Thank you again to the wonderful city of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Marathon, and my awesome friends for making this weekend so amazing. It was a weekend full of memories and I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to become a Runner of Steel!
Today is the day that I had been waiting several months for - the Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon! I could not believe that the day was here! When I woke up, a sense of panic hit me - my sinuses were all kinds of jacked up. My face hurt, stuffy head, ear pain...no good. Have no fear, I was NOT letting this ruin my day. My time goal for the day was no more and I was focusing solely on my initial goal - HAVING FUN! Due to the roads in the area closing for the race, I decided that the sooner I got dropped off, the better. Mom and Dad dropped me off at the Westin around 5am where I met up with my friend, Coach Jeff. While it made for an early morning, it was good to get there early enough that I wasn't stressed about getting there in time and trying to get near the race. I was able to sit back, relax, eat my breakfast, and enjoy meeting up with friends and making new ones. After hanging out for a bit, it was about time to head to the corrals. We had runners running the relay, 1/2 marathon, and full marathon so our relay runners had to leave us before we got to the corral. Most of us running the 1/2 and full were in corral D so we were able to head to the corral and start together. Nothing gets you ready for a race like being surrounded by friends. With several thousand runners taking off within 4 corrals spaced a few minutes apart, it was expected that the first mile or so would be a little crowded. While it was congested, it was not as bad as some races that I have ran. By the time you got through the first mile or so, things really started to spread out. For months, all I have talked about is that I wanted to "run over a yellow bridge." I don't know why I was so fixated on wanting to run on the yellow bridges for some reason. Well, bridges I ran...and ran...and ran....and ran.....and RAN! 13.1 miles and 5 bridges of glory! I think I just enjoyed the beautiful views from the bridges which made my heart so happy running. Bridges 1 & 2 Bridge 3 Bridges 4 & 5 Around mile 9 or so my sinus crud started to really get to me. I was feeling really light-headed at this point, but I didn't let it bring me down. I simply listened to my body and slowed down some but kept pushing through and smiling. Shortly after this point, I found my friend Sarah on course. She was running her 2nd marathon and was going strong. It was awesome to be able to give her a smile and some encouraging words. Mile 10 had some absolutely amazing course support! This stretch of the course is heavily populated with different cheer squads. My favorite had to be all of the animal groups with pups out there. Trust me, there is something about a cute puppy at mile 10 of a half marathon that is just awesome. The most challenging part of the 1/2 marathon course was just after the full marathon splits off at mile 11. You have a fairly long and steady incline before you peak then get a downhill finish. Luckily, once again we had some awesome course support at this point. Around mile 12 I came across a few children handing out dandelion flowers to the runners. They were absolutely adorable and were having a blast cheering for the runners. One thing that you may not know about me is that if something is given to me on course (not food or drink), it will always finish the race with me - period! If someone has the heart to stand along the road and hand out tokens of luck or appreciation to me, I will make sure that it gets to the finish line with me. I have finished races with some pretty odd things, but it just something that I do and love to do! The final 1/2 mile or so takes you downhill to the finish line. Other than the roar of the finish line, seeing downhill the finish is runner bliss. I finished strong and I finished happy! I am now a Runner of Steel! After 3.1 miles on Saturday and 13.1 miles on Sunday, I have completed the Steel Challenge. I absolutely loved this race! Despite not feeling so great, the smiles seriously never left my face. The course was awesome (a few challenging inclines), great crowd support along the way, and just overall AMAZING! I would put this race at my top 5 races for sure. It wouldn't be the perfect ending to a great race weekend without a few finisher pictures. My Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon weekend was everything that I dreamed of (and more) even with the sinus crud. I highly recommend adding the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend to your race schedule whether you want to run the 5K, relay, 1/2 marathon or full. I may or may not already be thinking of Pittsburgh 2016 - I think you can figure that out though. Thank you again to the wonderful city of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Marathon, and my awesome friends for making this weekend so amazing. It was a weekend full of memories and I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to become a Runner of Steel! Question of the Day: I carry 'gifts' given to me on course to the finish line. What are your running 'quirks'?
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BrandiI love to run and most importantly I love to have FUN while I run....I am the "Funner Runner" Feedspot's Top 100 Running Blogs
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February 2020
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