Texas Half & Pregnancy Pics

I love the Texas Half.

Wanna know why? Oh lotsa reasons. Sit a spell and I'll tell ya.

First off, the race didn't start until 8 am. Which meant that I was able to sleep until 6:30. Later than I even can sleep on mornings I don't run. So that right there made me a happy Pink Girl. I got up, taped up with Kinesio tape (oh how love this stuff) and made the mistake of checking the weather.

You see, we've had another cold snap. It was totally in the 60's (15.5+) all week, but cooled down just for our race. Thank you Mother Nature, you know how I dislike running in the heat! So 27 (-2.77) feels like 16 (-8.88.) Huh. Cold much? That might have been overdoing it just a teensy bit. But I'll take it! I'd much rather be cold than hot. You can always add another layer but you can only take off so much!I bundled up with plenty of pink layers and even packed away a few extra layers in my race bag JIC I changed my mind once I got to the lake. (which I did per Bahama Mama's advice, she's a smart cookie, that one) Why do I look like I'm 6 months pregnant? No, I haven't been keeping any secrets. I've just got enough stashed in my front pockets to keep me busy during the race. Gloves, earwarmers, gobs of Kleenex (runny noses in the cold!) Clif Shot Bloks, Chapstick, money, keys...I was packed to the hilt and it made me lumpy. Fortch, most of my gear made it on my body before the race so I didn't run with all that. But look at that pooch it made!

We got to the lake with plenty of time to spare so we sat in Mama's cozy van. This lucky lady has seat warmers. Let me just tell you, seat warmers are awesome! We pinned on our numbers, added a few last layers (I ended up with pink tank top, pink short sleeve tech shirt, pink long sleeve tech shirt and my pink wind resistant jacket)

This was a small race and I loved it! They had a guy with a bull horn calling out instructions and when the race started no horn blew, he just hollerd, "On you mark, get set, GO!" There were probably about 1000 people total for the 5K and half.

Let's just say it was breezy out at the lake. You know how there aren't any trees on the water to block the wind? Well, I was grateful for that extra shirt I added! Wishing I was as smart as some of the other I saw who had scarves wrapped around their faces. I thought my cheeks would freeze!

It was so windy I felt like I was moving in slow motion. This wasn't going to be an easy run. Fortch we were treating it like a training run and not looking to PR. And it really felt like a training run. There were so few people we spread out pretty quickly.

I came upon this nasty hunk of ice around mile 6. Sick out! Of course I picked it up and demanded, "take my picture!" Hey, I have a blog responsibility to y'all!

Bahama Mama wasn't feeling it towards the end, but somehow managed to find the energy to insist on sprinting uphill (in the snow! really it snowed!) towards the finish line. I don't know where that lady finds that last little bit of energy! She said the food and warmth was motivating her. Mmm, they had good food and didn't run out! (I'm looking at YOU Tour deFleurs) I snagged a breakfast burrito and it was yummy in my tummy. I'm so thankful to the person who got up early this morning to make 1000 burritos.

Here we are at Winfrey Point enjoying the heat and reprieve from the wind. I'm so blessed to have such a dedicated running buddy. Who else would brave the elements to race with me??? We squeaked in just barely under 2:30, but considering the conditions, I'm very pleased with that time. If it had been 20 degrees warmer, I feel certain we could have easily shaved 20 minutes off our time.

Here's the hardware. It's a pretty big medal and I really like the blue. Not that it really matters, not like I'm gonna sport it around town! The finisher's shirt was long sleeve, always a nice touch. I give the Texas Half two very chilly thumbs up!

I came home (riding in luxury on the heated seats, thanks again for driving!) showered and climbed back in that biscuit. No kerchief, but I settled in for a loooong Winter's nap. Really the perfect Saturday, race, enjoy free food, long hot shower, long nap with a cat. It doesn't get much better than that!