The last .2 or .3 miles were the toughest for me. It was in soft sand and I honestly felt like I was

This race experience was by far the best overall race I ve ever done. Granted I haven t done a ton but this one was truly amazing! I would highly cheap first class airline tickets recommend the Zooma Florida cheap first class airline tickets Half Marathon to anyone. It is a Women s race series and is perfect cheap first class airline tickets for a girls runcation.
I found out about this race from Jesica at Runladylike and knew after reading about it that I really wanted to do this for my first Half Marathon of the year. It was a bit of a risk for me since I had just finished my first Full Marathon about 4 weeks prior and I wasn t really sure how my body was going to hold up but I was happily cheap first class airline tickets surprised when I did better than I had hoped, I PR d by about 7.5 minutes from my last half.
I drove down on Friday afternoon, it was only about 4.5 hours so it wasn t a bad trip. I didn t run this with anyone but I think it would have been really fun to have some other girls to go with. I decided to stay at the host hotel and was really glad that I did. I am a bit of a weirdo about hotels and I knew the Ritz-Carlton would live up to what I had hoped.
I checked in and headed down to the expo. It was a good size and not overwhelming. There was some really great apparel and other things to try. I particularly like the Hint beverages and the Honest tea drinks. The Blackberry water was my favorite and I of course had to try the Root Beer since I have such a soda problem. It was very close to the real thing and is a great alternative to traditional sodas. cheap first class airline tickets I also have to say that the bag we got at check-in was pretty nice too. It included a pair of Feetures socks {in LOVE with them}, a shirt and a hat. I don t think I have ever received that much from a race packet ever.
After the expo I did what I always do when I go to a new resort style hotel and just walked around and took in the scenery even though it was dark. The weather was cool and breezy! I was hoping for a little warmer weather but this was really perfect cheap first class airline tickets for a race.
I woke up at 6:00am and took a shower {something I usually never do in the mornings but knew it would help wake me up}. Got ready and headed down to grab a banana and English Muffin with Peanut cheap first class airline tickets Butter and water. My stomach wasn t really feeling great so only 1/4 of the English Muffin was eaten. I took my Energybits with water before heading out so that I didn t have the extra stuff to carry.
The shuttle arrived to pick us up promplty at 7:00 to take us to the starting line. It was much colder than I was expecting and I wished I had brought cheap first class airline tickets my gloves and ear warmers. It wouldn t have been that bad if the wind wasn t so strong. We got to the starting area that was just down the road at Fernandina Beach at the Marina. It was a beautiful view.
I stretched a bit until I couldn t stand the wind anymore and headed over to the hotel across from the start line to stay warm. I met a really nice girl from Atlanta which was nice to have someone to talk to while we waited. We headed back to the start right around 7:53.
I worked my way up to the 1:50 pacer since my goal was to finish in 1:50:00. The race wasn t extremely large which made getting cheap first class airline tickets in my area easy and I didn t have that overwhelming feeling of being crowded out. I was getting really excited at this point and was ready to go. I felt good and strong! I knew what I needed to keep my pace around and I was mentally prepared to hold this for the whole race.
It was finally time, we were off. The course was very flat for the most part with only a couple places that had very slight inclines. The first few miles were through town and we crossed over the waterway which had beautiful views on either side. We then headed into the Fort Clinch State Park probably my favorite part of the run. I love trail runs and more nature like areas so I was in my element here. I never looked at my Garmin up until around Mile 8 so I was able to really enjoy this portion. The pacer that I was trying to stick with was amazing. I am not sure I would have made it on my own without her. She talked to me the whole time and since I really enjoy talking while running this helped keep me on track. There were two stops within the park for and I made sure to grab water at both of them. I managed to even soak the guy handing cheap first class airline tickets out the water. Oops!
There was a turn around about Mile 5 which helped me speed up my pace a bit. I love getting to see other runners and cheer eachother on. After we got out of the Park the last 5 miles were along the main road. This wasn t my favorite cheap first class airline tickets part of the run because I am more partial to the nature setting and trail feel but there was still lots of beautiful cheap first class airline tickets houses to see along the way. However, the sun was out much stronger here as well as the wind. I ditched my long sleeve shirt but wished I would have kept it to keep the wind chill down. It worked out though!
Around Mile 9 I pulled away from the other two girls I was running with and kicked it in a higher gear. I had glanced down at my Garmin and knew that I was at a point that I could potentially cross the finish line before my planned cheap first class airline tickets time. I was still feeling really cheap first class airline tickets good and just kept pushing. There was only a few other girls that I could see in front of me and only a few behind me. There were two girls in front of me and I told myself to just focus on getting to them. They were my Rabbits! I also ate my pack of Raisins to help give me some calories.
I never had the feeling of wanting to slow down but there were a couple times that I thought I was about ready to be done. I could feel some slight twinges in my calf and shin so I think that mentally held me back only a little bit. Injury cheap first class airline tickets is the last thing I want to deal with.
The last .2 or .3 miles were the toughest cheap first class airline tickets for me. It was in soft sand and I honestly felt like I was being pulled into the sand with every footstep. I really like to push it the last mile or so and during this portion cheap first class airline tickets I just didn t feel like I could. A bit frustrating and it felt like I was running at a turtles pace but the finish line was always cheap first class airline tickets in sight so it made it easier to just keep pushing. There was a boardwalk along a small portion of the finish schute and I happily took advantage of that and hopped off to make it to the finish.
I was so happy with this time and honestly surprised since I didn t really get in the training I had hoped for. I wasn t even able to get in any speedwork due to some pain in my leg. I can t help but to think if I had would I have done better? I was still super happy with my time and definitely had a huge smile on my face crossing the finish line.
I was pleasantly surprised too that the course was almost exactly 13.1 miles, I think my Garmin said 13.16 which is the closest I ve ever seen in all the races I ve done. Usually cheap first class airline tickets the courses are off by about .1 or .2 miles.
cheap first class airline tickets I was able to meet up with Jesica from Runladylike right after. I have been in contact with her for the past few months and was really excited to finally meet her in person. She is an incredibly supportive and sweet person. She crushed her goal and PR d! You really need to check out her blog.
The ladies at ZOOMA did a great job at putting cheap first class airline tickets on a wonderful Afterparty. There were places cheap first class airline tickets to foam roll as well as Yoga and Massages. Food was provided cheap first class airline tickets and we got to try more of the fun beverages offered at the Expo.
I thankfully wasn t too sore after this race. I am pretty sure that the fact I had been in Marathon Training mode up until mid-December didn t hurt. I did have some slight pain in my shins and my glutes cheap first class airline tickets were sore but other than that I was pretty good and INJURY FREE!! That s the best thing.
If you are looking for an amazing cheap first class airline tickets race to do check out the ZOOMA race series. They have quite a few all over the US so I m sure there is one near you. I will most definitely be doing another race with them in future.
Congratulations on the PR! I love races where they take you through a part where nature really stands out. And as far as wondering if you could have done even better had you done some speed work, it s actually probably best to be cautious since it was so close to your marathon cheap first class airline tickets and your first one nonetheless, but I know what you mean I always come up with hypothetical questions like that too.
Great info on Zooma Florida. I loved how they text your three chosen cheap first class airline tickets people to text; your updates. I loved that because you know i always want to know where you are on your run and how you re doing!!!
Thank you, you too! I know, I wish we could have met as well. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to meet up another time this year. I will definitely cheap first class airline tickets be doing another Zooma run. They did such an awesome job and I really loved that course. If they are all that good I would love to do a different one.
Great job! I was considering doing this race since I live in Jax (I m about an hour from Amelia Island though), but decided against it. Looks like you had fun on an awesome course congrats cheap first class airline tickets on the big PR!
I'm an incredibly blessed mother of two kids and I LOVE running! I dream to one day qualify for the Olympic Trials, maybe in 2016 if I work hard enough. I'm a little goofy, a perfectionist and very driven. This blog is about my life and journey with running after having my two beautiful children, health cheap first class airline tickets & fitness and anything else that is running related.