St Pete Rock N Roll Half 2013

After my rare and delightful runner's high, I pretty much expected a runner's low. The twelve-miler was a week and three days prior to the Rock N Roll Half Marathon, so I decided to rest until the race. I ran one stair jog, but that was it.

The half marathon was tons of fun, especially while running and chatting with my dear cousin, Alyssa. Like last year, they had bands every mile. Music helps mentally boost me. Catching up with Alyssa for 2:21:47 (our chip time) feeds my soul.



Lyssi and I having a ball. Thanks, Jeremy Carlson, for taking pictures!

Our good friend, J.J., spotted us on the course, so we got to have some of the race documented. I don't like carrying things, such as phone/camera, so it's really nice to have friends taking photos.

This was not a low after all, but nothing close to the high either. Around mile nine or ten, I felt the normal challenges of a half marathon. Legs hurting, my right glute started going numb, making it difficult to lift my right knee, and I was pretty much ready to be done. All the usual things I deal with. However, I knew I could finish, even holding our 10.8 minute per mile average. That's great for me, despite my faster splits during the high. Also, I wasn't done chatting with Alyssa, so we continued to distract each other all the way to the end. Did I mention Alyssa is one of those super runners who was built specifically for running? She hadn't been able to train at all, not since our last half in Novemeber, and had no trouble keeping with me.



We were in Corral 6, so it took about seven minutes to get to the start. Chip time 2:21:47

 I love running downtown St. Pete. The race hit many of the spots on my usual running route. I'm not sure how much bigger the Rock N Roll was this year, but it seemed like more people than last year. Plus they added a 5K that started prior to the half.

We saw several people that we knew before, during, and after the race. As we were finishing, we spotted Hea and Mike, who cheered us to the end. It was a warm day, and they did PRs! I'm so proud of them.

Overall, I was pleased and Alyssa reminded me that I probably burned myself out a bit from my speed during the runner's high. All things considered, I think we did great.