rock n roll half marathon

B and I just got back from our recent runcation- a super quick trip to Savannah for the Rock N Roll half marathon.

rnr savannah half marathon

This year on National Running Day, Mary and I took advantage of the deal the Rock N Roll Marathon had going on and decided to book a half marathon entry to another city. I had done the Cleveland Rock N Roll race and 2013 and was looking to do another similar race, somewhere else. Since I had never been to Savannah and the race was still a few months away we decided to book it! I had made a goal to run three half marathons this year and this would be the third and final race to meet my goal. But as you may know if you’ve been reading for a little while, I ran my third half marathon in September for the Adirondack Half so this weekend, I was able to run just for fun.

I had no idea Savannah would be so difficult to get to when we signed up for the race (long drive, no direct flights from CLE). Or how big a deal the race is for the city. In terms of finding a place to stay, everything was booked or very overpriced (a vrbo we were looking at that’s normally $400 or so for the weekend was $1,000!). In Northeast Ohio we have several half and full marathons – Akron and Cleveland and Towpath – and while they’re a big deal, maybe because there are so many, there are still places to stay, restaurants to eat at, etc. ) That being said, we realized the best way for us to spend the weekend would be to drive down and use my hotel points to stay at a Hampton near the starting line and not far from local bars, restaurants, etc.

Wait … this is November?

We got into Savannah mid-afternoon Friday and headed right to packet pickup. The expo event was huge! We had to park in the third extended parking lot but the second we got out of the car I could feel the excitement. It was sunny and warm and there were palm trees!! Yes I was trying to hold my cool but I was clearly a native New Yorker out of place among the warm weather and all the ya’alls.

b and i at packet pickup rnr savannah half marathon

obligatory bib shot

We walked around the expo and tried some samples and I got to stock up on some goodies- my favorite Sports Beans and Gu (vanilla and salted caramel) – before we made it to our hotel. B was pretty tired – he had driven the whole way and we hadn’t gotten to bed until 3 a.m. the night before – so we decided to just have a low-key evening and walk around the downtown historic area and grab a somewhat early dinner. B, Mary and I have a tradition of eating vegan before long runs but we couldn’t find a vegan restaurant nearby. Thanks to a recommendation from a coworker, we found probably the next best thing – a casual cafe called Kayak. I had a delicious Mediterranean tofu and hummus sandwich with a quinoa and couscous salad.

Perfect pre-run meal

After dinner, we walked around some more, finding success in the Savannah Bee Company (I LOVE honey) and Coffee Fox. It was a pretty early night which meant we got a ton of sleep before the race!

MY DREAM COME TRUE

Saturday was race day! A full race recap is coming soon, but everything ended up being pretty awesome. We made it to the starting line just in time and I really enjoyed myself during the run.

After the race we some stayed for the fun post-race party! The weather was beautiful and we sat on the lawn of Forsyth Park, enjoyed a few post-run beers and listened to the live music. Phillip Phillips was the headliner and he was a great performer!

Phillip Phillips performing

free post-run beer!

Saturday afternoon we spent some time exploring the city. We were staying in the Historic District, and there’s no open container law so we were able to grab a bite to eat and walk around exploring the area with drinks. Savannah is such a cute city and it was so much fun to explore the area by foot during the race and then in the afternoon as we checked out local shop, bars and restaurants.

Downtown Savannah with Mary

post-race lunch – ahi tuna sandwich and hush puppies!

mead tasting

B and I along the waterfront

Sunday came too quickly! After a short stop to find the Mercer Williams House (from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – where the famous Jim Williams lived) we were on the loooong road back to Cleveland. It was a super quick trip but I’m hoping we’ll be back soon!

The infamous Mercer Williams house in Savannah

Some questions for you:

Have you taken any runcations lately?
Any recommendations for fun half marathons to add to our list for next year?
Have you been to Savannah? What’s your favorite restaurant? Favorite thing to do?

cleveland rock n roll half

This past weekend B and I participated in the Inaugural Cleveland Rock N Roll Half Marathon! It was our 3rd half marathon we’ve run together – and right in our little city of Cleveland. We didn’t quite make our goal (under 2 hours …) due to the more-humid-than-we-would’ve-liked weather and hills (and me twisting my ankle at around mile 5 … woops) but I would say it was a FUN RACE.

at the pre-race expo!

Here are some highlights:

What Could’ve Been Better: (don’t worry I’ll end with the good stuff)

Long lines before the race: I know this isn’t unique to this race but porta-potty lines WERE SUPER LONG that morning. We waited about 45 min before getting to use them (what can I say, pre-race hydration routines and jitters make me have to pee! TMI?) and then missed our corral and the pace team we were going to follow. So instead of following the 2 hour pace team in Corral 3 we started with Corral 5.
The hills: Yes, we ran the hills a few times in training and yes we ran in San Fran and the even hillier it seemed Seattle a few weeks ago, but I was definitely not feeling good about the hills. The hill around St. Malachi (before mile 5) killed me – I didn’t recover until about mile 7. And the Tremont Hills? I felt fine through those, but they nearly killed B who was already dying in the humidity. Could the route have been flatter? Yes. I mean really, it’s Cleveland – we have 3 hills and the race included all of them PLUS one I didn’t even know existed.
The humidity: The rain thankfully held off – but the humidity did not. The weather was in the 70s (not too bad) but humidity was in the 80-90 percentages the whole time!

course elevation map

An action shot my parents took – B is behind me in green, and Mary in orange!

What Was Awesome

The cheering: I cannot thank my parents enough for coming all the way out from NY to cheer us on. It was SO GREAT to hear them cheering our names, seeing them at our planned cheering spots and surprising me at the finish line. Seriously, the best part of the race.
The music: Music at nearly every mile? Yes, please! It was SO awesome to see and hear all the bands and so motivating! Can every race have different bands along the way?
The crowds: I love running in races that have a lot of people – IF it’s managed properly. And in my experience, it was. The timed starts with the different corrals ensured the race wasn’t too crowded at any time. And the crowds gathered to watch the runners? Even better. There’s nothing like seeing people cheer you on – and spaced out pretty evenly throughout the whole route.
The post-race party: Free beer, a Gavin DeGraw concert for the public and more? This was awesome. Way to go Cleveland for hosting an awesome inaugural race!