South Shore Half Marathon Race Report (2014)
What is this blazing thing in the sky? Could that be… the sun?!
Ha ha. After a super windy week with a few dreary days, I was excited to see that the weather cooperated for the South Shore Half Marathon today in southern Milwaukee. Low winds and not a cloud in the blue skies! The race temperature started at 33°F and got up to 43°F. Heat wave! It felt so nice to run in the sun, though I apparently seem to be out of practice with it, as I ended the race feeling low on energy and with a huge salt patch on my forehead! Ha!
But, not to get too far ahead of myself! You guys probably remember that the South Shore Half Marathon, put on by the Badgerland Striders, is one of my favorite, no-frills, cheapie races. The first time I ran it in 2011, it was under $14. Last year it was $13.99 ($12 + processing). This year, it was up to $17.14 ($15 + processing). I joked with Rachel that I was outraged by the price! Ha ha. Nope. It will probably still be the cheapest race I do this year. And, I think the reason it was a bit more is because they added chip timing this year! Getting fancy!
Cause, yeah. This race is not fancy. No shirt. No medal. Post race snacks from ALDI (if you finish fast enough to get some). Everyone gets a pair of gloves. Wonderful volunteers. Water/Gatorade/porta potties on course. An accurate course… perfect for a training run. Which is what Rachel and I made it today!
We ran two miles before the race to warm up, then had a few minutes before joining the back of the pack and taking off!
The race is an out and back on a trail that runs along Lake Michigan, then through some wooded areas. It’s a bit crowded in the beginning, but less so as you get a few miles in.
It’s a really pretty trail, but for some reason, someone decided to throw some hills in there!
Ha. I know they are not that bad. Rachel and I decided that running those would make the “hills” at the Wisconsin Marathon seem like nothing! I also came up with a list of reasons the hills (and run, toward the end) felt so hard:
- I did hill repeats on Thursday
- It was too sunny
- Low electrolytes
- Too much weight gain (<— bingo)
We had a lot of fun, running, and chatting. And we didn’t have anyone drafting off of us, creeping on our conversation, like last year. Ha ha. Too bad! They could have heard me give away the menu for Christina’s bridal shower next Saturday, and the rest of my deepest, darkest, secrets (luckily, Rachel doesn’t charge for therapy hours while running).
In the last four miles, I did run out of steam, and couldn’t even come up with things to talk about. This rarely happens to me – running out of things to say! I noticed my hands were swollen while running, and when I finished the race and felt the crusty salt on my face, I realized I was low on electrolytes. Looks like I need to try some salt tabs!
We finished the race in 2:14. It’s funny, the whole time, I felt like we were running faster than that (was hardly looking at the watch). I made sure to point out to Rachel that we ran the race 10 minutes faster last year (and that I did it 10 minutes faster in 2011). We’re excited to come back next year and add on another 10 minutes! The more time on the course, the more time you have to chat!
After the race we walked to the Palomino Bar for brunch. I really love talking to Rachel and hearing her life stories. I am sad I probably won’t see her until the Wisconsin Marathon, and not for much time then! Of course, I have The Longest Day relay on June 21st to look forward to!
Oh! And Dad ran his 5K this morning! He said the wind ending up being fine (phew), and, he PR’d – 28:38! Go Daddio!
Ha, I love this Mom and Dad selfie. And especially that another couple is doing a selfie in the background, too!
Themocracy
Haha your parents got photobombed by another selfie. That’s awesome.
I’ve always heard such great things about the South Shore Half (a lot of my friends were there today), but I’ve never done it. Ah, maybe next year.
I saw someone that looked like you and thought, “This totally seems like a race Mo would do!” 🙂 You’ve probably done some of their races before?
Man I love that race! I wanted to go cheer people on but we had our baby class at the hospital today. Maybe next year! Nice job.
I hope you are back! We missed you! 🙂 How was class?
Class was good. It was informative and terrifying at the same time. I’m done blogging for a while. I completely deleted my blog. I might start a new blog after baby but we will see.
Congrats on a great race! 10 minutes is better than 9 or 8 or 7…so consider yourself strong! And yay to your dad.
Way to go, Kim’s Dad!!! And your race sounded really nice – the route, the conversation, the weather, even the no-frills organisation sounds really appealing. Nice!
I love how your dad has embraced running! I think you look amazing…what weight??
Looks like a nice race. BTW I’ve nominated you for a Liebster award, you can see the details on my blog if you are interested in accepting 🙂
That sounds like a cool race! I went to college in Milwaukee and spent a lot of time on the lakefront. I love it there!
More time on the course = more time to chat … love it!!! Glad you ladies had fun out there!!
Yay congrats you gals look so happy! Those are the best kind of races- where you get to chat and spend time with someone you care about 🙂
I think it’s really difficult to adjust to running now after the super sub freezing temps. I think you should experiment with more salt during races. It makes a huge difference for me.
Huge Congrats to your dad! I love the selfie within a selfie 🙂
I think I will try them out! Do you mind telling me what the name are of the ones that you use, again, por favor?
I am so proud of Daddio!
That sounds like so much fun and you can’t beat the price!!!
I wanna meet Rachel…and YOU!!! I wanna chat!! Hahaha! I missed my partner today, she was sick…and I had sooooo much to say!!! I actually told her last night that I wasn’t gonna text her all night, that I was gonna tell her all the things today…but I didn’t get to!!
Yay for your dad, that is so awesome! I know you’re proud!!! And that’s a pretty good selfie!!!
You would love Rachel! And me too. Ha! 🙂 Dang, I hope your partner is feeling better soon… are you holding all that in until you get to see her and dish?!
What a great race – glad that the sun showed up for you! And it sounds like your dad put in some good work too! A win for everyone!
Yay! It was such a fun run. I don’t even care that it felt harder (pace wise) than it should have! I love running with you! Thanks for meeting up!
Your dad did so awesome at his race. Maybe we need to learn his secrets?
What a great race- looks like a fun one and you can’t beat that price! Any other races on the schedule before Kenosha? What’s your goal for that one?
Yeah, I have another half and maybe a duathlon. I am pacing a friend for a sub 2:00 at Kenosha. Hopefully 🙂
This race always sounds like so much fun! I’m glad you enjoyed it even if you felt low on energy toward the end. Did Rachel come up with more things to talk about? 🙂
I think we were both getting kind of tired by the end, but we pushed through in conversation! 🙂
Good job!
Love your parents pic!!
Congrats! Looks like you girls had a perfect day for a long chat! I am loving no-minimal frills races more and more. Yay for the ‘rental selfie too!
I’m so late on this, but congrats to your dad on his 5k!
This race sounds so fun–just chatting with a friend and not really noticing pace. That’s the way I like my runs. I wish we could run together more often. 🙁
I wish we could, too! Any luck finding more running buddies?