Dec 9, 2013

Divas Half Marathon: 12/8/13

I love to end the year with a fun race where I don't have to worry about time or put any pressure on myself. I was not planning on running this race but it kind of came together at the last minute and it was my close friends first race back since her husband passed away on September 5th. I wanted to be there to support her because I knew that it was going to be tough for her since he would not be there on the sidelines to cheer her on as he always did.
This was an inaugural race and not too far from my house which is always a plus. The course was flat and fast and probably a great course to PR if you like this type of course. The only time the course was not flat was when we crossed over a freeway overpass and it was not bad at all. We had to go over it twice since the course is an out and back. The course was well marked and there were lots of staff and police out on the course. There was not much course entertainment except for a few DJ's playing music and a cheer squad from a local high school.
The race started the Ontario Convention Center so the runners were able to use the "real" bathrooms inside the Convention Center and keep warm until the race started. This was indeed the coldest race that I have ever ran. It was about 37 degrees at the start and I was a little worried about how my body would respond to the cold. 
 
I wore pants and a long sleeved shirt with a tank underneath and I did not take my shirt off until Mile 10. Normally, any layers are off by the first mile because I warm up really quickly when I am running. We all wore matching pink tutus which made it really fun! We all planned on staying together for the entire race with no set pace in mind.
Around Mile 2, I noticed that my friend was not with us and she had dropped back. We did not see her until the first turn around and she was quite a ways behind us. I told the others to go ahead because I was going to wait for her at the next water stop since I was not sure if she was going to be okay on her own. She spotted me at the water stop and from this point on, it was just the two of us. She had her music on so we did not talk much but I was entertained by all of the pink and cute costumes out on the course. The course is not a very scenic one but since it is close to the mountains you do have that view for most of the race. I also spotted Linz from See Sharp Run around Mile 6 and asked him to pose for a photo.
We saw the rest of the our pack at a turn around near Mile 9 and we cheered each other on. They were pretty excited to see us as you can see.
 
Mile 12 was the roughest mile for my friend because she knew that her husband was not going to be waiting for her at the finish line. She wanted to quit but I encouraged her find the strength to finish the race for him and she did. 

 
We finished the race together and waited for the others to come in. We finished in about 2:02 and my other friends all finished within a few minutes of us.
There were lots of fun things at the finish including crowns, tiaras, roses, sparking apple cider and of course medals which were handed out by muscular men  in jeans with no shirts!
 
I am not sure how those poor guys were surviving out there in just there jeans because it was only 45 degrees at the finish! We took lots of fun photos together and I have to say that it was a very well organized race. I would definitely run this race again..in pink and a tutu that is!

 How often do you run races just for fun?

Anybody else run a race this weekend?

10 comments:

  1. I was out there for this one too. My jacket never came off! Then again, I ended up walking much more than I planned, so I never quite warmed up enough to take it off. I appreciated the start at the convention center for the bathrooms, being able to stay inside until it was time to start and the expanse of parking. I found the course rather dull. I'm not sure I'd do this one again, but I'm glad I did it once.

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    1. I parked close to the start and walked to avoid the $9.00 parking fee. I live close enough that I could have ran to the start but I decided not to freeze any longer than I had to. I am familiar with the area so I am used to the not so exciting scenery on the course. I think I would do it again just because it is so close to home and a fun run to close out the year.

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  2. Good for your for waiting for your friend and helping her find the courage to finish. Love the pink tutus so pretty!

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    1. I think I did the right thing! I am glad that I stayed back with her because she had some tough moments.

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  3. I love your tutus!!! This year a lot of my races have been just for fun! It really is nice to take the pressure off and just have fun!

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    1. Thank you! Tutus are fun! I am all done with races for the year and it feels kind of nice to be able to relax and just focus on LA Marathon training.

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  4. You are very sweet to hang back and stay with your friend. Looks like a perfect race to do for fun. Races around here are drying up because the weather is just too unpredictable.

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    1. I am complaining about the weather here and I know that it is so much colder in other places. This race was definitely a fun run but also a great course to set a PR.

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  5. What a fun looking (and sounding race). And what a lovely friend you are to wait for your friend and encourage her to the finish. I need you to come on some races with me! :)

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    1. I knew that this race was going to be tough for her since her husband would not be there so I did what my heart told me to do. Too bad we don't live closer or you could join us on one of our runs :)

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