Mercedes Half Marathon Recap

My favorite running buddy, Kathleen, (plus my favorite supporter, JT) and I were at it again this weekend. We have completed four half marathons together. Kathleen has me beat by one that she ran in Savannah solo this past fall. We first ran and finished the Mercedes Half in Birmingham, Alabama two years ago as our second race. Our first was in Gatlinburg for the Santa Hustle and our most enjoyable one was the Seaside School Half in Florida last Spring. The weather was simply amazing! We opted to do the Mercedes again this year because I am getting married and couldn't commit to a weekend of travel, so Kathleen graciously agreed to stay local with me. The Mercedes race is a pretty big deal. It's a Boston qualifying race so people come from all over the world to run. It's always fun, but we are already talking about our next one since seeing new cities by running is one of our favorite things to do!

This half marathon was our slowest yet at a 2 hour and 7 minute time. There are quite a few reasons why we finished in more time than our previous runs. We did stop at water stops and we took a restroom break around mile 8. Both of those really add up when seconds count in a race. However, we were both really relaxed for this race and enjoyed jogging and talking. It seems I have lost my competitive streak in my old age, just kidding...I did squats at the gym two days before the half and boy, was that a huge mistake. The tops of my quads ached from working them out just two days before so it made my running stride a little off which resulted in more pressure on different parts of my calves and feet than I am used to. Needless to say, they ached more in this race than the previous ones and I will be forever reminded not to try a new workout routine two days before a long race. Lesson learned, friends. Overall, another successful Mercedes Half Marathon! I did get the post race message for the first time and it made my legs instantly 25% better! You can probably find me in that post race line from here on out. I would definitely recommend trying it.

After the half, we met J.T.'s family and friends at the bowling alley to celebrate his dad, Frankie's, birthday. Bowling is not my sport, but Frankie, J.T. and the other guys were pretty good! We even got to see Gracie...she was the cutest one there, but she's not a fan of the bowling alley. 

Three games later, my fitbit was happy, but my body was shot so I headed home while they went to dinner.

What race should we do next? Share your favorite half-marathon below!