Several friends came from the Jones County area to participate in this race. Most of them were there first the time. That excited me because I remember how much I fell in love with this race that first time. Personally, I don't know if they enjoyed it as much as I did but I hope to do this one every year, if possible.
When Kent and I went to packet pickup we walked through the Expo. We came up on a booth advertising the Gulf Coast Half Marathon at Lulu's. I love their races and have done this one before. Our friends, Gary and Anna, walked up and I began talking with them. Kent directed my attention to a floor length banner advertising the Lulu's Half. It had an action picture in the background and what do you know...Deleica and I were in it!! I was sooooo excited. Adam is over the Gulf Coast Half Marathon Series and I told him that I was in the picture and asked if I could have it when he was finished advertising the Lulu's race. Also, a picture of the banner was on the post cards advertising the Lulu's and Pensacola Half's!! Wow...we were everywhere!! He said sure to get with him after the Lulu's Race. I could hardly wait. I mean, how many people can say they have a banner with their picture on it.
Moving on down the line...about the only thing I usually purchase at this Expo is a package or two of Veronica's Health Crunch. Man, that stuff is good! She is a triathlete and began making this granola of sort and selling it. It is the best thing ever and everything in it is natural and good for you. Yummm!!
My running has suffered so much [as you already know if you've read past posts]. The most I had run solid up to this race was 4-5 miles. The goal this year was to "do it" however I can. This year my aim is to get my strength back and stay injury free. Not looking at my watch for anything other than distance really took the pressure off of me.
I love the way they print your name on your bib if you sign up early enough. I know...I'm easily amused.
Here is a picture of us before we got on the shuttle going to the Starting Line.
One of the reasons I love this race so much is that it starts early and you always enjoy the sunrise over the water. Though we got on the last bus and missed its beauty, someone caught a shot of how beautiful it was that morning. No one can capture God's beauty and He shares it for the world to see...all free!!
Being in several corrals, it took me a few minutes to get to the Starting Line. My friend, Tim, got me before I headed out on my first bridge.
I want to post the next few pictures of the bridges themselves. Yes, they are steep but, to me, they are a challenge I love to take on. The first pic shows the first bridge in a distance...taunting you, ha! Following that are a few more pics of the first bridge. P.S. This is NOT the "big" bridge. Here goes...
After crossing the overpass in Gulf Breeze...which is pretty tough in itself, we approach the Big Daddy of all bridges. They had signs on the bridge that made you smile. Here's one of them.
And, to try to get the "feel" of that hilly bridge, here are more pics...
As I stated above, my goal was to "do it"...walk or whatever. As it turned out, I walked .10 mile twice and .15 going up the second bridge. Basically, I was able to run most all of it and was very proud that I did. Of course, I was NOT interested in "time" in this race.
After finishing, Tim caught me again as I waited for Kent to finish his 5k which started 1.5 hours after we did. Thanks, Tim!!
I love the shirt we got. It is a medium/dark blue, long sleeve tech shirt. This is the first year for tech shirts but I still always like them. They've been bright and happy colored. The sleeves are a little long but that might come in handy when it's a cold run. 15k'ers, also, received a Headsweats visor. And, as usual, I love the medal. They are always nice. The beach ball water tower rotates...cool!
All in all, this race was a success. My goal is to get back into racing. I am pleased and looking forward to more races soon. Until my next post [which will be soon since I'm behind on posting], go
Run 4 It
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