On Sunday, Jeff and I ran the 7th annual Armadillo Dash half marathon.  I feel like an old-timer with the Dash - I started with a 5K back in 2010 (it was the second 5K I ever ran).  I like the race because of how close it is to my house (the start line is at scary statue park ), and it supports several local charities.  This was the first time for me to run the half marathon part - I was signed up to do it in 2011 before I injured my ankle, so it was a long time coming to get to the half.

About two days before the race, I realized that there were not going to be a ton of people running the half (for whatever reason, total signups were down by over 1,200 people from last year) and without a full marathon going on as well, there was a very good possibility that I could be finishing last...now, I know that someone has to be last, but I've done that once , and it's not fun.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well the night before the race, but that's normal for me with races - just this time, I actually had something to worry about.  As it turns out, I was the 900th person to finish, out of 920 racers.  Yes!!!  I wasn't last!  Some people try to win their age group; I just try to not be last.  Go me!

The good thing about this race was the weather - we finally got to run a half marathon in the cold!  The bad thing is that it was REALLY cold at the start - 32 degrees.  We were freezing while we waited for the race to begin, but once it did (and for the first time since I've been participating, it started on time!), fingers and toes thawed out pretty quickly, and it was very comfortable.  Since I was wearing the same shirt I've been running in all winter (seriously, some weeks I end up wearing it three times...wear, wash, repeat), I treated myself to a new HooRag in their purple paisley pattern.  It worked great for an ear warmer before the race, and once I warmed up, I pulled it down onto my neck, where I didn't notice it for the rest of the race.

I went into this race thinking it wouldn't be that difficult, considering I'd changed how I run long distances by using the 2:1 interval system (run for two minutes, then walk for one minute).  I forgot one crucial detail:  a half marathon is a LONG way to run!  Gah!  This route just kept going and going and going.  There were rolling hills from about miles 7 through 10 - we'd get through one and there was another...it got a little rough for me around mile 8, and I took an extra walking break to get myself together.  I also had a little trouble getting my fuel in - things that worked during training just weren't going down for me.  I managed a GU around mile 3 and then finally another close to mile 9.  There was a candy station around mile 10 with gummi bears, M&M's and Skittles, but no way could I eat at that point...so disappointed in myself.  Free candy, and I couldn't partake!

The race had a lot of great aid stations - I think 8 in total.  Lots of porta-potties along the route,  lots of funny and encouraging signs posted, and even a few cheer stations (one had dogs, of course that was my favorite).  The best thing for me was the ice-cold Gatorade - I had a few sips every at every other aid station and that really hit the spot.  The rest of the time I drank water from my handheld water bottle, refilling it when necessary.

Our finish time was 3:04 - I'd hoped to get in under three hours, but we had one potty break, a shoelace-tying break (not easy while wearing gloves) and I ended up doing a few extra walk intervals during the rolling hills miles.  Oh well. 

It wouldn't be a race recap without pictures, right?  And with the walking breaks, Jeff was able to get a few shots during the race, too.  Here goes