While half marathon is my favorite distance to run, there is something about a 15K that gets me super excited as well. I think part of it is because not only of the increased mileage over a 5K or 10K, but rather the uniqueness of this distance for races in my area. After last week's craziness of a 5K and 2 half marathons in a 24 hour period, I was a little apprehensive of how my body might react. With Disneyland Half Marathon weekend next weekend, I didn't want to do anything "stupid" and end up hurt.
Momma K was running the 5K and I opted for the 15K. We had a few other friends running in the races (mixture of 15K and 5K) so it is always great to see them before, during, and after the race. Becky was awesome and decided to come out and cheer for everyone. It is her one morning to get to sleep in and she woke up early just to cheer! Spectators and volunteers are awesome - be sure to always thank them for supporting you!
Momma K was running the 5K and I opted for the 15K. We had a few other friends running in the races (mixture of 15K and 5K) so it is always great to see them before, during, and after the race. Becky was awesome and decided to come out and cheer for everyone. It is her one morning to get to sleep in and she woke up early just to cheer! Spectators and volunteers are awesome - be sure to always thank them for supporting you!
 Photo Credit: True Speed Photo |  |
The course for this race is a series of minor rolling hills throughout. The first 2.3 miles or so the 5K and 15K stay together for a loop around the mall then the 15K breaks off for a little mini tour of Kennesaw, GA. My Ala Mater is in Kennesaw, so it is fun to go back and run through some of my old stomping ground even though we don't go near campus. Once highlight of the race for me was passing the football stadium - Kennesaw State University officially kickoffs their inaugural football season this week (which is a project that started back when I was a student).
As I approached the water-station at mile 7 I heard a volunteer say "it is starting to rain." After the monsoon of Hotlanta Half Marathon last week, the last thing that I wanted to do again was run in the rain. I had a goal in mind and I was not going to let the rain stop me, so I decided to just suck it up and keep going.
Photo Credit: True Speed Photo
I crossed the finish line with a new shinny (and rain covered) PR by over 3 minutes. I am on track for where I want to be going into fall half marathon season, so this was definitely a great confidence booster. I feel like I can still push harder, but we will save that for a day when I am not still recovering from back-to-backs.
By the time a lot of the 15K runners were finishing (well ahead of the cutoff time), most of the vendors were already packed up and gone. There was still a few little snacks for us, but it is a little deflating to have everything be gone when you finish. Sadly, this happens a lot of the times when there is a shorter distance along with a longer distance - the shorter race ends and has their award ceremony then everything seems to close up before the longer distance runners finish up. I think the rain played a small part in this, but still. Thankfully, with awesome friends like mine we had our own little post-race fun (in the rain and all).
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Like I mentioned before, the 15K distance is a favorite of mine but sadly I won't get to run another until January. Until then, it is time to focus on my half marathon goals for the fall.
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