Statue to Statue 15K

April 19 and Statue to Statue is here again! It is billed as the South's toughest 15K, but it is also one of the nicest races around (just ignore the hills!). Since I ran the Knoxville Marathon on March 30 and the Bridge Street Half on Apri 13 I set off to just enjoy this run. The race runs from Vulcan to the Liberty park. Runners park their cars at Liberty Park, then they are bussed to Vulcan. The race starts at the foot of Vulcan, and takes off through some of the most beautiful nighborhoods in Birmingham. The race winds down Country Club Road and Mountain Brook providing beautiful scenery with well manicured lawns and amazing homes. My first goal as the race started was to find a bathroom stop! As usual I had not allowed enough time for the bathroom line at Vulcan and the race started before I could make a potty stop! Luckily around mile 2 there was a home with construction going on and I borrowed their porta-potty. Thank you homeowner for remodeling! The course is known for its hills but the most impressive one is Stone River Road around mile 6-7. It is neverending! I am usually a 10-10:30 pace for this race and the majority of people around me walk this hill. The faster crowd probably runs it, but I don't know how! After "THE HILL" the race has a few climbs on the way to Mountain Brook High School, but after that it is downhill to the finish. Seriously the last mile or more is downhill and I love it! The post race party is excellent with plenty of food and drinks (including the adult kind!). I was afraid of this race last year because of its hilly course but it is now one of my favorites! The really nice thing is hills don't scare me now. One of my mantras on others courses when faced with a hill now is, "Hill?, that's not a hill!" My time this year was 1:36:22 and I finished 13 out of 29 in my age group, not bad since I set out to just enjoy!

Bridge Street Half Marathon and ENERGYbits

Ok, yes we are crazy. My husband and I ran a half marathon 2 weeks after our first marathon! It was the first year for the Bridge Street Half Marathon, so it was only $40 and it was in Huntsville where my sister lives. I love getting to go see her and the race was cheap! I couldn't pass it up :) We went up late in the day Saturday and went to dinner with my sister and her husband at their favorite local place. It was weird to go to bed so early at my sister's house because she and I usually stay up late talking when I visit, but I knew I needed rest! I had been sent a sample of ENERGYbits to try so I took them before we left the house the next morning. They are small tablets that are supposed to deliver natural energy without the use of caffeine or harmful chemicals. I'm not one to try new things the morning of a race but since the Knoxville Marathon was only 2 weeks ago I figured I needed all the help I could get! The recommended "serving" is 30 tablets of ENERGYbits. It seemed strange to swallow 30 little tablets, but chewing them is not recommended. Down the hatch they went and we were out the door and headed to the race.  Our friend Chris drove up the morning of the race so we met up with him at the start line. I was so happy my sister had told me where to find the restrooms at the mall! I didn't have to wait in the porta-potty line :) The race was relatively small which was smart since it was their first year. The course had some rolling hills, but for the most part it was flat. The biggest problem was the heat! It was so hot! I got a mental boost when my personal cheering section showed up at 2 different points of the race! My sister, her husband and my little girl cheering for me was great motivation! I even stopped for a quick hug from my little girl both times :) My favorite portion of the race ran through a double helix. Behind the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology there is a park that is a mile long double helix. It was a neat feature of the course. I took water or powerade at every stop and had about 1/2 a GU around mile 6. I don't think I needed the GU with my ENERGYbits on board though (plus GU in the heat was difficult to swallow)! The farther I got in the race I started to see runners struggling in the heat. I saw one couple seated on the side of the road. The lady was struggling and her friend had stayed with her. I also heard rescue trucks at least twice. I found out later that several runners had needed medical help because of the heat. I have to say with my ENERGYbits and hydration I felt fine at the end of the race! I finished in 2:13 which is typical for me (I am usually sub 2:15). I was surprised with my time because I had not pushed myself and I had run 26.2 just 2 weeks before. Was it the ENERGYbits? I definitely think they helped! I will be incorporating ENERGYbits into my long runs from now on. I finished 34th out of 118 in my age group, pretty respectable for 2 weeks post-marathon I think! We had some snacks after the race including my favorite post race drink CHOCOLATE MILK! We went back to my sister's house, got cleaned up and packed, then went to Moe's Barbecue for lunch and headed home. All in all it was a nice race with cool swag (cups and koozies) and an awesome shirt and huge medal. We will be back next year!

Knoxville Marathon

We did it! My husband and I finished our first marathon and it was awesome! Early in the year we decided that this would be the year we would run a full. Once we decided I started reading reviews of marathons and really "shopping" for one we would enjoy. The Knoxville Marathon had great reviews, it is a smaller race with live music on course and tremendous volunteer and spectator support. Knoxville is only about 4 hrs from us so it was a perfect choice. My runner friends were excited for me until they looked at the elevation map, then they started to ask me if I was sure I wanted to run my first full there! It was a very hilly course, but so it the area we are from. Anyone who has run our local races would be fine in Knoxville. We decided to stay at the host hotel which was a perfect choice. The expo was in the hotel and the start line was right out the front door. When we arrived Saturday we got settled in our room then headed to pick up packets. It was amazing to finally step up to a "marathon" table and pick up t-shirts and bibs, a little scary but awesome at the same time. We shopped around for a bit finding 26.2 stickers and another race t-shirt. We debated going to a nearby restaurant but the hotel restaurant menu looked good so we stayed there. We had a nice dinner and met up with my parents who drove up to cheer us on. After dinner we went back to the room to get all our stuff organized for the next day! Luckily we both slept well and the next morning it was awesome just to walk out the front door to the start. We dropped our little girl by my parent's room and went to join the crowd at the start. The weather was perfect in the upper 30s, low 40s for the start and the temps stayed below 50 all morning. Mike and I intended to run together but he is always a speed demon at the start. He gets frustrated in the pack, so he waved bye and was gone. I cruised along enjoying the scenery and made a conscience effort to keep the 4:30 pacer in my sight. The start of the race took us along the Tennessee River which was lovely. The Sequoya Hills neighborhood was amazing! The signage was hysterical throughout the neighborhood and the route closed with a "What does the fox say" skit. It wasn't long before the famous HILL was upon us. I had caught Mike and we knew the hill was coming. Is was difficult but I ran the entire thing. Anyone who has run Birmingham's Statue to Statue 15K wouldn't look twice at this hill :) I lost Mike again and just cruised toward the 1/2 way point. I was so excited to see my parents and little girl near the 13 mile marker! I got a quick hug, took a picture and got a gatorade before setting out on the final half of the race. The second half of the course is more industrial and a little lonely at times, but there are several neighborhoods that came out to cheer us on. The race also has music acts all along the course in the same way a much larger race series does. I caught my husband again around mile 23 in the Island Home neighborhood. He was struggling due to some knee issues that he suffers from. We ran together for a short while then the 4:45 pacer passed us. I was determined to not lose her! I said good-bye to Mike and ran with the pacer for a few miles. I lost her at a water stop, but I knew I was going to finish well within the time I wanted (sub 5 was my first goal, but I really wanted sub 4:45) The finish was tough! The last 1/2 mile is uphill before entering Neyland Stadium for the finish. I caught the 4:45 pacer as I was walking up the hill (yes, walking in the last mile!). She encouraged me to get going and finish strong, so I did! 4:39 seemed very respectable for my 1st marathon.The medal was awesome and receiving a finisher's hat was also nice. Mike finished just a few minutes after me and then we went in search of food and my family. My dad and little girl met us at the bottom of the stadium steps and showed us where to meet them after we got food.  The post race food was adequate with pizza, trail mix, fruit, protein bars, etc. The post race party is dry, so if you want a celebratory beer you will need to head to a local restaurant or have one on ice waiting in your hotel room :) We met up with my family and walked back to the hotel (about 1/2 mile). I don't think I have ever walked so slow in my life! My parents packed up and headed home, and we went to the pool for a while. After swimming we walked to dinner and had fabulous burgers at a nearby restaurant. All in all a terrific first marathon experience. I was really sore for about 3 days then slowly worked my way back to running. We ran the Bridge Street half marathon in Huntsville 2 weeks later!