Sioux Falls Half Marathon - September 2012 - 1:57:41

A little over a year after I ran my first 5K... I ran my THIRD half marathon!  I decided after Norfolk, I wanted to run one more half in 2012.  My training leading up to Sioux Falls had gone well, until this ...

Excuse the nasty toenails...

One week before the race, I had a foot that looked like this.  It was really swollen.  I think it was due to my beloved Ruby Wave Riders being worn out.  I did go into a sports medicine doc for an x-ray to rule out a fracture.  I didn't get a 10+ mile training run in before Sioux Falls.  So, the last time I'd ran 13.1 miles was June, this was September.  I was a little nervous.

The BEST part of this race, was it was a special race.  My friend Missey was running it as her final "single lady" race before her wedding!  It was so fun to get to hang out with her and all of the other YMCA girls before and after the race.

AWESOME ladies before the race!

Start of the race on the track at Howard Wood Field!

It was a chilly morning, but PERFECT race weather.  (Note our coats and long sleeves!)  This race starts at Howard Wood Field, winds through the falls park, and ends at Sertoma Park.  Sioux Falls is a GORGEOUS town.   I love going there, mostly for the shopping, and all of the years I'd been there, I'd never actually seen the falls.  Crazy right.  Running through a town is definitely the best way to see it!  The race begins on the track, it's rather congested, and makes for a difficult start.  The gun goes off and everyone makes a full loop of the track, crossing the start mat at some point, and then heading out into the parking lot toward the street. The race ends way on the other end of town from where it starts.  They have a shuttle system for people who don't have awesome Rachel's to be there to drive them!

Rachel and I at the finish

This course is hilly.  Funny thing is I kind of forgot about it.  I told everyone racing in 2013 that it was flat.  Oops.  The beginning is full of rolling hills as you wind through downtown and then into the falls park.  The last half is pretty much entirely flat.  The aid stations along the way featured some people in costumes.  There was music and entertainment, and good crowd support.  The beautiful weather helped!

Missey, Steph, and I at the finish

I had a BLAST at this race.  It was by far my favorite of 2012.  The course was beautiful, the weekend was fun, the people I went with rock.  I was shocked I ended up with a PR considering my lack of training.  But I'm not lying, I was SO SORE for a solid week after this race!  No pain, no gain?