Rock N' Roll Dallas Half Marathon

Last October I was building up mileage for a race and started running on my lunch breaks at work. A few of my coworkers had run a few small races (5Ks, mud runs, etc) and we started talking about a half marathon. I put a little schedule together for them based on making RNR their goal race and told them they were welcome to join me at lunch anytime. We turned into quite a little running crew, and one of them started meeting me on weekends for long runs. One of my coworkers recruited a bunch of her friends to run it as well, and then I found out my sister in law had signed up. On Sunday morning, I lined up for my 13th half marathon with 8 women that were all ready to complete their first and it was so awesome. We ended up split into a couple of groups, but everyone crossed the finish line. It's probably the most relaxed race I've ever run, I just really enjoyed the scenery and had fun. I handed out high fives, thanked the volunteers and laughed at all of the posters. Some of my favorites included "Motivational Poster", "you can't quit, you're not the Pope", "Hey Girl, run away with me? (With a picture of Ryan Gosling)" and "run complete stranger, run!". The weather ended up being perfect (too cold standing at the start line) and we had a blast.

I will say that I've now run 3 half marathons since having the kiddo and I haven't focused in any way on my speed. After this one, I think I'm starting to get a little itchy for those old PR times. Thinking about working on my timing and finding a good race to run on my own so I can work back toward that 2 hour mark. Watch out!

Shamrockin' 5K

I'm already registered for several races this year and there are even more that I plan to sign up for. This year I thought I would try and write a review for al the races I do just as a "racing journal" for 2013.

First race of the year is the Shamrockin' 5K - this is part of a 4 race package put on by TNMRA in Flower Mound. I didn't do any of their races last year, so it was nice to race at a new location and get some new obstacles in. My friends Lisa and Nana ran it as well and we had a lot of fun.

It jumped right off with a nasty mud trench that took a lot of people's shoes right away. We saw several barefoot people during the remainder of the race. Pro Tip: duct tape! Then there was a slippery wall, couple of quick obstacles before we headed into the woods for a straight up 1.5 mile trail run. This is a 5K, so that's about half the race. Once we were out of the woods, it was obstacle time to the end. Cargo climb, log jumps, tire run, tire climbs, hay bale climbs, balance beam, pitch black maze, big slip and slide (we went together and almost drowned laughing so hard as we crawled out), half pipe wall climb, lots of hill climbs and mud - then...a zip line! This was a first for me and for those that don't know, I'm TERRIFIED of heights. I struggle with it at every race, climbing walls and jumping off things. I always feel better on the other side, but this really freaked me out. You have to climb this scaffolding, onto a platform and then hold on to the zip handles as you go out over the water and then drop halfway out. You then have to swim to shore. Gotta tell you - totally freaked me out. I don't know if that one will ever get easier. But - I did it!! After that it's a quick mud crawl and you are at the finish line.

Overall I had a great time. The people that put this on are really passionate about what they do, which I love. The line for the zip line took a while, so I'm not posting my time, but it was a lot of fun. The shirt is great and the medal is pretty cute. They have food and and a band for the after party, but we were pretty cold and already behind schedule, so we didn't stay too long.

Next up - Rock N Roll Half Marathon on March 24!