Race Recap

I forgot to mention that our bridge (the only way to drive onto our island) was closed last Tuesday. It was deemed unsafe- it's 50 years old and severe erosion has taken place, which has caused the sand around the support structures to be scoured away.

 

This meant that I had two choices. #1: I could stay home and the money I spent on a hotel and the race would be wasted (not to mention 2 months of training)... or #2: I could suck it up and take the emergency ferry.

 

I decided to go with the later, and planned on taking the 12:00 ferry so that I could at least teach two fitness classes before leaving the island. I arrived in line at 11:20, thinking that I arrived with plenty of time to spare, but I was so wrong... I did catch the 3:00 ferry and after a 2+ hour ride and a 30 minute drive to where I would have otherwise ended up on the other side of the bridge, I was on my way to Virginia Beach. I made it to packet pick-up with 15 minutes to spare!!! So, what would have been a 3 hour drive turned into an 8.5 hour event...

 

But, on the bright side, local restaurants were quick to take advantage of a bad situation- they had employees walk from car to car, passing out take-out menus and delivering the food to your car while you waited in line! It was so nice to get a mocha delivered to my car :) 

 

Life on an island...

 

The start of the race- a rainy and windy morning.



Despite running most of 6 miles in the rain and about 4 miles of running into 18-20 mph wind on the boardwalk, I finished! 

And a cup of beer never tasted so good!



 

Post-race party

 

I am so glad I decided to run the race. I felt so much happiness after crossing that finish line and getting a hot shower (conveniently located next to the finish of the race), knowing that despite a few obstacles with training and traveling, I did my best and I'm so proud of myself. I'm still not a very fast runner, but my time has greatly improved since my races over the last few years and running is beginning to be more of a "love" thing instead of a "love-hate" thing.

 

 

Any big race plans in your future?

I think I'm ready to sign up for a February race already!