It got pretty crowded as we waited for the 7:30 start time. There were a lot of people waiting outside of the corral to get in once things moved forward, but it seemed to have moved pretty smoothly and organized still.
The race course was one of the most beautiful and scenic race courses that I have ran! Almost the entire course is ran within the historic/downtown area. You circle many of the parks of Savannah as well as some absolutely beautiful residential areas.
There are a lot of running "squares" and "circles" around the parks which some people didn't enjoy, but it didn't bother me at all as there was always something to distract my brain somewhat. While we had a pretty much picture perfect day, but that didn't make me not appreciate the shade from the tree-lined course any less.
The first few miles I was flying through the course..perhaps too fast, but I felt amazing. Things got a little warmer and humid feeling as the sun came up and by mile 5 or 6 I was really starting to feel the heat. At this point, I was on pace for a PR of about 7 minutes.
Since we have had such a weird winter in Georgia and most of my long runs the past 5 months have been in cold (or at least cool weather), I was not used to the warmth and humidity at all. I slowed down my pace a bit as we hit Grayson Stadium around mile 7 because I knew that the heat was starting to take a toll on me - I could feel the salt forming on my face and my heart rate was getting high. Come mile 10 I crashed and burned big time and my unofficial goal pace group passed me just a half mile later. I knew I needed to listen to my body and just let it be. I knew that I had to go at a slower pace the last few miles in order to FINISH safely.
As you exited the finisher chute, you received your finisher medal and a Publix reusable shopping bag filled with your post race snacks (banana, orange, mini muffins and water). I absolutely LOVE this because not only does it prevent people from taking more of their share of snacks (leaving the back of the pack with nothing), it gives you a bag to carry things in so you aren't juggling your belongings.
Bless the sweet volunteers at the beer & mimosa tent...they asked me if I wanted one or two mimosas. Two hands, two mimosas. Let's celebrate, y'all.
Thank you so much to every single person that made race day so magical for me: race directors, fellow bloggers/ambassadors, volunteers, fellow runners, spectators, sponsors, and everyone I forgot to mention.
Oh, if you couldn't tell, I will totally be coming back to Savannah Women's Half Marathon again in 2019.