Because I am that crazy

     For those keeping count at home...I have run three half marathons since the beginning of October. The Crawling Crab (PR race and AWESOME!), Monster Mash Half, the Halloween Half (trick was on me for this one) and now we have....The Virginia Running Festival Half a week after the Halloween Half. Have we discussed my sanity lately? No? Just to make sure we all understand, I also have the Richmond half next weekend and the Harbour Lights Half the last weekend in November...and just 'cause... the Striders Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, because you can never have too much of a good thing. That's six half's in two months. Most barely run one a month. Yep, I am that crazy, and I LOVE IT! I have even signed up for two marathons a week apart in March. Just to test my abilities and really see what I've got deep down. Who does that?! Me! -and a few other crazy people I know.
     The Virginia Running Festival was a nice race. I wasn't keen on my time, but I guess after the reality check of looking at my schedule above, it wasn't that bad for me either. I am not fast, I certainly can't qualify for Boston, but I have yet to be last. Fast is relative.
     This was a race I was on my own for. This always makes me a bit nervous. I do it not matter what, but I have to talk myself through the parking and the what if's just to calm myself down a bit. No way am I going to let nerves keep me from doing something I always enjoy. I hope someday my daughter gets the idea of not letting nerves or fear stop you from things you love and does it too. Being on my own, also means no or only a few pictures.
     It was a small race which meant short porta potty lines. This always screws me up. If I don't try right before, sure enough I will be looking for one on the course. This was no exception. For the four miles I kept looking...and not running well. The next 2 miles, I actually started looking for good bushes, but Newport News is a city and we were on a college campus...with LOCKED doors. What!? Another lady running with me asked the question I wanted to..."Where the heck are the bathrooms?". The volunteer said "I have no clue". Super. I finally got a porta potty stop at mile 7ish. Phew! Now I could run. The problem was, while I crushed the hills, it was too late to really make up any time, so screw it. It was a beautiful course, people were so friendly and now I could drink water. I just enjoyed the route we were on which took us back behind the campus through a very nice neighborhood along the river and through part of a park. It was very pretty.
     Finally reaching the end, I got my "Massive Medal" and they weren't kidding. Its almost as big as my head! There was plenty of pizza, but I headed out. I didn't know anyone there other then the girl I met at the beginning who also ran the whole Shamrock marathon. I waved and cheered for her as she went by. I hope she like the course too.

Halloween Trick

     I love Halloween. I love the crisp fall air, the cooler running temps, the crazy race costumes and all the spooky movies. I still watch Casper the Ghost every Halloween. It's time for candy and casseroles...YUM!
     Normally, I would run the Wicked 10k, but between Navy duty days and soccer games, it wasn't going to happen this year which meant the Halloween Half in NC was going to be all that much better. I had even promised to wear a costume. I know, right?! Treat in and of itself! I suck at costumes, so I had a little help from my friends, but still...me in a COSTUME. Halloween was definitely here.
     It was an evening race on a Saturday so I picked up my BRF in the morning and off we went to make packet pick up by 4pm. The race had a start at 6 and promised to be cold and rainy. What? I told you I was going. 'Nough said.
     We got there early and decided the little town was a bit...well...it looked like a small, poor town. (I am being nice here.) When we got our race bibs we didn't even have to wait and off to the hot spot we went...Walmart. Um, our first clue?
    We made it back to the race just in time for the rain to start. We watched the little kids run and looked around. At that point we were looking at placing in our age groups, there were that many people there. How awesome would that be? Thus, clue two. After the little ones raced (always adorable) more people had showed up and it was time to start, except no one could decide what side of the timing strip to start on...and we have clue three. The race director got us straight and off we went.
     Having seen the town, knowing we would run in the dark, I decided to run with my BRF, even if it made her mad and she totally turned me out. That was ok. We could run separate but SAFELY together. Right away the course went down a hill, which meant we were coming back up it. Rain and hills...it was a Kris race. We were off and running.

     The rain did let up only to be replaced by a cold, damp breeze, which as the sun set, started to make me really glad a had my hat to keep my ears warm. It didn't take more then a few miles to see this really was a crazy course. People were having a hard time navigating the cones. BRF pointed out something I had completely missed...no mile markers. Well, crap. I guess that's why we have  a GPS watch and part of why we would be glad to be running together later.

We leap frogged with some cool ladies for a while.

 

My Kenyan fuel ceased to matter at mile three when it became a race of "don't get lost".

     Then the lights went out in Brooklyn. We were actually in Fayetteville, NC (I think), but you get the idea. Once that sun went down it actually got scary. We ran through dark neighborhoods with broken liquor bottles (I hope) and Cujo was trying to get out of his cage to eat you. Neighbors looked at us oddly. On what we thought would be the last leg, it was a dark, busy wet road and more than once I watched someone almost get hit. Real life Frogger. I was ready to jump on the hood of one rude car and probably get myself arrested. Come on people! We were sharing the road, so could you! Cones in the middle of the road with no direction were confusing and resultingly dangerous for everyone. THANK YOU to the cops who did help. We made it to the end and looked at our watch...12.36...WHAT?! A half is 13.1 miles. Where did we loose the mileage? We must have to go down the hill again. No? Towards the finish? Really? Ok, well at least there would be pizza and donuts. Final clue...
     NO DONUTS...NO PIZZA...just water (thank you) at the end and my medal. BRF and I looked around. Maybe we it was covered because of the rain...nope. There were the empty pizza boxes over my the awards tent. Turns out, they only had enough for the 5kers. We were done.
     I hated the shirt, the course and the lack of pizza. The hills weren't bad, I liked the medal and I, of course, enjoyed the company. BRF for a reason. We weren't the only ones with a short course. Others missed a turn due to lack of direction and ended up a whole mile short. Next time check the map you say...well, we tried. It wouldn't come up. Next time BRF will veto any crazy race idea's I have, and after this, rightly so.
     To cut them some slack, it was an inaugural race for the town, even if not for the company, who put it on in Miami and Atlanta quite successfully. A lot of volunteers didn't show, they did offer a discount for next year to those who ran and were shorted on mileage and they acknowledged the pizza count was a lesson learned, but honestly, I won't be back.