Sunburst Half Marathon Recap

If you read my blog enough you know I run and I freaking love it. I also really love doing race because you just never know what can happen...

So I completed my 2nd half marathon of 2012..
Sunburst Half Marathon
South Bend, IN
College Football Half of Fame to Notre Dame Stadium 50 yard line

My friends and I went over to South Bend on Friday and had dinner at a local Italian place called Carmela's.  I had a really good Eggplant Parmesan.

Saturday Morning we got up very very early and prepared for the race. My friend Nora and I had to ride the bus from the finish line to the start line.

Then we had to patiently wait... The 5K kicked off while we were waiting but it was slightly chilly so I had my garbage bag to keep me warm. Many runners wear shirts they can throw away. I love the garbage bag because it is perfect for the first mile or so until my body warms up.

Honestly the weather was perfect and there were really several shadded areas and tons of water available to runners. I really enjoyed the course. Several residential areas throughout South Bend and ending at the Stadium where the Irish play. Even a Cincinnati girl like me can appreciate how amazing that place is. I also was so lucky that the weather was so good. Normally they have much higher temps for this race. I got out to a pretty quick start and the miles were just passing by and passing by. Around mile 7-8 I even ran into this girl out on the course. She totally kicked this races butt and I was so excited to meet a fellow blogger especially one who I won a free race entry from. If you click the link you can also read all about her experience from the race. Around mile 10 I was hot and my stomach was really starting to turn. So I walked the next several water stops and really took in some cold water. I have several friends who had previously run the race so I knew that around mile 11 there was going to be 1 more major hill.. I was so ill prepared... the hill really got the best of me... I pushed hard and when I saw mile 12 and could hear all of the cheers that last burst of energy really got me going... I just couldn't wait to get into the stadium and I could see it getting closer and closer. When I looked down at my watch I knew I had already ran more distance than the race was supposed to be so I had to find one more burst of energy when I hit that down hill that took me through the tunnel and I saw 1:55...1:56 I pushed as hard as I possibly could and made it in just the nick of time for a  1 hour 56 minutes and 36 seconds later.... I was the 494th person to cross the finish line. I was the 23rd female aged 25-29 out of 102 finishers.. ... last year I did a 1:56:50 on a full length course. Amazing!! I was so proud of myself and all the fellow runners. I also love a race that gives money to a good cause like the children's hospital. Post race they served up some yummy Popsicle, chocolate milk, fruit, bagels and Cheetos. I loved the Popsicle since I was so warm by the time I finished. and I have recently jumped on the refuel with Chocolate milk bandwagon.

It was an amazing race... I ran almost the entire race with this guy... My friend Tim who hit a PR... He did amazing and I am so proud of him.

Nora and John are some friends from the local area who also preformed really great.

I finished and it was an amazing day....

What did you accomplish and feel good about this weekend?