It's January?!?!

Today was the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Gulf Shores (#13!!!!!).  Second Half Marathon in January of this year, Second Half Marathon with crappy, unseasonable weather.  :(  It was actually warmer than First Light two weeks ago, but I think the only thing that saved us was the sun did not come out to bake us.  However, it was terribly foggy and we could only see a few blocks ahead of us.  So weird.

Aside from the unfortunate weather, the race was great!  The Gulf Coast people always put on a great race.  The post race party was at Lulu's and was a lot of fun.  Rollin' in the Hay was there.  We got a free pair of socks.  The good thing about running small races (only 330 finishers) is that it is much easier to place!  2nd in my age group!  Woop woop!  Heather also got 2nd in her age group!

I can't believe there are only 3 weeks until Mercedes Marathon!!!  I also can't believe this ridiculously hot weather in January.  The only thing that stresses me out more than running a marathon is running a marathon in high temps & humidity.  Yikes!!

First Light Half

Today I ran my 12th half marathon - First Light!!!  (If my counting is correct, which it usually is not.)  It was not pretty, I must admit.  The weather was turrible - close to 60 degrees at the start.  Two years ago, the temperature at the race start was around 19 degrees.  I crossed the finish line looking like this:

Today I was in a tank and shorts.  The good news is, I still took about 3 minutes off that day.  I so much prefer running in cooler temperatures though.  The heat and humidity are not my friends.  I still feel kinda yucky.

Once I finished the race, I took off and ran a little more than 3 miles to meet my buddy Robert and provide him with a little support as he finished the marathon.  He didn't really need our help though.  He's a rockstar.  I ended up with a little over 20 miles for the day.  I felt good except the temperatures.  5 weeks until Mercedes!!!