As for location, it's great. We stayed at the downtown Hilton, where the expo is located, and they have a Starbucks (gotta have my pre-race mocha)! Dinner was at Obed & Isaac's -- yummy burgers and other dishes. Our post-race lunch was a little splurge at Cooper's Hawk Restaurant & Winery.
To prepare for this race, I followed the same half marathon training plan I have used before (from Women's Running). The big difference is I really followed it -- about 95% of the time (that's good for me). In addition, I have been working hard to improve my nutrition and try to lose a few pounds.
The result: on Race Day I was 8 pounds lighter than I was in January. The best part: I PR'd!!! My official time was 2:29:46, even though at mile 7.5 I tripped over my own stupid feet and fell. I spent about 4 minutes being cleaned up and bandaged.
What also helped, I believe, was a couple weeks into the training plan, I started doing most of my runs as run/walk. Allowing myself to walk periodically gave my body and mind the needed break to get my heart rate down, my legs a little rest and my breathing under control. I could run faster during my short runs, the recover with a quick walk. I was able to increase my overall pace and show myself I could run 10:30 to 11:30 miles (not all were that fast, but I could do it). Even my husband decided to give it a try and he has had a good training cycle and has been happy with his race times.
I am now between training plans, so I am focusing on my nutrition, hoping to lose a few more pounds as well as keeping up the running. I will be going back to the gym this week to start strength training again.
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