Shamrock Yuengling Half Marathon Recap

I made it back safe and sound with lots of pics, swag, stories and a PR!!

1st time I saw these at the Exp!!  Wouldn't a band aid work?

Packet Pickup

The Good:

• Lots of cool swag: technical race short sleeve shirt (long sleeve for the full marathon), backpack, finishers hat, finishers medal, finishers sweatshirt, plenty of food at finish and 1 gel stop on course, plenty of water, Gatorade and possible 2 beer stops put on by the hashers (I might have had one at mile three which might have been the reason for my PR, hmmm)
• Plenty of room on the road for all of the runners I was afraid it was going to be really crowded but I didn't have to do too much dodging.
• Walked to race start 1..7 mi from our hotel there were plenty of hotels near the start just depending on how much you were willing to pay.
• Overcast and a little chilly for half start which meant the humidity didn't bother me as much
• Very flat course at sea level which may have had more to do with my PR then the beer
• After party on the beach with beer, ocean and the sun finally came out, oh and stew if you weren't vegetarian 

The Bad:

Look at all the cool stuff!

• They started the full marathon 1.5 hrs after the half which meant some people were running in really hot and muggy conditions once the sun came out, I believe there was 1 death at this race
• Only the last quarter of a mile was along the actual beach (but that was due to the ample roads that were used instead which if you see above is one of the good things)
• Most restaurants were overbooked the night before the race and really hard to get a pasta dinner (impossible if you are vegetarian) so I bought a microwaveable pasta dinner that I ate in the room
• Totally due to our poor planning we ended up flying in to BWI instead of Norfolk which added 4 hr drive to our 4 hour plane ride which made for sore legs 

I was wanting a time faster than 2:16 so that I could call it a PR and apparently if you bother to train it works because my "official" time said 2:04:29 I PRd by 12 minutes!!!!  This gave me the confidence boost I needed for my triathlon training that officially starts today!  We had 3 PRs in the group of 4 so that was awesome!  Had fun hanging out with my running buddies!

I have started a FB page for my blog please like me if you are so inclined.  I will add all the pictures from my weekend there!   Also stay tuned I have SEVERAL exciting giveaways coming up very soon!!  Who else raced this weekend?

Pre Race 6 am

Post race, very sweaty humid race, but I'm a desert girl so you east coasters are probably use to it.

A little bit of everything

Look at what I just ordered!  I'm super excited to get it and hang it up, my medals will no longer have to hide in a shoe box in the back of my closet!!!  Now I need to update the pictures that I have in my swim bike run photo frame because they are so old people have laughed at the old school helmet I have on :-) 

 

 Just got another update from my Shamrock 1/2 marathon and it says that as part of your race packet you get tickets for 4 free beers after the race!!!  Ok if I actually drank all 4 of those and after running a 1/2 marathon and on a practically empty stomach I would probably be drunk!!!  And I really have no desire to look like this guy:

 


Lately there are two place I haven't been able to get enough of:

1. Thai Vegan    They are soooo yummy and the owner is nice and thoughtful.  He did the catering for my brother's small wedding and gave them a really good deal and of course awesome food.  The best part is I've taken a lot of friends there that are not vegetarian or vegan and every time they love it, I've won over some skeptics.  Some of my to die for menu items are Won Ton Noodle Soup!!!! this can cure any ailment
Tom Yum Soup for those of you who like it a little spicy
And the Green Curry  Oh and they have a camera in the kitchen so you can watch them cook.


2.  Il Vicino - I love their micro brewed beer especially their brown and the fact that they have the nutrition info online, give you the option to order a "small" of anything on their menu and customize all you want.  I usually get their small vegetarian calzone sometimes with no cheese and sometimes with no goat cheese but ok on the mozzarella. 

I don't really enjoy eating out so when I find a restaurant I like it is awesome.  Some of the criteria that makes a restaurant excellent in my book is: nutrition info., fresh ingredients, and flexibility with ordering.

Do you enjoy eating out?  If so what is your criteria for a good restaurant?