VA Beach. . a RnR race recap.

The recap of VA Beach. . . pronounced "VA" Beach. You like that? We came up with it on the trip down. The drive down was super fun. It made me miss road trips. Chick-fil-a's. Sonic's. Summer in Florida. It almost felt like we were in Florida, too. The tunnels and bridges to get to VA Beach reminded me of the bridge you have to cross to get to Pensacola Beach. 

We arrived a whole day early. It was nice going to the expo when it wasn't crowded and last minute. I got tons of free swag I don't really need and stuff I did. I decided to try out Nuun. I was going to just try the samples and then buy it if I liked it, but I did the math. I couldn't buy that many Gatorades for the expo special and this stuff doesn't have added sugar. Bonus! 

It was also nice being able to lay by the pool the day before the race instead of traveling. 

Race morning, it stayed dark for awhile. I should've known I wasn't really in the race then. For some reason I was not mentally in it. Which is probably why it was my worst race to date. I want to compare it to Nashville, but without the hills. 

 Sculpture outside of the Convention Center.

 Start line! 

Running down the main road.

For the first 5 miles there was amazing support. I had heard this was a fun race to run, and I could see why. The spectators were awesome. It was like a Mardi Gras parade and I was the rockstar. I'm talking fold up chairs, ice chests and everything. 

 The only "hill" was the bridge.

 Super fun retirement community themed party? On the way back, there was a guy in a speedo and high heels. Oye.

 Soooo would've rathered be in that water park.

 Rocker- Dude, it's about time you showed up! I was tired.

 The Military Base.

All that fun abruptly stopped as we crossed the bridge to go into the woods/ military base. There were no people. Nothing to look at but barracks and trees. Around mile 8, I went into a dark place in my head and it was hard to get back. None of my usual mantras were working. I couldn't even get excited about the medal at the end (because we all know how I feel about that). I wasn't in any sort of different physical pain, I was just tired. My feet hurt and they were on fire. The overcast sky let up and the sun came out and there was no shade. Miserable, I tell you. 

 Look! A person!

The Boardwalk.

As soon as we reached the boardwalk, I could see the finish line but that didn't help me move faster. The boardwalk's concrete was even hotter than the asphalt and it felt like the sun was out in full force. There were tons of people on the boardwalk, too, but they could care less about the race going on. That was super disappointing. Around mile 12.5 I was considering giving up and just going to jump in the Atlantic Ocean. 

I've never been so happy to be done with a race, which was quite upsetting because the finish on the beach was super cute. oh well. 

 I think this is becoming a signature pirate eye pose for me.

 Only plus? Finishing on the beach!

 We walked the many blocks to the car along the beach. It felt amazing because my feet were in some serious pain. I really wanted to find a silver dollar, but no so luck. Do those even exist anymore and how does one go about actually catching one?

Til next time, summer!

And I'm not even going to get into the whole 10 hours on a Chinatown bus thing. Let's just say, I will never be doing something that foolish again.