The Rock ānā Roll Savannah half marathon was one of the most memorable race experiences of my life.
Why?
Because Ryan and I finished together in LESS THAN TWO HOURS!!!
I can hardly believe it.
We woke up a couple of hours before the race start to eat something (I ate a Snickers marathon bar sample from yesterdayās race expo) and quickly changed into our running outfits before layering our throwaway clothes on top.
I talked Ryan into buying matching sweatshirts yesterday at WalMart for only $5.50 each so weād look really cool. My headband/ear warmer was a little less than $2 from WalMart and I ended up stashing it before the race along with my horrible velour purple sweatpants. They will surface again, my friends!
After taking off our sweatshirts at the start, we laughed when we saw a woman immediately grab one to wear. It was a chilly morning, but not insanely cold. It was the perfect running weather.
Yesterday at dinner, Ryan started to talk about running a sub-two hour half marathon. I knew heĀ could do it on his own, but since he said his plan was always to run with me, that meant I had to run a sub-two hour half marathon. A daunting task!
I didnāt admit it to him at the time, but ever since I signed up for the race, running it in less than two hours was a goal I had for myself in the back of my mind.
Thank goodness for Ryan and his ābig ass monkey legs.ā (<āAwesome nickname I gave his legs, huh? I named them this during the first half marathon we did together in 2007 when I looked over and saw that one of his strides is like two of mine.) Without Ryan and his pacing and encouragement, there is absolutely no way I wouldāve finished in 1:58.
At 7:30 a.m., the race began!
When we started running, we saw the 3:50 marathon pacer and tried to stay with that group for the first four miles. It was definitely faster than I was used to running on a long run, but I felt good and my breathing wasnāt strained. I took water at every station but two and ate Gu Ghomps at miles 5 and 7.
I wish I had more to say about the race course itself like I did when I ran the Chicago Rock ānā Roll half marathon last August, but I felt like I was watching the back of Ryanās shirt almost the whole time, so I saw a whole lot of Nike dri-fit blue t-shirt. He kept dropping back to run with me, but I liked it when he ran slightly ahead of me because it pushed me into running at a faster pace to keep up.
I do remember loving the support of the spectators and the people of Savannah. Spectator support and energy motivates me so much and makes a run so much more exciting and fun.
My favorite spectator signs?
- Run faster! She farted! (with an arrow pointing at the guyās wife)
- Word Parade Ever
I also love it when spectators bring dogs along. We saw a few German shorthair pointers that looked a lot like Sadie, prompting Ryan to say, āIf we finish in under two hours, Sadie will be at the finish!ā I called him a liar and told him he was slowly killing me by making me run that fast! (And no, Sadie wasnāt at the finish line, but we did see a vizsla!)
The last few miles of the race were the hardest for me, likely because I didnāt really pace myself in the beginning like I usually do during long runs. About 0.2 miles from the finish line, I called out to Ryan, āWeāre gonna do it! Weāre gonna beat two hours!ā
It felt awesome to be running toward the finish line knowing that we were about to achieve a goal I honestly didnāt think I was capable of achieving. I know two hours isnāt an incredible time for amazing runners, but it is an incredible time for me.
I really donāt consider myself a natural runner and no run ā whether it be two miles or 13.1 miles ā is particularly easy for me, so Iām always just excited to finish a race!
During the run, I said a couple of things to myself repeatedly:
- Itās okay to be uncomfortable
- Think of how awesome it will feel to beat two hours
Just thinking of how Iād feel if I beat two hours was enough to make me run faster. Two hours of running and pushing myself harder than I ever have during a race was more than worth it for the high I am feeling right now!
Once we finished the race and we got done celebrating at the finish line, we headed over to the VIP tent for some food and water.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Maya, the wonderful social media manager for the Rock ānā Roll marathon series, and she gave me and Ryan access to the VIP tent which was such a treat. (Maya also got engaged two weeks ago! Congratulations again, Maya!)
Surprisingly I had a really hard time eating much right after our run. Though the food looked delicious, I wasnāt at all intrigued by the desserts which is absolutely crazy for me. All I wanted was SALTY food and I ate roast beef, two pickles, chicken salad and three plums.
I donāt know where the plums were from, but they were the best plums Iāve ever had in my life. (Perhaps thatās a famished runner talking?) I also ate a Snickers marathon bar and chugged two bottles of water before we left the tent and headed into the crowds to explore the site a bit and enjoy the band that was playing in Forsyth Park.
Eventually we made our way back to our hotel where we showered and immediately hopped into bed to relax for a few hours before heading out for more food (aka cookies ānā cream milkshakes and hot dogs) to fuel us until dinner.
And on that note, itās off to dinner! Iām not sure how my feet are going to feel when I slip on the heels I plan to wear tonight!
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