Austin Livestrong Half Marathon

Tayler and I left early Saturday morning and drove to Austin.  We met up with my friend Donna and headed to the expo to get our packets.  Donna is a local girl and got us in and out of the expo quickly.  My favorite socks were buy 2 get 1 free, so I grabbed three new pair.  We passed on some $16 tempos because the line was long and our stomachs were growling. 

Carb loading

We snacked in the car on the way and never really ate lunch.  Great prerun fueling.  We had an early dinner at Saltgrass Steak House.  Tayler and I are great examples of what not to do the day before a race!

At the hotel we got our gear ready and put our chrono tags on our shoes.  I think laying out your clothes and gear early in the evening is so important.  I even double checked my snack bag to make sure I was good for breakfast. 



On Sunday morning, Donna met us at our hotel and we followed her to downtown Austin.  The interstate was clear, but it took us twice as long to find a parking spot. 

The blur is the Capitol building from the interstate

We had plenty of time to find the porta potties, stretch and get our spot in line. 

I wore my spibelt so I could take pics along the way.  That didn't work out so well.  Here is the only pic I took during the race. 

Hill at mile 12 - YUCK! I took this about half way up. 

I knew the course was going to be tough.  Lots of uphill.  I was anxious because of my knee/leg pain. My leg pain and the weather the last few weeks killed my training.  I had in my mind that anything below a 2:10 would be good for me.  The pain started earlier than usual, around mile 3.  At times I thought I should stop or my bone was going to be poking through and then other times it didn't bother me at all.  It was a tough course.  Way harder than anything I have experienced.  The last hill of the San Antonio RnR was nothing compared to this course.  Unofficial chip time: 2:12:18  My Garmin Results if you want to see the elevation chart and how inconsistent my splits were.  It was still a new PR for me so I can't complain.  My stomach was pretty upset after the race and it was hard for me to eat lunch.  We showered and headed to the San Marcos Outlet Mall for our post run shopping.  After dinner we spent an hour in the hot tub and got ourselves to bed!  I can't wait to show you what I bought!