13.1 Dallas Race Recap

13.1 Dallas is in the books!

The crazy look on my face says, "Whoa! The world just tilted a little."

 We headed to Dallas Friday morning after getting the kids off to school and getting packed up. We stopped to look at Camping World (yes, that says we are officially old) and for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. We then picked up packets for my sister and me at Luke's Locker before heading to our hotel. We were a little worried about it because we got it on Priceline and had read some yucky reviews on it. It turned out to be not as bad as we expected.

Since it was just Chad and me, we enjoyed a date night at Boston's. I never really think about what to eat before a long run, but the race had me nervous. I think I did just about right with a flatbread and a caprese salad (and a little dessert shot).

Saturday morning, we woke up early to very cold weather. I haven't had a really cold training run this round and was a little worried about what to wear. The tights I had brought just didn't feel comfortable, so I decided to stick with the shorts and compression sleeves I've worn for just about every long run. I knew I was wearing my Team World Vision jersey and arm warmers but ended up wearing my running jacket as well...and my BondiBand hat with the hole for my ponytail...and gloves. I had some pants I wore over my shorts until a little before the start.

We had a team picture at the TWV tent before the race. We still had some time to kill so we went down a level into the parking garage where it was much warmer. It was a smaller race than the other halves I've run, so it was nice to be able to get to the start line just a little before race time.

We didn't all stay together as a team. My parents were there (both are injured and couldn't run even though they had signed up for the race months ago). My sister wanted to start with the 1:50 pace crew. I stayed back around the 2:40 group. My sister-in-law was run/walking the half with her best friend. There were a few others from our team there as well.

The first part of the race went really well. It was cold, but my running felt easy. Around mile 4, I started to think about how much farther I had to go and had to tell myself, "Don't think; just run." That helped.

Chad was able to take the DART trains to try and catch me on the course. He missed me a couple of times but did find me at mile 9. I was so glad he did! I needed that mental boost right then. From about mile 7.5 until that point I was worried about possible tummy issues and just a general yucky feeling. But after I saw him, I felt good.

The course was great...a combination of downtown streets, wealthy neighborhoods and an asphalt runners' trail on the Katy Trail. Until mile 12. Somebody had the bright idea to end the race with a .6-mile uphill on Ross Ave. They even made an event out of it and timed runners from the bottom to the top of the hill for a separate "race" and prize. I was just thrilled that I didn't walk up the hill. In fact, that mile was one of my faster ones at 10:18. Pretty happy with that.

I finished in 2:15:53! My fastest half has been 2:20, so I'll take the PR. I'm most happy with the fact that it just felt like a good race...mentally and physically strong for me.

The Team World Vision tent had breakfast from Corner Bakery for us and our friends/family. The hot coffee was great! Overall, I'm really happy with how the race went. Today, I'm a little sore. My kneecaps hurt...not really my knees, just the kneecaps. The tendons between my feet and shins are tender. Some muscles are tight and need to be rolled. But overall, I feel pretty good. I'll try to post some more pictures when I get them.