Logo courtesy of the Hartford Marathon Foundation
I’ve participated in this event a few times (last year’s recap can be found here!) and really do enjoy it. It’s truly women only and seems to me that it gets bigger every year – which is always a good thing right?!
I got my things ready the night before and headed to bed pretty early, since I’ve been having trouble waking up lately!!
The event was to start at 8:30, after the kids race, but parking is about a mile away and there are shuttle buses to contend with so I headed up to West Hartford around 7, coffee, water and Power Crunch bar (Nom, vanilla!) in hand!
Pre-race breakfast
Got parked, got on the bus and got up to Elizabeth park with no issues at all — not that I expected any!! Got lots of “great skirt” comments which are always appreciated. Hey, I’m out there for quite awhile, people need something pretty to look at!! 😉
Before I headed to the start, I checked my sugars and then dropped off my bag. One of the bonuses for running this race is the rose garden — we know I love my roses!! Some of them were still in bloom even!
It wasn’t long before we were ready to take off. “Take off” is probably a mis-statement for what I actually did. Slow and steady is my these early days of #Dopey15 training. I’m more concerned with being able to keep to my intervals and avoiding any asthma/wheezing and getting the miles/time in than getting a better time. For now anyway.
As always, a couple folks had sprinklers on. Fortunately today wasn’t as warm as last year, but the sprinkles are still very much appreciated! The course is gorgeous and, as most courses are, a tiny bit hilly 🙂
I did not break any records with my time, though I seem to be getting a little better each time I go out – duh! I guess that’s what training means 😀 I could get used to this improvement thing!! 😉 At the finish line, we were awarded a great little bangle, which was a new addition this year.
Another great part of the morning was catching up with my RockStar friend Kim — who was, as always, out there kicking butt!! Keep on being awesome Kim!! And hey, while you’re here hanging out on the internet, go vote for Kim to be on the cover of Runner’s World magazine!
I hope everyone is out there having a wonderful Saturday! The weather here in New England is just beautiful and I am going to soak it all in!! And tonight? I will be working on seeing that SuperMoon!!
outrunningthefork 
Love that bangle ! What a great race reward !
This is the first year they’ve done it! I hope it continues!!