I'm not going to lie...I slacked the rest of August...training wasn't much of a thought. I squeezed in whatever beach time I could but mostly I worked. I was switching jobs in early September and after nearly 10 years in a job I had a lot of transition work to handle. So when Labor Day weekend rolled around and I headed to the VA Beach Rock N Roll Half I was starting to feel the effects of my lack of training. But I was stoked see my racing friends!
Friday was rough...I had to drive 2 hours to pick my daughter up from college then head 2 hours from there to the airport to pick up George - all the while panicked because I thought his flight was 2 hours earlier than it actually was and I was afraid to keep him waiting. Once we got there we ended up waiting (but it's all good). Then we drove the hour and a half back to my house and spent the evening visiting/catching up. We left Saturday morning to head to VA Beach (about three hours). Carissa (my daughter) had driven separately and met us at the expo.
The expo was a blast, and I met yet another wonderful racing friend - Tracey - from the Competitor Group. I also received my Rock Legend medal for completing 7 RNR events in a calendar year!
We also visited with Dan and Jackie Evans (racing friends and Biggest Looser Season 5 winners) at their boothe for Team Future.
After the expo we walked on the beach for a bit and did some site seeing. Then we headed to the hotel where George called it a night and the rest of us headed to P.F. Chang's for an amazing dinner (after a crazy long wait...note to self...P.F. Chang's = reservation required!) When we got back to the hotel we found George had thrown the bar lock and we had to wake him up to get back in the suite! It wasn't long before we were all back asleep though.
Race morning was fun as always. (and I'd remembered to wash my iPod armband before coming so I didn't stink everyone out!) We chilled in the VIP tent (thanks to Tracy) and visited with our friends while awaiting start time. It was a good opportunity for a few pictures, including a mother/daughter shot before heading to the corrals.
The course was a good mix of scenery and the crowd was amazing as usual, cheering us on all along the way. I found myself wondering how Carissa was doing a few times but focused on my own race. I saw a few of my newfound running friends in the first few miles but knew our paces were drastically different so we exchanged pleasantries and kept on our own paces...I figured they'd be waiting at the finish line for me.
As I approached mile 4 1/2 - 5 the elites were already on their way back towards the finish. I remember as one of the first men ran by thinking he looked vaguely like Ryan Hall. I found out later it was indeed Ryan, and pictures of the start clearly show him toeing the line in a red jersey and black shorts.
This added yet another running celebrity to the list of those I have raced with.
All in all I had a pretty good race. The humidity got to me a little, coupled with my lack of training.
I remember seeing the finish line and having to really control myself as I wanted to start sprinting but I've learned just how deceiving that line can be....just because you see it doesn't mean it's truly close! I can't tell you how many times I've pulled that final kick too early and thought I was going to have to walk across the line as I was running out of gas! But I pulled of a 2:20:06 finish, then I stood near the finish line, on the boardwalk and waited for Carissa.
As she came across she didn't look bad at all...given that she'd fallen into her mother's footsteps over the summer and all but quit training I truly expected her to be hurting...guess there's something to be said for youth! She did have some sore tendons and we got her iced (after getting our medals and a picture of course!), then we headed to get our times and get our medals engraved.
Carissa's goal had been to finish in under 3 hours, but she did not wear a watch and had no idea what her time was as she was in the 14th corral with a wave start. Given that it was her first race and she's never timed herself running she knew nothing of pacing or splits. She just ran. And when she saw the finish line she later told me she decided she was done! She sprinted, full force from the time she first saw it until she crossed it. When we got our times we found out she'd finished in 2:59:40!!! Had she not sprinted she would've not made her goal, but she'd had no idea when she kicked the afterburners.
We retreated to the VIP afterparty for a bit, shoved the iPod/armband/etc in the camera bag, shared a few congrats with our friends, then headed off to the hotel to shower before going our separate ways...another great race...but then again, it was ROCK N ROLL...I've come to expect no less!
