.  So I turned my music up a little louder and pushed on through.

Shortly after mile 22 is where the bridge came in to play.  For the past 20+ miles, the course had been so nice and flat.  Now all of a sudden I am looking up at this bridge with people running on it and I'm realizing I would soon be joining them.  The ramp to the bridge was a pretty steep and once we made it up the ramp, we just kept going up and up.  I just kept reminding myself that I was so close and that what comes up must come down.  But this is where I REALLY started slowing down.  As much as I was slowing down though, I refused to stop.  I just kept fighting through the calf pain, the cramps, the fact that I was hot, my feet were pounding, oh you know basically all the effects of running a marathon.   It's supposed to be hard and uncomfortable, but not insurmountable.

When my watched beeped to inform me I was at mile 25, I am certain tears of pure joy began streaming down my face.  I was at the top of a rather high bridge looking over the beautiful inter-coastal water way.  Crowds of people lined each side of the bridge jumping up and down and screaming you are almost there, and for once they were actually right!  As I ran past the crowd I realized they had sorority letters on their shirt and they happened to be Zeta Tau Alpha's!  I was a Zeta at East Carolina, so I was beyond excited to see my "sisters!"  Of course I gave as many of them as I could high fives, and I'm sure they thought I was insane, hehe.   After that awesome experience, the bridge started to decline, thank goodness.  That's when I turned on my "booster jets" as my son, Nolan, likes to call them, and just stared to run like the wind.

I wasn't even paying attention to my watch at this point, I just kept running.  Judging by the larger crowd and how excited they all were, I knew the finish line must be coming up.  I turned a corner, ran under an underpass and there it was, about a 100 yards in front of me.  Since I had given up on my BQ several miles back but knew I would get my sub 3:45 goal, I hadn't really paid much attention to my time for the last few miles.  But I always like to finish as strong as possible, so I kicked it into high gear and began my full out sprint to the finish.

I was keeping my eye out for my family the whole time I was dead sprinting those last few yards.  As soon as I crossed that finish line I saw them and went straight to them.  I didn't get my medal, grab a water or even turn off my watch.  I just wanted to embrace my husband and babies.  I was crying my eyes out with so much exhaustion but mostly pride.  My husband just kept telling me how awesome I did and how proud he was of me, and that's when I asked him what my official time was...3:38:27!

At that moment in time, not a single ounce of me was in the least bit disappointed that I had missed a BQ by only 3 minutes and 27 seconds.  I had a huge PR, beat my goal of a sub 3:45, and by coming that close, I proved to myself that it is possible and WILL happen.  I gave that race my all, blew my goal out of the water and took over an hour off my first marathon time.  So as far as I was concerned, I came up short in nothing!  [Of course I would be lying if I said that it eventually didn't sink in how close I came and my mind travels to certain times I could have pushed just a little harder and I would have made it happen.  But I will use all that as motivation to push harder the next time.]

I finally went to grab my medal then Hunter snapped several pictures of me with the boys.  They were so excited for me and I was beyond elated to see their sweet smiling faces.  We started our walk to the after party and we had to walk along a narrow path of grass and trees that ran parallel to where I'm assuming runners where coming through.  We were not really certain where to go but figured if we just kept following the crowd, we would find it (kind of the theme for my husband's day).  We got to the race after party and it was very well organized with a lot of neat things going on from music to food to plenty of areas to sit and relax.  We needed to get back to the hotel to be out of our room and still had a drive a head of us home, so after picking up my bag, we headed over to the shuttles.

There were plenty of shuttles, so fortunately there was no wait and we got right on one.  The ride wasn't too long, but the walk back from the start was even farther than I remembered that morning.  By this point my legs where so wobbly and I was holding a 40+ pound 3 year old (who said HE was tired, lol), so it seemed like eternity before we made it back to our hotel.  But we finally made it, showered, check out and it the road soon there after.  I was certainly on a runners high for the next several days!

FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all it was an amazing race and one I would highly recommend to any one from first timers to people looking to PR.  Here are just a few quick pros and cons that I will leave you with in case you are now considering the 26.2 With Donna in 2017...

Pros

• It's for a great cause and the experience is incredibly inspiring and motivating.
• Entry cost is pretty average, definitely not Disney-expensive.  You can even run for free through their fundraising entry (see their site for details).
• They had great communication leading up to the event with plenty of helpful information.
• The race expo had free parking and was easy to get to.
• Packet pick up was well organized.
• Our guest hotel was awesome sauce!
• Great course support for the majority of the race.
• Excellent course that was mostly flat throughout.
• Kicking after party with great music and plenty of food!

Cons

• The expo wasn't as crazy awesome as I had anticipated.
• Getting to and from the start line before and after the race was a little frustrating.
• The starting line area was lackluster, way too narrow and not very organized.
• Very disappointed in the pace group situation.
• The middle miles through the neighborhoods were a little bland as far as scenery and lack of crowd support.
• After the finish, no one rushed up with my medal, by the time I got to the medal, the unimpressed, seemingly bored young ladies handing them out were not really helpful nor friendly when figuring out which medal was mine. (There was a half and relay too)
• Getting over to the after party with my family was a little confusing.
• If you're into obnoxiously big, ornate medals, you would be let down by the smaller finish medal.

The pros by far outweigh any of the cons and I would most certainly run this one again as well as recommend it to anyone and everyone.  Next year's race is on 2/17/2017, and I'm already marking my calendar!