This week has been one amazing whirlwind. I spent Monday - Thursday in Tallahassee. Some of the really excited things I got to experience in Florida's capital is meeting sitting Supreme Court Justice, Peggy Quince; sitting in several House and Senate committee meetings; meeting Senator Anitere Flores and House Representative William Proctor; and touring the Governor's mansion. It was really a busy time with tons of meetings and events so working out everyday wasn't so much of an option. I did get to hit up the gym twice, but not really ideal for the week before a half marathon. Oh well.
Coming home Thursday night was the best feeling EVER! It was so nice to shower in my own bathroom and sleep in my own comfortable bed (with my cute honey). Friday night Ben and I went on a little easy run in our neighborhood. He got in a new pair of shoes that day and wanted to break them in, but it was raining a little bit when we walked out the door. Not wanting to slosh around on the first run, he quickly switched shoes and we did a nice 3.5 miler. And, of course, it stopped raining by the time we started....
Here he is with his new prized possession! (Special thank you to Natalie and Tracey at Suncoast Running). The Brooks site at the expo were also selling the Launch in the new color, so there were quite a few other runners with the same ones....womp womp.
Saturday morning, we set out to go to the EXPO for Rock and Roll. Our plan was to get there early before it got too crazy with the parking situation. The plan worked because we got FREE two hour street parking right next to Tropicana Field. Holla! We had to wait a little bit before we could get in, so I snapped his picture of the boys patiently waiting to go inside...
Here we are in "Madrid"
And here are some of the wonderful women who I'm fortunate enough to get to run with:
After the EXPO, we went to Ferg's for lunch and then headed home. We were meeting up for an early dinner of spaghetti and meatballs provided by Amanda and Chris. The meal was delicious! We were home by 7 pm (party animals!) and in bed by 9 pm. The 4:30 am wake-up call was brutal! I think it was worse because it was so darn cold outside!
We headed out to meet up at Chris' house and then we were going to carpool down to St. Petersburg. We did pay $15 to park (such crap) and then we were fortunate enough to have our own photographer who moved our car for us to the finish line. I can not even express how great that was!
The actual was race nothing shy of excellent! I have to say that I owe everything to Chris and Ben for pulling me through and encouraging me the entire race. The downhills, crowds, bands, and the signs were icing on the cake. Here is the official finish! Sub 2:00!
Participant Detail
Finished In:
01:56:33
3199
Laura Kelly
Port Richey, FL
Age: 30 | Gender: F
- 5 Km
- 6 Mi
- 10 Mi
- 26:28
- 52:16
- 1:26:08
- Pace
- Chip Time
- Clock Time
- 8:54
- 01:56:33
- 01:59:02
Here is a photo of myself and Ben at the finish. It was also really cool to see the clock under two hours as well! My Garmin said the course was 3.21, so I did actually run 1:55 for 13.1 but I'm not complaining! The whole race was great, can't wait for next year.
Here's a photo of me "punching" Chris in the face. This is what I say I'm always going to do to him if he ever pushes me too far. Needless to say, I've never punched anyone in the face.
First Rock and Roll Half Marathon!
Our anniversary is actually today (February 13th). Three years ago we went on our first date (on a Friday the 13th). Neither one of us knew what the future held for us, but it's been one amazing ride. I can't not put in to words how lucky I feel to have someone like Ben who is so smart, funny, patient, and caring all rolled up in to one good-looking package! The Half Marathon was early anniversary present to us! Happy Anniversary! ;)
I also got my first pair of trail shoes this weekend! I'm officially signed up for the Trout Creek Trail 5k! Eekkk! I went with the New Balance 573, can't wait to try them out this weekend.
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