Welp, I survived the Cleveland 2015 Rite Aid Half Marathon! I’ll post a full race recap later, but here is a little about how the amazing weekend went. (spoiler alert- I PRed!)

First, I admit that I was less-than-excited for the race. The weather was due to be humid and drop 30 degrees from my last training run with Nicole! (where we pretend to stand on the finish line)

Friday B and I had to be in Cincinnati for a funeral – but we somehow made it back up to the CLE for the VIP Reception for the race. As an ambassador, I was lucky enough to get invited and it was such an amazing event! We got to hear the owner of the marathon, Jack Staph, speak, and start our carbo loading early – there was plenty of Great Lakes flowing, a carving station, a pasta station, some salads and amazing desserts. I’m so bummed I didn’t take a food photo (so unlike me, right?!) – but we did grab some ambassador pics and of course a pic near my name 🙂

Saturday, I had to work in the morning, but finally there was no long run scheduled! After working until the mid-afternoon, I grabbed some perfect pre-race fuel (sandwich from Beet Jar and kombucha from Cleveland Tea Revival and a nooma) and was off to the Race Expo.

Oh my goodness- I don’t know if something changed but the expo this year was SPOT on. I got my nails done, got my cholesterol and body fat checked, tried some yummy samples of gels and bars, and even won a t-shirt from Brooks! I was like a kid in a candy shop.

Saturday night, I got a great pre-race meal. I had tickets to the pre-race pasta party, but I’m not big on pasta before races; not sure why, I love pasta any other time – so we headed to Phuel for a healthy carbolicious meal – I opted for their seasonal salad with a portobello panini.

B and I hit got to bed early, after watching some Luther and a documentary about the NY Marathon (Live to Run). I had some dessert and tea to get relaxed (yup, I love sweets before a race).

I of course laid out my clothing and everything ahead of time. It was scheduled to be rainy and 70s, so I knew I’d need a hat and a tank top.

Sunday morning was race day! It was drizzling, but looked clear for race time, so I kept the hat at home and off we were. It was a GREAT race. Yes, it was humid. Yes, I hate the rolling hills of the shoreway at the end … but I loved almost every minute of it.

And post-race I kept up with the tradition and made it to brunch with my morning running buddies, Erica and Nicole. Without these ladies, I undoubtedly would not be the runner I am today- so thank you!

Some questions for you:

• How was your weekend?
• Do you run with people / have a running group?
• After a race, how long do you take up?