Jim and I planned to run the Rocket City Marathon in December, but once we discovered that the race conflicted with Finley’s first violin concert, I scrambled to find another race that would work with my schedule. The Dallas Marathon fit. Jim and I ran this race in 2015, but that was before I decided to run each state with a Boston Qualifying time, so I knew that Texas would have to be a re- do. I’ve never run the same marathon twice, and I wasn’t particularly excited about doing Dallas again. I didn’t have a bad experience the first time around, but this marathon also didn’t stand out as being exceptional either.
I was actually very pleasantly surprised with my race experience. The marathon has a new sponsor, BMW, and also a slightly different course than the one we ran in 2015. I liked this new course better, and I was also very glad that I didn’t have to run the exact same route for a second time. We had great weather, and I had a good run. I came in under 3:30 even with a bathroom stop and ended up being the 2nd woman in my age group. Since I’ve already written about this race, I’m not going to say any more about it. The naked cowboy and 10,000 American flags were still on the course—along with a shockingly large number of life sized nutcracker statues in the more affluent neighborhoods. Overall, I had a lot more fun on the course this time around.
This marathon also allowed me to have a spontaneous visit with my family in Texas. My aunt Monica picked me up from the airport, drove me to the race on Sunday, and then waited downtown for hours until I finished. She was even able to get a video of me coming down the finish chute, which was super- cool. I think that my aunt might have been the first person to see me finish a marathon, and it was really awesome to have her there with me.
** Race Highlights: The best part about this race was hanging out with my family. Additionally, I had a lot more fun running this marathon than I did in 2015.
** The Downside: The run around the lake gets a bit long and boring.
Finish Time: 3:29:24
Sub 4:00 State #23, BQ State #22, Sub 3:30 State #9
Overall Place Within My Gender: 30/1,031
Favorite Race Day Song: “Thunder” or “Whatever it Takes” by Imagine Dragons
Total Training Miles: 5,001.5
Shoe Total: 15
Sadie's Fifty 