Love Rox Half Marathon

A few weeks ago I ran the Love Rox Half Marathon with Tristan. This was a smaller race right in Richmond. It was really laid back with a 10am starting time, so we even got to sleep in before the race. It started downtown near MCV, but since it was a Sunday morning, it was easy to find street parking. We had no problems getting to the start- we actually got there too early! It was a bit cold, so we walked over to the Convention Center to use the indoor bathrooms.

By 10am, it was warming up to a nice running temperature (somewhere in the 50's I think?). The course had a few hills in the beginning, then went down a big hill towards Belle's Isle, across a foot bridge, and along the Canal Walk. We ran through some neighborhoods and came back across the Belvidere Bridge. Runners in the half marathon had to complete this loop twice. It was actually a pretty fun course. Running along the Canal Walk was fun. The worst part was coming back across The Belvidere Bridge the second time because the sun had come out by then and there was NO shade.

I almost backed out of this race, because I didn't train for it and I'm not in the best shape right now. But I'm glad I did it anyway. I had to walk some the last 3-4 miles, but I enjoyed being outside and doing something active. Now that it's getting warmer out I think it will be easier to motivate myself to get outside and run! I am not a winter runner at all!

I never run with headphones, but usually I'll have some random song going through my head. This race it was "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About" by Thompson Square. A few weeks later in the Shamrock half marathon, it was "Cop Car" by Keith Urban. One of the songs that got me through the Richmond half was "Wasting All These Tears" by Cassandra Pope. Can you tell I've been listening to a lot of country lately?

Overall, this was a fun race to start off the 2014 running season! The finish area was inside the Convention Center, which was nice. We had unseasonably warm weather for February, but it will be especially nice in future years. With your race registration, you have the option of getting a pass to the Wine Festival. Tristan and I opted out, but it was only $10. I think the regular price without the race is $40. We got nice long sleeved running shirts too. Pretty good for a smaller race!

I finished in 2:22:21. Not bad for not training.
Tristan knocked it out of the park with her first sub 2-hour finish in 1:57:31!