Rockin' and Rollin'

The Inaugural Dallas Rock 'N Roll Half-Marathon: completed. And it was an awesome!!!


It was a beautiful weekend for the race, which just added to the excitement of the event. There is just such an energy that surrounds races like this that keeps me coming back for more. I always say that it takes a special person (and by special, I mean slightly crazy) to wake up extra early on a Sunday morning to brave the race traffic for the sole purpose of torturing one's body for 13.1 miles. This time there were 12,000 crazies just like me, wanting that excited, anxious feeling you get right before a race and the adrenaline rush that follows when the race begins. I love it.


I really wasn't sure how this race would go. Unlike previous races, I wasn't on a training schedule or any kind of diet. I just ran whenever I could and ate whatever I wanted. And the two weeks before the race, I really didn't run much at all (I did do a lot of shopping with my sister, however, and the way we do it is very physically taxing...). So I cautiously set a goal to finish this race in under 2 hours, not knowing whether that was realistic or not.


The race itself was pretty cool. We were cheered on at the start by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and throughout the race there were local bands playing. The course weaved through downtown Dallas and through some pretty swanky neighborhoods. I felt that I was running pretty strong and keeping up a pretty steady pace. I was tracking my time as I passed each mile marker and saw that I was keeping each mile to under nine minutes. Anytime I started to get tired, I just picked a person that I saw was running just a little bit better than I was and got into an imaginary competition with them. There was no way I was going to let that person beat me;-)


The last three miles were tough, but in the end I crossed the finish line in 1 hour 54 minutes and 50 seconds. At an 8:45 minute/mile pace, it was a personal record for me. It felt great finishing strong, knowing that my two precious babies and wonderful hubby were waiting for me at the finish line. Unfortunately there were too many people for them to actually see me finish, but they were proud of me anyways. And I was proud of myself:-)

My sweet babies at the finish line

Dancing to the music with Daddy

I went into this thinking that I'd take a break from running for awhile, but now I don't think I can. The thing about races is they're so addicting. Perhaps I need an intervention. Or maybe I just need a new hobby. Or maybe I should just give in and do a full marathon again. Guess we'll just have to see how truly crazy I am.