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So it's been over a week since I last posted a "real" post. So sorry, life has been crazy! Here's an update...beware, it's very long!

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Lucky Trail Challenge
First things first. The SeabrookLucky Trail Marathon and 1/2 Marathons were great!

I drove to Seabrook Saturday morning for day one of the challenge - the 1/2 marathon. First, I met Kay along the way so we could follow each other and hopefully not get too lost. Lucky for us, it was easy to find. We made our way to the parking lot and walked to the pavilion where we collected our interesting looking chips (which looked like little square card we began calling our "bingo cards") and just hung out until the start of the race. We forgot about the early time change and realized that it might be a bit dark when we 1st started running. We also ran into Coach Gaye, Patti and Abbie from Houston Fit. Also, I finally got to meet Sarah!!! When they announce that the race was starting, we headed to the start. There was moment of silence, the singing of the national anthem and we were off.

Kay and I decided to stick together. Since we were both running again the next morning, we decided to just take it nice and slow. We said we would do 12 minute miles the entire way, but actually ended up at a 11:24 pace. As soon as we started running, we realized we had no clue where we were going. No worries though, there were lots of nice volunteers to point us in the right direction. There were not only mile markers, but trivia questions along the way. Hey, anything to keep my mind off the running! The course consisted of 2 loops on a Memorial-like trail. There were also a few out and back parts, so you got to see some areas twice on each loop. There were a few places were the course was a bit muddy from the rain earlier in the week, but again no worries....it was manageable. Somewhere along the way, I saw JD and his wife Jaclyn. By the end of my 1st loop, I was feeling the bonk. Definitely caused by my lack of training since Austin, thanks to my crazy school schedule due to the previous weekend's mid-term. Luckily, I managed to finish the 2nd loop and collect my cool St. Patty's Day bling! Also, I got to wear my cute black and smooch running skirt, which I LOVE! I may have been tired, but the skirt was comfy and looked cute! By the way, the post-race party was fantastic! There were hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, red beans and rice, chips, fruit, live music, massages, etc. Awesome!

Loop 1 - 1:13:31, Loop 2 - 1:16:01, Total chip time - 2:29:33

Sunday, my alarm clock went of before 5 am and I seriously considered saying "screw it" and sleeping in. But, I knew I would kick myself later if I chose that option, so I dragged my tired ass out of bed and headed back to Seabrook. Kay and I met again and as I passed the Hawthorne Suites on Nasa Rd 1, I wished I had stayed there afterall. :-) After enjoying my new skirt the day before, I really wanted to wear my pink camo running skirt. However, when I put it on that morning I noticed something I didn't notice before....the shorts underneath are mighty sheer! In fact, my blue undies underneath were very visible. Hmmm...not sure what I will do about that. I opted to stick with my trusty black running shorts instead.

Sunday, there were quite a few more runners than the previous day. Kay was opting to run the full. My non-training-since-Austin butt was running the 1/2. We ran into Abbie, JD and Sarah again, and we were also joined by Abbie's Mom, Sandy, Rebecca and Diane. We all started the race together and pretty much ran the 1st couple of miles as a group, well except for JD who is quite the speed demon. The 1/2 and full marathon starts were staggered, so the trail was not too crowded and the course was a bit drier than the day before. This time the miles seem to pass faster...maybe because I actually knew where I was going. As we made our way by the bay on the 1st loop, I was happy to see girl scouts at the water stop with oranges and GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! Yum! Before I knew it, we had finished the 1st loop. By this time, Sarah and Abbie had run ahead. Kay, Rebecca and I were still together. However during the 2nd loop, we all began to seperate. Kay was feeling good and ran ahead. I continued with our 12 minute pace and Rebecca was not far behind me. I definitely had more energy than the previous day, but my legs were a tad sore which resulted in a slower pace than Saturday. I continued to feel good until about mile 12, were I opted to walk a bit longer than my 1-minute break. It was about that time I saw JD and Jaclyn. It's funny how you get a little boost of energy when you see people you know on a course...even when you don't know them very well. Seeing those two gave me the little surge I needed to run the remainder of the way in, finish my 2nd 1/2 and collect the bling and BIG bling. (By the way, JD managed a nice PR!) Next, Rebecca and I grabbed some grub and waited for Kay to finish her 3rd loop. I managed to squeeze in a massage during the wait...it was heavenly! Thank you Koala!!! For split second, I felt kind of guilty. Here I was chowing down and getting a massage while Kay was running all those miles....like I said, it was just a split second. :-) We cheered for Kay on her second loop and handed her a bag of ruffles. Kay did an awesome job and finished her full in 5:15.

Loop 1 - 1:18:29, Loop 2 - 1:20:13, Total chip time - 2:38:43

All in all, this was a great event. I'm not sure if I want to do the challenge again, but I will definitely be back for at least one of the two events again next year!

More updates to come tomorrow....