On Friday, I got to leave work a little early to head to Indiana for the Geist Half Marathon. I was meeting the hubs and my parents at their house to hit the road. I was pretty excited about finishing up this 3rd half marathon so that I could relax and not stress about races or anything. My parents and husband were heading there with me for support as I did this alone. I had never done a race by myself and since I am slower than the rest of my family, this is not unusual…except for the corrals. I didn’t know what I would do or who I would stand next to at the corrals. Seems like a pretty dumb fear but that was the only part I was worried about.
We made pretty good time and headed for the Geist Half Marathon Expo. I wasn’t expecting much of a packet pickup because there were only about 6,000 participants in the race. I had signed up for the Month of May Marathon Club which meant that I had already completed a half marathon in the month of May and would therefore be completing a “marathon” in May. I’m not sure I really agree with that line of thinking because running 2 halves (in this instance is it halfs or halves? I wanna write halfs but that might be wrong) is not nearly the accomplishment that running a full marathon is. I got into an express line and got my t-shirt and they gave me a special parking pass in a bag. It was nice to already feel special because the parking pass and bag. I also had a different colored bib. More on that later.
After I got my packet, I turned around and Dad said “Now I have to go get mine”. I don’t remember what I said exactly but it was something to the effect of “Whatever, Dad!” Mom said my face was priceless as I watched a huge smile emerge on Dad’s face! Dad had signed up for the race so that I wouldn’t have to do it alone even though we weren’t actually sticking together like the Flying Pig Half. I couldn’t believe that Dad hadn’t spilled the beans. He accidentally hinted at it on Facebook but I didn’t assume anything. You’re crazy, Dad!
We headed back to our hotel and whipped up our customary pre-race food; waffles, grits and eggs. I was in carb heaven! Until the next morning. I think I will have to start taking a serious look at how I’m eating before a race. Both Trent and I did not feel like the food sat well the next morning.
On Saturday Morning, we headed out early and I felt terrible. I was, however, happy to start with my Dad.
Dad and I before the race
Notice that our bibs are 2 different colors? Dad had a regular bib while I had a special purple and green bib. I was #22! My special bib was for being in the Month of May Club. That got me into a special tent at the end of the race with all sorts of fun perks!!! It’s really cool to feel like you are special and are being recognized for it.
Before I know it…we were off!
Dad and I ran together until we passed Mom and the hubs on that first bridge.
Coming into this race, I had no expectations. As most of you know, I haven’t run in 3 weeks because of some ankle pain so I didn’t know what to expect. But I was completely distracted by the beautiful houses and neighborhoods that we ran through. Most of the race was very subdivision-ish which I didn’t mind at all. Looking Drooling over the houses around the Geist Reservoir kept my mind off what I was doing.
Once I hit mile 10, I started getting a lot of pain and essentially stopped running. I had been dealing with some pain in my ankle but had been taking it pretty easy to keep from injuring it. I didn’t expect that my knee would have trouble. It might have been my IT band, I’m not sure but it hurt really bad. I tried to run and I could have run through the pain but I was determined to not doing anything really bad to my knee. So I decided to try and keep up a pretty decent walking pace for the next 13.1 miles. I ended up walking at around a 15 min/mile pace for the last 3 miles. I kept in contact with the hubs about time so he would know when I would come in.
I predicted 2:55 but unfortunately couldn’t make it. I always forget about that extra 0.1 miles! I came in at 2:57 and was more than happy with that. I had just finished my 3rd half marathon in less than 30 days! What’s more is that I finished in under 3 hours in all 3 races. In 2008 and 2009, I couldn’t get under 3 hours! With all that I went through to get here, I was so happy and ready for some rest!
My Geist Half shirt and medal.
I immediately headed to the Month of May Marathon Club Tent!
In the tent was gourmet food and lots of fun drinks. I tried to grab as much as possible for the rest of the fam since they couldn’t enter. There were also massages and personal results as well as this super cool t-shirt!
This shirt is probably the nicest shirt I have gotten in races this year. Actually, both shirts are really nice. The blue Geist half shirt is long sleeved and really pretty. Overall, for only being in their 3rd year, this race was meticulously planned and was so well run. I have to give kudos to them! Mom is already talking about doing this race next year. 
We hurried to the shuttles (no parking at the start or finish line) to head back to the hotel. We ended up only having about 30 minutes for Dad and I to take a shower and check out of the hotel.
All-in-all a really good trip and a fun race. I would def. recommend and do again!