Crystal Coast half marathon

As I was training for the Disney World Half Marathon, I decided that I wanted to run the Coach Bubba 20k in February. I remembered seeing posters advertising the race last year and I thought that it would be a good local event. I put myself on their e-mail list so that I would know when registration for the event opened and was surprised when I received an e-mail saying that the event was canceled. I was really bummed. I planned to do the Frostbite bike ride and I didnt' have a lot of off season weekends to fit in another long run. Then the Frostbite was canceled as well and I decided to run the Crystal Coast Half Marathon in Morehead City on February 27th. Morehead City is more local than Orlando but less local than Durham. I found a hotel that allowed pets and DH and I packed up the crew for the event.

As usual, I checked the weather forecast with increasing frequency as the date of the event approached. As of Friday morning it looks like mid to high 30s to start and low 40s at the finish with a 10-15 mph wind from the west. WeatherBug and Weather.com agree on 39-44 but AccuWeather predicts a 36 at the start and 48 at the finish. (It was actually about 40 degrees at the start and 50 degrees at the finish.)

DH and I each took a half day of vacation and on Friday afternoon we loaded up the Fit and headed to Morehead City with the Girls. After we checked into the hotel, we went to Atlantic Beach and let the Girls run on the beach and then picked up my race packet.

Emma runs on the beach

Hannah and Emma

Hannah waits for someone to throw a ball

After having dinner at Luigi's, we relaxed in the hotel and watched the Olympics.

On Saturday morning, DH dropped me off at the start. Unlike Disney, this race started at a sensible time -- 8:00. I picked up my timing chip and headed over to the start/finish line near Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant.

Morehead City Waterfront

The first four miles of the course was a lap of Morehead City, much of it along the waterfront. Then over the big bridge (over the intracoastal waterway so big enough to let the tall ships under it), then down to Fort Macon and back over the bridge and back to downtown Morehead City. The first eight miles went really well. When I got to Fort Macon I was ready to be done. Not tired exactly, just ready to be done. I got a second wind at about the tenth mile. It was about then that I realized that I was really going to make my goal. I had been a little worried about crossing the bridge the second time. Mile 11 was at the crest of the bridge. That sounded potentially bad. I kept on telling myself that two things -- the bridge isn't that bad and it's all downhill after mile 11. As runners exited the bridge, there was a group of people cheering for us. That was very nice and encouraging. Then we ran a very long straightaway and turned to the finish line. I completed the race in 1:57:59.

Start/finish line near Sanitary

The final block...

After the race

The event was well supported, water every 2 miles, lots of police and volunteers. Afterward they had nice snacks -- Girl Scout cookies and Panera bagels. Oh yeah, and bananas. The medal is nice too!

The race went well and I am happy and I would do it again.