Thayne and I flew to Baton Rouge Friday evening and left the airport to absolutely beautiful weather! We headed to a restaurant that had some local bands playing and enjoyed our evening. Saturday we headed to the expo and went on a really neat tour of the USS Kidd. The weather was seriously gorgeous and was looking to be perfect racing weather Sunday morning.

I was right! Sunday morning brought bright skies, no wind and hovering around 42-45 degrees. Perfect conditions!

Before the race started I was a bit more nervous than usual. My last few half marathons hadn't been my best feeling, regardless of my times. I had now had about two months since my last race to regroup and focus on training vs racing. I wanted to push and see what I could do, but that always brings about the possibility of failure.

I knew this course was fairly flat, but it was also one that I wouldn't see Thayne during at all. It's nice to know WHEN I'm going to see him to know I'll get an extra boost if I really need it.

In the start corral, ready to go. Supporting Racing 4 Rett!

The race started and I ended up surrounding myself with people who seemed to be about the same speed as my current PR (last March in Arkansas, 1:35:56). We headed out of downtown Baton Rouge and found ourselves by a very nice park and lake. The breezes off the lake felt amazing, even though the temperature was cool that morning.

We passed through the LSU campus, and at this point I was so focused that I didn't even realize we were there! Around half way we found ourselves back at the lake and rounding the other side. There were a lot of spectators around this side who came out of their homes (beautiful!) to cheer. There were a few small hills around here, but nothing serious.

Around 10 miles I knew that the rest of the course was how we started. I could tell I was running pretty close to a PR, but wasn't quite sure what I'd end up with. Having a 5k left can mean just about anything, really. It's still plenty of time to "blow up."

I was still feeling pretty good at this point! Usually somewhere between 9 and 11 miles I have a really tough mile or so, then seem to gather myself up and have a second wind coming into the finish.

There were a lot of spectators the last few miles which really helped keep me going strong. I remember a few girls telling me they loved my skirt! (Thanks, Sparkle Athletic for keeping us looking fashionable while staying sporty!!)

Coming into the finish I knew I'd get a PR... I just wasn't sure what I'd hit. I sprinted as hard as I could towards the finish line and wound up with a new PR of 1:34:58! Almost a full minute off my time from last March! My overall pace was 7:15, and I was 15th woman to finish overall. Wow! I also took 2nd in my age group, but ended up being bumped up to 1st because she ended up being 3rd female overall.

After the race Thayne and I went back to the hotel to get warm and clean up before we headed back to the post race party. Now I thought the race was amazing, but they know how to party in Louisiana! Each runner received tickets for 8 food samples and 2 beers. Thayne and I split the food samples and were actually full! The sizes were definitely bigger than just samples.

Hey hey! My award for 1st place in my age group!

Louisiana ended up being a huge success of a race, and a really fun weekend. I'd highly suggest adding this one to your list if you're able to travel and run. I definitely started out 2016 with a bang!

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