For as long as I’ve been a runner, I’ve been told that the one race you want to avoid running in Jax is the Marine Corps Half. Not just from one person, but from nearly every single person I know that has run it in the past. The main complaints are the terrible weather (it’s hot and humid!) and that the end of the course is brutal. You run up a pedestrian bridge, over the rail road tracks, then have to run down a spiral ramp. Then you run, in full sun, along the river. That part sounds nice, but not when it’s 85 degrees in full sun!
This is one of those things that should probably be filed under “not my best idea ever”. It worked out though and I had fun, so I guess it was not my worst idea ever. All I know is I was one tired mama the next day! So what was this silly thing that I did??
Because we didn’t have enough crammed into the already busy Easter weekend, Adam and I decided to do the Run Rabbit Run 5K with some of our friends. I heard so many good things about the race last year, so I was eager to sign up. The course starts at the entrance to Queens Harbor Yacht & Country Club and you run along the neighborhood streets. It wasn’t at all congested and the scenery is gorgeous (especially if you’re like me and love looking at big, beautiful houses!).
Borland-Groover’s March To Get Screened 5K raises funds for research and education for Colon Cancer, the second leading cancer death. Every dollar raised by participants goes to the BGC Foundation and further education, research, prevention and a cure for Colon Cancer.
The 2015 Gate River Run 15K.. aka the really fun race in Jacksonville that was really freaking hot this year! Not that it really mattered to me, since I didn’t have a time goal this year. In fact, I went into this race determined to have fun and not stress over time so I made it my goal to PR in drink stops. Spoiler Alert – I totally hit my goal!
Hello, hello! It’s been a busy few days around here, I kind of want to skip eating lunch today and just go take a nap instead! I have the recap of my Disney Marathon training below but first I want to tell you about our wonderful weekend!!
If you’re like me, there’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of Earth Fare. I didn’t even know that they were coming to Jacksonville until I received an email asking if I’d like to come in and take a sneak peek at their store. After checking out their website, I was eager to head over and see what they had to offer! Actually, a better way to look at it is what they do NOT offer:
Ohh look, I’m finally recapping the 2014 Gate River Run, it’s about time since the race was in mid-March! Last year was the first time I ran the Gate River Run. It’s a HUGE event in Jacksonville, it seems like everyone in our running community runs it. This year, if I remember correctly, there were just under 20,000 runners and walkers. It’s hard for me to visualize that many people.. maybe it is for you too? This should help.. this is the Main Street Bridge in downtown Jax.
I’ve been looking forward to this race for a few months. A long, long time ago (like before we had kids), a friend of mine tried to get me and another friend to do this race with her. I told her she was completely nuts because there was no way I could EVER run 10 miles without dying. She was in the middle of training for her first marathon, so 10 miles was no big deal to her. (We ended up doing the Race for the Cure with her instead, and walked almost the whole thing!)
The week before last, I mentioned in my Five Things Friday post that I was doing the Inspired Yoga + Run with the ZOOMA ladies. I won a free entry to the contest on a blog, then was offered a free entry since I’m an ambassador for their race next January in Amelia Island. I was really looking forward to meeting the ladies behind the race, so even though we all know I’m NOT a morning person, I got up before the crack of dawn and made the 45-minute trek out to Jax Beach for this inspiring event.
