My fingers have finally thawed

[libbygrl109]

aswartzw - you did not miss a thing this year

I did the Run the Bluegrass half in Lexington, KY with my SIL yesterday. It was her first, my second. I knew going into it that it was going to be much harder than anything I'd ever done, but I figured at least the weather would be nicer than in NY at the end of March. I was so wrong. The day started out OK - overcast in the low 50s, but quickly got worse. The start was very organized - it was a wave start, which I had never done before, but the first wave went off right at 9am, and we were out at 9:10. The first few miles were bearable - rolling hills, with some flat areas, and it was just a misty rain. By mile 6, it really started to rain, and the hills got steeper. Then it started to pour, and when I was around mile 8.5, I heard a horse neighing, and I swear it said, "What the hell are you doing out in this stuff?" The nasty "hill" (heck no, that was a small mountain) at mile 9 had me shaking my head. By mile 10, I couldn't feel my fingers, and was just praying that it would all end soon. It finally flattened out as best it could at mile 12, and I did what I could to keep my legs moving as fast as they could until the end. I crossed the finish, managed to push the button on my Garmin hard enough to stop it, got my medal, then hightailed it back to the parking lot to meet me SIL (who rocked it, BTW, which I knew she would). 

It wasn't even close to a PR - heck, it was about 20 minutes past my last time, but I was happy with my run, all things considered. The wind and rain with the hills really sucked me dry, but I can't really complain considered that I didn't feel very prepared for it. 

Weather aside, I would definitely recommend this race for anyone who really wants a kickass course. You are challenged the entire 13.1 miles. Even though there was almost no crowd support yesterday, I never felt alone because there were always a bunch of runners with me. It was a really well-organized race. From the moment I signed up, I got constant emails from the race organizers providing the latest updates. And, they had a very active Facebook page, too. The expo was easy to get to, and had a lot of different venders, but nothing to really go wild over. And for those of you who like bling, the medal was a beauty - and heavy! I'm on a Mac, so I have no clue how to post a pic without making it huge, so I'll have to do it later if anyone wants to see it. 

The only downside was that the finish was so far, and up a steep hill, from the parking lot. It probably would not have been a big deal on a nice day, but in pouring cold rain, it was not easy. 

Will I do it again? Probably not. It's at a tough time of year for me work-wise, and I have to fly, so this was probably a one-time thing. I'm definitely glad I did it. And though she was cursing me at various times throughout the race, my SIL was happy she did it, too.

[Deleted]

Good for you for sticking it out! Sounds rough!

[sassystace]

Sorry race was not so fun but congrats, you did it! Just think of all the mental toughness you showed and gained from completing this--every other race will be awesome in comparison!

[Deleted]

I saw all the updates about the weather. It sounded brutal! Congrats for surviving it! For all it's beauty, it sure is a tough one. At least it's a killer medall. You definitely earned it!

[hannahb]

Sounds rough. Great job sticking it out!

[cinco]

Great job! I must be nutty, b/c I think it sounds like a great course. The weather conditions though, eek. Good for you for sticking it out.

[toepick]

Yeah, I felt so bad for the runners when I woke up Saturday morning. It was such a miserable day that I stayed inside in my pajamas all day. Congratulations to you for finishing a very tough race course and in bad weather! It was cruel that Sunday's weather would have been perfect.

[libbygrl109]

cinco - maybe this will tempt you more...

This year's medal - it weighs a full pound. Each year they model it after a different race horse. This year it was Zenyatta. 

[marcyiam]

Congratulations again on finishing it - that sounded tough both physically and mentally!

And I'd love to see the medal... ;-)

Congrats again!

[marcyiam]

Apparently you did post the medal. for some reason it didn't show before I posted, weird. ha

Lovely medal!