I’m backkkk!!! So much has happened while I was gone! I traveled across the US, turned another year older, ran a new half marathon PR, explored all that is Cape Cod and Boston and somehow made it home with my legs still attached to my body! So let’s rewind a bit shall we?
That’s right, my birthday was on Saturday! I didn’t blog about it since I was gone, but all my wonderful Instagram, Twitter and Facebook loves made me feel so special. Oh and did I mention I was with 3 of my best friends in Cape Cod? If that’s not special, I don’t know what is!
The main reason we chose this destination was for the Zooma Cape Cod half marathon! I had met some of the ladies that run Zooma at the Disney Princess half marathon back in February and knew I wanted to run a race in their series. Why not choose Cape Cod on my birthday! Perfection 🙂
The race was organized so well! It wasn’t a huge race, but the swag, set up, location, course, food and after party were top notch. We hit up the expo on Friday evening as we arrived in the Cape. I loved our swag bag which I completely forgot to photograph! We received a yoga mat, tech tee, reusable bag, water bottle and other little goodies. After the expo, we went to the Honest Tea mocktail party that was out on the deck for some snacks, a mocktail and cupcake before we went to dinner.
Race day morning didn’t start out too early since we had a 7:30am start time and the race starting line was just outside the front of the hotel. We had to snap some sleepy pictures before heading out the door.
Saturday was my actual birthday, so a birthday princess tiara and sash were mandatory 🙂
The starting line was organized wonderfully with no issues at all. We were able to stay warm inside the lobby before taking off as well. The weather was absolutely perfect. 50 degrees, sunshine and not a cloud in the sky! Sure beats 75 degrees with 100% humidity back at home. And to top it all off the views were to die for. While running along the water and through the trails of the Cape, I was wishing I had a camera on me so I could have taken pictures. In the end, it’s a good think I hadn’t since I just barely beat my previous PR!
Charlotte was the best athletic supporter out there! She was at the top of the last and hardest hill of the race cheering on all the runners! Of course she yelled extra loud for us!
Alison ran the 10K and was the first to pass by! Hey Ali!
I was next! The lady in the green next to me was a life saver. I met Suzanne around mile 8 on the course. We started chatting after passing through a water station where everyone was yelling happy birthday to me and she asked if today was actually my birthday. We hit it off and ended up sticking together to finish the race. I think we both pushed each other and I know she pushed me. I was getting tired the last two miles and she helped me to keep my pace solid!
Next up was Ashley! It was her very first half marathon and I couldn’t be more proud of her! She finished in a solid 2:30!
We all crossed the finish line with new PRs under our belt! So it was time to celebrate at the Post Race Party sponsored by Muscle Milk and Barefoot Wine! Muscle Milk loved our enthusiasm and asked to take a pic of us for their social media 🙂
The actual race medal isn’t really a medal, but a beautiful necklace which I love! It had a woman running on the front and Zooma 2013 etched in on the back. But don’t worry, we got medals too since we participated in the Personal Best Program! Alison and Ashley both ran their distances for the first time, so it was a natural and awesome PR! Somehow, someway, I managed to beat mine as well by a mere 19 seconds! I finished in 1:50:33 which is still better than my previous 1:50:52 in Philadelphia!!! I finished 53rd out of 395 overall and 7th out of 66 in my age group! So close to top 10%!
So we decided it was time to party on the beach. And by party I mean sit, relax our feet, eat food and drink some bubbly! After a photo session of course!
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I would 100% participate in this race again! The staff and volunteers were amazing and cheered runners on throughout the race. The views were to die for. The weather was perfect. The swag was awesome. And who doesn’t want wine and champagne after the run for 13.1 miles?! Luckily, I’ll be participating in a Zooma race again come next April because I was selected as an ambassador for the Austin, TX Zooma race! It fall on April 12, 2014 and is at the gorgeous Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort. I can’t wait to become an even bigger part of an amazing race series for women! I’ll be posting more about it as we get closer. Any of my Texas girls up for the challenge? Until then, I’ll leave you with this…
Take me back to the Cape please! More fun Cape/Boston trip pics and stories to come!
