I talked in previous posts about how excited I was to get into a half-marathon on New Year’s Eve. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to run because it was full, but luckily a few spots open and I was at the top of the waitlist!
The race was local, just one town over from my hometown. It’s called the New Year’s Double was fairly small by some standards, with about 600 total finishers for the 1/2 and full marathon. I think there were about 200 for the 5k.
What is really unique about this race, though, is that they offer all the same distances on New Year’s Day as well! I guess a lot of people do races back to back! Personally, I could not imagine running such a distance 2 days in a row! Unless one was a 5k…
I was really anxious in the couple of days leading up to the race because the forecast was rain rain rain. While I have run in the rain before, I have never done so for a race.
There was a great Facebook page for the event and tons of people were having similar fears. Fortunately, a bunch of well-seasoned runners gave some excellent advice for race day!
In addition to the rain, it was pretty cold. I ended up wearing the following:
- Running tights
- Thick socks
- Long-sleeved DriFit shirt
- Rain Jacket
- Ball cap
- Ponytail hat
- Waterproof gloves
The one pic my dad was able to take on the course…it was COLD!
It sounds like a lot, but it worked! In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t worn the raincoat. I was HOT 2 miles in. It was a last minute decision to wear it, and I put it on knowing I’d regret it. Lesson learned: trust your instincts.
The half-marathon course was 2 loops. I actually found out during my last half that I really like this concept, because half the time you don’t know what to expect, and the other half, you do!
The course was really nice and kind of different from what I was expecting. It was pretty much all through a big park and neighborhoods. I don’t think I’ve ever run a race that wasn’t on roads!
I talked with someone for a few miles, which definitely helped the time fly by. I don’t feel like I ever hit a wall during the race!
I wasn’t really shooting for a certain time, just ideally around 1:55. I ended up finishing in 1:54:31, which I was totally happy with. However, I did wear my Garmin, it showed the course as being 13.5 miles??
Apparently, this was the case for a lot of people, because Later on the race director posted a really interesting link about how courses are measured, so I am convinced that I really did run 13.1 miles
I actually didn’t find this out until later in the day, because I pretty much left right after the race for the sake of dry feet, but I placed 2nd in my age group!!! Like I said, it was a small race…but still pretty exciting 
What a perfect way to end 2012. After some recovering in my new socks and otherwise relaxing, I packed up my belongings because I had to fly out New Year’s Day.
LOVE
I was able to have some fun with friends to celebrate the New Year, though! We just went to a local pub, nothing fancy, no big crowds, just fun with good friends
Silliness ensued…
Yeah, tequila shots may have been involved at some point 
And that concludes tonight’s recap!
What did you do for New Year’s? Any new resolutions?
