The morning of my half-marathon started well. On the drive to Frederick, MD, there was an absolutely beautiful sunrise that I would never have seen if I hadn't been awake at 5am!
I got to the race and pinned on my bib (notice the awesome tie-dye running shirt, compliments of B and N). Pinning on the bib is an important part of racing. Without the bib, you can't compete. Needless to say, I was a little paranoid about my bib.
I then wrote my race plan on my arm with a Sharpie.Mostly because I couldn't think of any other way to remember it without carrying a piece of paper with me.
I hoped it would wash off later.
Meanwhile, my family began their preparations, which mostly consisted of finding the best spots to look goofy and shout.
Being race fans is a tough job. Good thing they were up for it.
Speaking of goofy, the BEST sign on raceday was about mile 9. It read:
"Chuck Norris NEVER ran a half-marathon!"
To which my dad later replied: "Yeah, Chuck Norris never does things halfway."
Oh snap.
Of course, meeting up with the fans at the end is always a challenge. Mark and I pondered the race map while waiting for the more hard-core, mile 11 fans to wind their way back to mile 13.1.
This picture cracks me up:
Dad: "Picture! Smile!"
Mom: "Let me fix my hair!"
Me: "Mmm. Banana."
And apparently everyone in the metro-DC area was as excited as me about my first half-marathon. This car that I tailgated on the way home pretty much sums up the entire experience:
Chrissy! This is Allison from phc. I ran the Frederick Half too! Small world.
ReplyDeleteNot trying to randomly creep, Jen Pinkerton posted a link to your blog about almost getting killed by a yacht, haha.
The Chuck Norris sign was great! did you see the guy cooking the bacon outside?
Are you signed up for any other races? I'm doing the army ten miler in the fall...although I've totally slacked since the half, haha.
Hey Allison! That's amazing that you ran the Frederick Half also! I've slacked since the half too, just picked back up about a week ago. Boy that break felt good. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm planning to run a half-marathon in November on the Gulf Coast (where my family lives). As for races up here, I'll most likely do the Leesburg 10k (pondering the 20k but not really sure I want to train for that in July...). When is the Army 10 miler?
Yeah, my longest run since was about three miles, haha.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at the 20k too, but I can't imagine doing those long runs in July! I'm a wimp when it comes to the heat. =p
The ten miler is in October - nice and cool, hopefully!