September 2012 – Zenaida Arroyo

This past week I received an email with an offer I could not resist. It was an offer that for $399 I could purchase a pass that gave me “free registration” to all Rock ‘n’ Roll Races next year. Seriously? You know that unless you are one of the early registrants, each race is between $80-$100. Sounds like a great deal. I looked over the list of cities/states and immediately decided to purchase it.

I am so excited! It looks like the first race I will do is in March in Washington DC. I know it will be expensive because I still need to purchase airfare and hotel for each race. However, if you have friends in any of these states or know someone that will running these races, let me know so that I can possibly room with them and in the process make more friends!

Run Happy!

Done, state #7.

I have a few half marathons in mind that I want to do but am waiting till last minute to register. The reason? Just in case my IT band acts up. So far I’ve been able to run with minimal pain or no pain at all. The deadline to register for the Republic Bank Bit Hit Half Marathon was on Thursday. I had already filled out the form and was about to enter my credit card number when I decided to google a discount code. Thursday was my lucky day because I found a Groupon deal for half price race registration. I immediately purchased it and proceeded with my registration. Yippeeeee! Only $37 for the half marathon.

I arrived Saturday afternoon and called the hotel to arrange for a free pickup. Someone arrived in 10 minutes. Awesome. Check-in was fast and the clerk on duty was nice enough to move me to a floor where it would be quieter.

After I unpacked, off I went to pick up my packet to Sluggers Field which was about 5 minute away. However, I got lost because even though I am pretty good with directions/maps, I still couldn’t figure out whether to tun left or right on one of the streets. Anyway, I made it and was out of there in about 15 minutes. There wasn’t much of an expo. I did study the map for a little bit and convinced myself that the course indeed was flat.

I went back to the hotel to rest and continue reading “Fifty Shades Darker”. I stopped reading about 10 and decided to go to sleep. However, around 2am I heard people in the hallway taking loud and running. I got up annoyed and nicely told them (next door neighbors) to please keep it down. Then around 4, I heard more people but this time they were at the end of the hall. I stepped out too far into the hallway that I accidentally locked myself out. I was even more annoyed. I went downstairs to the front desk to get another key.

Race day was here. I quickly changed and made my way downstairs for the free continental breakfast. I am not a big fan of it but like it for the coffee and bagels the morning of a race. The starting line close to Sluggers Field. I saw another runner and asked him if I could walk with me. It was still kind of dark and I did not want to walk alone.

My goal was 2:15. I found the pace leader and realized that I had not turned on my Garmin. It took a LONG time to find a satellite that by the time it did, most of the runners had crossed the starting line and I “lost” my pace leader. I think I was one of the last ones to start. I was not worried at all. I found a comfortable pace and passed quite a few runners and walkers.

It was a perfect day for a race! It was chilly but in a good way. I was not cold nor hot at all. There were a few inclines but nothing like the horrible course in Minneapolis. There was very minimal crowd support but yet the race took us to some nice areas. I did not run with my hydration pack but quickly realized that very few stations did not have Gatorade but it wasn’t that big of a deal (I always carry Gatorade in my pack). I did like running without it. Made me feel liberated. I also ran without music. This was my own fault. I took my armband but forgot the headphones. Again, no big deal. I did not mind it all.

Mostly I felt OK during the race. I ate a Gu at miles 4 and 8. I had a good pace going until I finished mile 10. I told myself that what was left was a 5K. Easy right? Wrong. By then I was tired. I looked at my watch and realized that I might meet my goal. I kept going but struggled each mile. There was a guy that was in front of me that I wanted to pass. Miles 7-10 we kept passing each other. When I got to mile 12 he was a long way ahead of me but it motivated me to keep on running. The finish line was inside Sluggers Field and I was so happy when I saw it. I stopped for a little bit to catch my breath and then just ran. I looked at my watch and it was around 2:19. Oh well, I was not going to meet my goal but maybe a PR? I was so happy when I crossed the finish line. I looked at my watch and saw 2:20:02. I was pretty happy about it.

I did not realized I had sweat so much till I saw this picture.