Running the Shoals May 31,2014

This half marathon was the reason I went to Florence, AL.  It is incredibly difficult to find half marathons in the summer months in the south.  People don't like heat?  Anyway, this run was held at a Robert Trent Jones golf course in Muscle Shoals.  The course was pretty.  We ran mostly on the cart path with a few road crossings along the way. 

 

OHAI 5:30am.  The race took off at 6:30 to avoid the hottest part of the day.  This is the view of the river from the clubhouse deck.  It was gorgeous. 

 

Look at how beautiful it was!  This was a rare flat spot in the course.  We were mostly running uphill and downhill over the course.

 

I made it to the finish. . .

 

. . .after running up this huge hill.  This was SO HARD.  The race coordinator told us to save some strength for the last 3 miles and he wasn't kidding.  The last 3 took me probably 50 minutes.  It was intense.

 

I always look like a hot mess after a run.  And I got photobombed.  I finished the run in about 2:50, which is about where I've been the last several runs, but much slower than what I'm capable of.  I should be running at least 20 minutes faster over 13 miles.  Oh well.

 

T-shirt, finisher's medal and number.  Woot!

 

I like the logo of the race.  The coordinator made mention of doing some other runs at different golf courses and I think that would be awesome.