Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon Race Day Recap

Race day has finally come!  If you missed Expo day, you can read about it Here.

This was the second year Lacey has participated in the Rock n Roll Half Marathon at Virginia Beach but the first time for mom and Meranda.

 

 

Since our mom was participating in the relay portion of the half marathon, she had to get on a shuttle bus that would take her to the relay point.  We were invited to be VIP’s for this weekend’s race events, so my sister and I took advantage of the VIP lounge while we waited to get in to our corrals.  The lounge was set up inside the VA Beach Convention Center.   This was a nice place to comfortably relax before the start of the race.  They had a full breakfast prepared for us as well as a beverage station. VIP bag check was right there which was nice, and we got to use real bathrooms, not port o potties.  They also had a Rock n Roll background set up so we could take some pre-race photos. We even met some other bloggers at our table while we waited.

 

We each got in to our respective corrals. I believe there were about 20 corrals. Lacey was placed in corral 2 and the relay runners could place themselves in any corral they wanted, so Meranda placed herself in corral 8. I bet there was only a minute between each corral because they all took off so quickly.

When the race started I (Lacey) was doing well, and was right on my goal time, but soon it would slowly fade away. I came to the realization that I wasn't going to finish in the time I would have liked. I think that was my first problem. Once I knew that I wouldn't make the time, I thought well it doesn't matter now I'll just take it easy. I guess that was the wrong mind set. I should have still tried my hardest. I know I didn't push myself to my full potential. The heat may have had something to do with my performance, but I can't use that as an excuse, because last year it was more humid and I did much better.

I ( Meranda) on the other hand  had no expectations!  I was doing the relay with my mom. We had been spectators at the race last year but we didn’t know what to expect as far as running.  I was doing 7.9 miles of the race.  According to the rules, you were to hold the relay stick ( which was a drum stick) and pass that stick off to your partner at the relay point. I was so nervous about running with this stick. I normally don’t run while carrying object so I wasn’t looking forward to running with this pointed object in the midst of a crowd! It turns out that I guess you didn’t really need to have the stick after all because most of the relay teams didn’t run with theirs.

 I was feeling pretty good the entire way. I didn’t realize this until mile 7, but I was in front of the 2:15 pacer the entire time.  Somewhere after mile 7 they passed me! But that still made me feel good to know that I was doing that well. I really don’t think I could have kept up that pace for the entire 13.1 miles, but it gives me a goal to work towards now!  I hollered to my mom when I reached the relay point.  I made it to the relay point quicker than I told her I would so I don’t think she was expecting me so soon.  She took the relay stick and she was off for the last leg of the race while I got a water and my medal.  Of course I forgot to stop my Garmin when I crossed, so I didn’t know exactly what my time was for my portion of the race.  I had to walk about a mile to get to the shuttle bus that would take us to the finish line. I was hoping that I would get to the finish line in time to see my mom and sister cross.  We waited, and waited, and waited for the bus to become full and I slowly realized that I would miss them finish.  While on the bus a fellow runner was telling me that a guy had gone down at mile 1 and that the medics were giving him chest compressions. I saw a girl go down at mile 7 as well. We were hoping that these individuals were ok. We later found out that the guy at mile one died of cardiac arrest. This was so sad to hear.

I finally made it to the Ocean front ( where the finish line was) and as I was walking towards the finish line I ran into my sister.  We then found our mom who we both had missed crossing the finish line.

So our official race times were : Lacey a little disappointed about her finish time of exactly 2 hours.

Meranda and Mom excited about their finish time of 2:22.

 

We loved the medals and tech shirts this year!  The medals are glittery Starfish. Perfect for a race at the beach!

 

Have you ever been either overly disappointed in one of your race times or overly surprised by your time?

 

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