The Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon - March 17, 2013

***NOTE:  I wrote this post last year and never published, so I am publishing almost a year late.  Oops.***

This was my first year to run The Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon and I was really excited about it because I had heard such good things about it in previous years.  This trail race takes place on both Saturday and Sunday of St. Patrick's Day weekend and offers a Relay, Half Marathon and Marathon option.  I opted for the Sunday Half Marathon because I had planned to do a 5K with my Dad on Saturday.

The race location is over an hour from my home so I got up extra early on race day to drive out to Seabrook and pick up my packet and get ready to run.  When I arrived there were very helpful parking attendants pointing racers in the right direction and there was ample close parking for the race.  It was still complete darkness when I arrived to get my race packet but there was a party atmosphere in the pavilion at Rex Meador park.  There was lots of music and laughter as everyone got ready to run.

The swag was great for this race.  The gender-specific tech tee is going to be one of my favorites.  It is green, of course, and features Robby the pelican that is the race mascot.  Everyone also received a tech hat, a gym bag with the race logo and a pair of green and black running socks that match the tech tee perfectly.  The race bibs were also very festive and were different depending on which race you were participating in.

For the half marathon the course was two loops of the trails and the full marathoners did four loops of the same.  Most of the course was narrow trails with two-way runner traffic.  I had to stay on my toes to keep from running into other runners and to watch out for the snakes and alligators that signs along the trails warned of.  It was a blast!  Part of the course ran along the ocean and there is nothing better than running along the water in the morning.  It was a very beautiful way to spend a morning.

The aide stations were fantastic and plentiful.  The volunteers were all super friendly and helpful.  Not only did they have the typical hydration and snacking fare, they also offered one of my race favorites--ice-cold disposable wet towels!  Ah, it's like heaven to receive one of these when you are overheated.

Finishers received a very cool rainbow and shamrock race medal and those who participated in both the Saturday and Sunday races could join their medals together to complete the rainbow.  Everyone also received a commemorative coin for the 10th anniversary of the race.

The post-race party had great food and music.  There was every kind of sweets you could think of, hot dogs, fruit, icecream and (a St. Patrick's Day must) GREEN BEER!  This was a fantastic experience and I will definitely do it again next year.

Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut 5K - March 16, 2013

This is my second year to participate in the Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut in Houston, Texas, but this year I had the honor of running it with my dad for his first 5K race.  We were also celebrating his St. Patrick's Day birthday the following day so it was an extra special occasion.

There should really be more green at the start line!

I puchaed us new green running shirts and a couple of shamrock accessories to wear to the race so that we would be in the St. Patrick's Day spirit.  Some people really go all out for this race and I love it!  We arrived pretty early to pick up our packets since I wasn't able to do so during the week.  It was a cool, breezy morning--perfect running weather.  I was really pleased because my dad usually runs on a treadmill so I was worried about the possibility of a muggy, warm run on his first race.

Great job Dad!

We had a great run and I had a good time teaching my dad about race/road ettiquete.  Dad was a trooper throughout the race and ran most of the course.  We decided if he quit smoking it would definitely improve his pace and endurance though!  Regardless, he did fantastic for his first 5K, the day before his 62nd birthday.  He always tells me how proud he is of me for running and now I get to return the sentiment.  He has already signed up for his second race next month and I can't wait to see how he does.

The post-race festivites were similiar to last year's and were nice.  The food and drinks were perfect and just what I needed.  I had a cream cheese kolache and fruit from The Kolache Factory.  There was also popcorn and assorted other drinks and snacks.  Bounce houses and games were set up for the kids again and Luke's Locker was there to take a complimentary race photo.  There was also a raffle but we didn't stick around for that.  I'll definitely consider doing the Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut next year unless I am too tempted by the Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon that was my other St. Patrick's Day weekend race this year.

Bayou City Classic 10K - March 9, 2013

Team Zissou at the Bayou City Classic 10k 2013, Houston, Texas

The Bayou City Classic 10k kicked off in downtown Houston at Tranquility Park.  The race benefits city parks and trails so it the perfect race for every Houston runner to support. 

This year I got together a team to run in centipede competition for the race.  To compete as a centipede you need a team of six or more attached, costumed runners.  We had a team of seven awesome ladies and we ran as Team Zissou from the Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  We made our costumes out of nurse's scrubs and I made a foam board submarine for us to run with.

Don't worry.  I am only packing cardboard weaponry.

We had a great time and a lot of people really loved our costumes.  Granted, some people did think we were nurses driving a school bus, but the cooler Houstonians we encountered loved out tribute to Team Zissou and we received tons of compliments.

To top off a really fun run we won the centipede competition for Best Movie Centipede (not of The Human Centipede variety--ick)!

I love being a winner!

The post-race party was nice and featured free Saint Arnold's beer.  What more could you want out of a run?  There were lots of snacks to be had as well, but all I really need after a good run is a beer!  The 10k race shirts were very nice gender specific tech shirts.  I will definitely be doing this race again next year and hopefully we will be kicking centipede-ass again!

Team Zissou pre-race at the Bayou City Classic 10k

Team Zissou pose!

Every member of Team Zissou receives a glock.  The interns all share one.

ConocoPhllips Rodeo Run 10K - February 23, 2013

The ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run course is downtown and precedes the Houston Rodeo Parade so there is always a huge crowd and lots of excitement.

I was really paranoid about getting downtown and finding parking with all of the additional road closures and rodeo fans downtown for the parade so I left super early got a prime parking spot and took a freezing cold little snooze in my car until my race buddies showed up.

I had a fantastic run and got a 10K PR of 1:07:44.  I know that's not fast, but it's great for me and I am very proud of it!  I have had a great time both times I participated in this race and I am going to try to make it a tradition for myself.

End of the World Half Marathon - December 21, 2012

The End of the World Marathon and Half Marathon took place in Humble, Texas and was mostly a trail race.  There was also a Day After the End of the World Marathon on the following day, but I only participated in the End of the World race.

I loved everything about this race.  It's only once in a life-time you get to run a Half Marathon on the  day the Mayans predicted the world would end.  The course was varied terrain and almost completely trail.  It was a little rough at times and I did fall once or twice but it was honestly fantastic and everyone was having a great time.

This is by far the largest, heaviest and most unique race medal I have ever earned!  It is 6 inch Mayan medal that weighs over a pound.  Participants also received an embroidered duffle bag, tech hat, a Mayan squeezie and one of the coolest race tech shirts I have ever seen.

Monster Mash 10K - October 27, 2012

The Monster Mash 10K and Kids K took place on the Saturday before Halloween at Sam Houston Raceway Park.  It was my first race in months and I was a bit rusty after a lazy, relaxing summer.  As soon as I heard about this race I had to sign up because the lure of a glow-in-the-dark zombie race medal was something I'd never be able to resist!

Halloween is my favorite time of year so Harper and I got costumes special for the race.  I went as a taco and Harper chose to run as Darth Vader.  There was a costume contest, but we didn't enter; we just enjoyed the race.  

The weather was beautiful.  It was a cold, sunny day and the winds made it nearly impossible to keep my sombrero on my head.  I felt really good and had a great time but since I hadn't been running with much regularity I clocked my worst 10K time.

Harper killed her Kid's K!  I was so proud of her because she ran every step without a single complaint.  She was focused on getting the awesome medal she was due.

I will definitely do this race again.  The race medal and tech shirt were awesome and are my current favorites.  The logos on both feature a glow-in-the-dark zombie! 

Rock N Roll Dallas Half Marathon - March 25, 2012

I had heard a lot of good things about the Rock N Roll Marathon series so when I saw a coupon code for the Rock N Roll Dallas Half Marathon I jumped on it.  I arrived into Dallas on Saturday afternoon and headed straight to the convention center for the expo to pick up my race packet.  The expo was awesome and there was tons of amazing and tempting merch.  I couldn't help myself and picked up a really nice 13.1 shirt.  There was a lot more that I wanted but I retrained myself.

From the start I was impressed with how organized the race was.  The runners were separated into about 15 different corrals by pace.  Each corral started off a minute or two apart and the staggered start was perfect because crowding was never really an issue.

As promised there was a local band performing approximately every mile.  There were also lots of local pep squads, cheerleaders and other school organizations to cheer the runners on and add to the atmosphere.  There were plenty of aide stations and volunteers.

I felt good and finished the race strong with a nice PR.  The race volunteers at the finish were amazing and I received a new favorite finisher perk; the volunteers were handing out cold, wet towels to the finishers which was a nice way to cool down after a hot run.  The medal and participant tech shirt were very well designed and are current favorites of mine.

I will definitely be participating in another Rock N Roll Marathon race and recommending them to friends.