Palm Springs Half Marathon Recap

Before I get to the race, I have to start with the night before, Saturday.  We drove the 1.5 hr drive out to Palm Springs and decided to stop at the Morongo Casino/Resort/Spa that we had been at about a month before.  Evidently, everyone in the Inland Empire’s idea of a romantic Valentines evening included chain smoking and penny slots because the casino was PACKED.  We stayed about an hour and walked out the door with an extra $502!!!  Jamie baby was playing 3 card poker and had 3 of a kind which was a $600+ payout.

We stayed at a place called the Doral Desert Princess Resort which was incredibly average in every way.  Most hotels were booked and triple the price because of V-day and the 3 day weekend.  For $99, it wasn’t bad, but the coolest thing was definitely the water feature out front.

Wake up call was at 5:30 am.  I had a cup of hotel coffee and most of  a Clif bar.  I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to eat it, but figured I would need it.  (Why can’t I have this problem later in the day??  No, candy and sweets, I don’t want you!)  The weather was perfect for racing, cold but warming up; the race was small-1000 people in the half, and the course was mercifully flat.

Things were going perfectly PR’ish until I realized I would be running without music.  My ipod nano froze the night before and wouldn’t turn on or off so it ran out of battery and died.  So I took hubby’s ipod touch in a preventative measure. At the start line, it also froze and wouldn’t turn on.  I was beyond frustrated; gave the stupid @$%*^# thing to J and waved my PR goodbye.

Started the race; it was weird to hear everyone breathing and the pounding of sneakers instead of music.  But I was able to get into a breathing rhythm quickly.  I ran the first mile in 8 minutes exactly.  And then I kept running.  faster. surprisingly.  I was just waiting to hit a music-less wall but I never did.  I took 4 shot blocks (135 cals) throughout the race which combined with the Clif bar was alot for me; I really prefer to run on an empty stomach.

I ran hard; I felt good, and I finished in 1 hr 42 mins 33 seconds I set a new PR for myself by nearly 4 mins!!  I couldn’t believe it yesterday and still can’t.  That seems way too fast for slow me; I’m still getting over my last PR. (My GARMIN said 30 seconds faster, and they didn’t have time chips but we’ll go with the official results.  I was 5th in my division and the 27th girl to finish.)

As I was going through the water stations, I decided to multi-task and do a little laundry as well ~ washing my shirt while drinking….

This was a really good race; every factor fell into place, and I had a great time, although I doubt I will ever be able to beat that time or run that fast again. But let’s not forget the most important part, we won $500!!!!

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