Harbor Half Recap { a solo struggle-fest }

Well, apparently I didn't get any more training updates up on the blog (or anything else of that matter. Life, as usual, just keeps flying on by! The girls keep me chasing all day long and I've been really enjoying doing more personal training and wellness consulting with doTERRA! My most recent project - Holiday Fit Club - is going to be a blast! 

Meanwhile...my running buddy Sara and I wrapped up our 12 weeks of half marathon training. Approximately 200 miles run, many with strollers and most together (what a blessing to have her has a next door neighbor!!!) and we were SO READY. Then, unfortunately, Sara came down with a terrible bug the week of the race and it wasn't a safe idea to run. I was so heartbroken for her - she had worked so hard been SO committed! I was also bummed that what was going to be an awesome running celebration day turned into a solo 13.1 for me. 

An official photo (does anyone buy these?!) - I look much better than I felt!

I kept my head up and my heart strong (don't mind me, channeling some inner Shalane!) and decided to give it everything I had. Unfortunately, some race days your body just doesn't care. I'm thankful that I wasn't feeling sick, and honestly nothing even hurt, I was just SLOW.

Like 1 gear, can't kick it up, no adrenaline. Oh and it was 95% humidity. 

I'd be lying if I wasn't tempted to jog through the 5K finish line after the first 3 miles. Or turn around and wrap it up at 6.2. Or even pretend I had a relay partner and stop halfway. But I trucked along. One of the things that kept me going (if not faster, at least moving) - was the BEAUTIFUL views! I had forgotten how much of the run followed the Harbor (ummm...all of it, haha) and we greeted the day about 4 miles in with a beautiful sunrise over the water. 

Since I had no one to talk to and the traffic was pretty loud, I just did lots of talking to myself. About 4 or 5 miles in I told myself as I was looking out over the water "if you see a dolphin, it's your sign that you're gonna make it". I was worried to even put that thought into the universe because I had no idea if there were even dolphins in that area!! But I love dolphins and am a firm believer that what you think becomes your reality. Sure enough, after swerving and weaving around the path because my head was craned towards the water the whole time, I spotted them! 2 dolphins cruising around together. Just like Sara and I on most of our runs! A few minutes later I saw a few more! I knew I was going to make it! Call me crazy, but if you've ever been on a long run, you know that your head gets a little loopy, and you'll take whatever motivation you can get! 

I also LOVED the encouraging texts that rolled in while I was running. I'm not one to run and text, or even look at my phone. But there were a few times when I glanced down and saw new messages roll across my screen. They always came at the perfect time! While I was running alone, I had a lot of people there in spirit! 

Waving to my sweet girlies at mile 13!

All that to say, eventually I made it to the finish line. My time was not as fast as I would have liked but it definitely wasn't as slow as a felt. I was proud of how strong I felt going over the 2 bridges (twice), and that I never walked. That last mile was rough. The sun was hot, we were off the water and you'd think just 1 more mile would be easy but it felt about 5 miles long. Thankfully, my amazing family fan club (my mom and girlies!) were there cheering me on with signs on the last corner! Those guys are my biggest motivation and definitely helped me put a smile on my face and finish STRONG! 

I finished in 2:12something. Not my fastest, not my slowest. But it was my first half post baby #2, and considering the circumstances, I'm pretty happy with my results. I'm also pretty happy that it's over. I have to say that was the first half I've done where even at the finish line I didn't get that "I'm amazing, lets do all the races" adrenaline. Of course, my loyal (albeit sick) running buddy met me later that afternoon to tell me about the next half we'll be doing...haha! Of course I agreed. 

For those of you who want the down low on the Corpus Christi Harbor Half - here are my 2 cents. You can also read my recap from the last time I ran it. {Spoiler Alert: I had a much better experience the first time} 

What I love about it: 

• The size. I really do like smaller races. Not so stressful, no huge lines for packets or port-a-potties
• The view on the course. Running up and over the Harbor Bridge is an awesome experience and running along the harbor is beautiful! 
• The water stops. There were just enough water spots, always with a choice of water or sports drink. I usually rarely drink on the course and definitely not sports drinks, but the heat dictated more and I drank at almost every stop! 

What I don't love about it:

• The communication. You don't even receive a confirmation email when you register and there are not communication prior to the race with reminders, packet pick up, or anything. You can search out most of what you need on their website, but I also never received responses to questions in an email. Several other people I know who ran had the same complaint. 
• The support and energy. I think the course along the bridge is mostly to blame for this, but there are hardly any supporters along the entire course. No one to cheer you on! It also seemed very low energy at the start and energy, so not ideal when you're needing an extra boost! 
• The traffic. I realize that it's a huge deal to close a lane on the Harbor Bridge, and it really is a cool experience (see above), but the majority of the race is spent with loud fast traffic flying by you, quite close. It's not the most enjoyable thing. 
• The post race food. They had pizza and bananas! Sorry, but even if I could eat gluten/dairy filled pizza, I don't think that's what I would want at 9am after running for 2 hours. Maybe I'm wrong. But I would have liked a few granola bars or more fruit...or COFFEE! 

Ok, so what about you?

Did you race last weekend? How did it go? 
​Have you ever lost your running buddy at the last minute?