RnR St Pete Recap ~ Looking ahead The Donna

Me, my brb and her family headed out late Friday afternoon for St. Pete. Before getting to the Carter's we stopped to eat at Ocean Prime in Tampa. Let me just say, we did arrive a little later than planned and boy did we learn alot! The shorter the skirt the higher the heels! WOAH, the fashionista's were out on Friday night! We had a few laughs and reminded little LC that we'd all collectively "kill her" if she ever showed up looking like that :-).

Saturday morning we went to Tropicana Field for the St. Pete Rock 'n Roll Expo. We were impressed from the second we walked in the door. They hosted the expo on the field! At that moment I so badly wished my fellas had made the trip with us. They would have loved being on the field! We got our bibs and finisher t-shirts with great ease then it was time to "shop" for running gear. There was plenty to be purchased or won! We tried a multitude of new products. One of my new favorites are Sunogoly. Sunogoly is an all natural sunscreen. It smells good and feels like regular lotion when applied. (side note: I used it during the race on Sunday and it wasn't gross even after sweating!) We also visited with the folks from the Lady Speedstick Women's Half Marathon. This is a race that we have looked at before but couldn't fit it into the calendar. We didn't sign up for it during the expo but we are considering it, seriously considering it! In my last post I mentioned that we always get suckered into something at the expo, well this expo was not any different! We bit the bullet and signed up for the 2014 St Pete Rock 'n Roll! Yes, we hadn't even completed the 2013 version and we signed up for the next one. As they say, we're half crazy!! After we visited the other booths at the Expo we headed out to do some other shopping and get some dinner. We carbloaded at Bonefish Grille.

Sunday brought about a very tired runner in this Momma. I only got about 4 hours of sleep so at 4:00am I was wide awake! Race nerves got the best me which was unepxected considering this was not my first run. TC drove us to the start line, literally right to the start! It helps that he is a FL State Trooper plus he grew up in the area so he knew exactly where to go. Once in the corral area we met up with two of the ladies from our Moms Run This Town group. After a few pictures, we all headed to our corrals and awaited the start. The beginning of the run was awesome. I had a great pace and was keeping up with the 2:30 pace group. Even though I was a little tired, I felt great overall. I got off pace around mile 4 but continued to run until mile 6. At mile 6 I decided to walk through a water station so I could hydrate and that's when things took a little turn. I started to run again and had some discomfort in my left leg. I tried to run on pace one more time at mile 7 and that same feeling came back. At that point I decided to listen to my body and walk. I continued the rest of the race at a decent walking pace. I truly enjoyed the entire race. I took pictures and just enjoyed seeing St. Petersburg, FL on foot. I had fun encouraging and talking with other runners along the way. I have always said that once my running isn't fun anymore I may not continue running. My ultimate goal each race is to finish no matter the time. Did I want to break 2:30, yes! Breaking that time isn't more important than being able to walk! I will break 2:30; however, it won't be anytime soon. I am not giving up, just going to adjust my training. I just want to have fun and that's what I did! It's always great to see my brb at the finish and I love to hear her version of the races. Our race experiences are always different so it's fun to compare notes. We are not competive with each other, just others around us :-) (totally kidding). We both agreed that we are super glad we signed up for 2014 and we can't wait to run with the Rock 'n Roll Marathon series in Savannah in November. Overall the race was amazing and we completed our 4th race toward the 13 in 2013 goal!

Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

Allison, LC and I at the Expo

2014 Registration - Check!

 

Start Line

Tallahassee Moms Run This Town

Finish! Great job AC on your PR!

A beautiful day!

 

 

Up next is the 26.2 with Donna - The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer. We have signed up to complete the Half Marathon in Jacksonville with the newest member of Team Track Stars, Crystal. She has completed this race twice before and we can't wait to enjoy this race alongside of her. We plan to attend the expo on Saturday and who knows what we will get into at this one! Then Sunday we race!  This weekend is all about girl time and enjoying life! We are going to have a lot of laughs along those 13.1 miles for sure! There will be a post race recap that I am sure you will not want to miss!

 

Watch out Jacksonville, Team Track Stars is heading your way!!