Halloween Half Recap!

(Shoes, shirt, shorts, tank, socks, headband, stickers for our face)

I dressed up as a party animal for my costume…. Or a cheetah with a party hat on.  My kids thought it was funny, but I’m not sure it made sense to anyone else (most people called me a unicorn;), and I’m grateful Lauren agreed to do dress up with me!

I woke up at 5:40 am and ate oatmeal.  I cannot believe the noticeable difference I am experiencing using oatmeal before a run vs. any other pre-run fuel I have ever tried.  I feel like my energy is sustained evenly for so much longer.  I hope and pray I never tire of oatmeal.

I got ready and drove over to meet my friends at the busses at 6:30.  We got to the starting line area at around 7:05 and hung out there until about 7:20.  We got in 3.5 miles for a warm-up (kept my sweats on and fun fact, Vaporflys do not keep your feet warm in the slightest).

They had free hot chocolate and coffee from this food truck before the race, music, and prizes for the costume concert.  There were about 4k people between the 1/2 and 5k, so it felt like a big party the whole way.  I was pretty shocked by how many spectators were cheering for everyone too!

The race was supposed to start at 8, but I guess there was a fender bender with the busses, so it began at 8:30 instead.  We hung out in the ‘elite’ tent that had a porta potty, drinks, gels, and a beautiful rug;). I took a caffeine Maurten at 8 and I have to tell you something I have tried… I’ve QUIT caffeine in the rest of my life.  I’m not just using it for workouts and races and now I can really feel a noticeable difference. I’ll talk more about this in another post.

8:30 came, and they were ready to start!

The first 4 miles are a steep downhill followed by flat, ups, downs, and more flat for the rest of the race.  My coach wanted me to do 10 miles at marathon effort, a 1-mile float (slower but not a jog), and a 2-mile pick-up, so I followed his plan.  He had me set for 1:22:00, and I ran a 1:21:00, but my efforts were right on with the plan, but I just felt so good on Saturday that I went a little faster.

The problem with races starting late is that it messes up your nutrition.  I started taking my gels at mile 3 because I felt a need for them earlier than usual in a race.

The first few miles, I was with Lauren and a few other girls back and forth, and then I held 2nd for the last 7ish miles.

At each mile marker there was a skeleton, huge flag and a funny sign.  This course was perfectly marked and left no room for confusion.  There was also the 5k happening at the same time which usually results in congestion but somehow they timed it perfectly and everyone had a great race.

I saw Andrew and the kids four times along the way; he is a racing route genius.  I don’t know how he shuttles the kids around the way he does.  Skye said I looked much happier on Saturday than I did during my last race, and she was so right.

I also saw many friends along the way and Jo ran with me for a bit too!

You know you are crazy about temperatures when you wish you are in a sports bra when it is in the 20s/30s… Seriously though, the temperatures felt like a complete dream.  I was so grateful for this after many hot races over the summer.  The difference in the way I felt was insane.  I need to figure out how to do better in hotter temperatures or do the Antarctica Marathon.

I’m not sure how I feel about running through a long dark tunnel with streamers ha… definitely should have gone on the side of it.  I was very concerned I was going to trip in there, but luckily I didn’t.

Such a fun addition to the race, though.

I’ve done this race 5 or 6 times, and each time the course changes.  It is always a fun surprise to see where we will go.

He is the best.

And so are they.  They enjoyed the later race start time;)

Their favorite part about races is all of the dogs they see at the finish line.

And the food… these donuts were so good afterward, along with my Core Power.

I went out and did another 3.5 for a total of 20 miles for the day and 70 miles for the week.  I have a marathon I’m going to do, but I am thinking of keeping it a secret until the day of… is that fun?

Happy Halloween, I hope your day is a great one!

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What are your Halloween plans? 

Give me your top 2 Halloween candy.

-This year, I will be stealing Milky Ways and Baby Ruths from my kid’s baskets.

Did anyone else have a Halloween race?