Frankenfooter Half Marathon 2013 Recap

I ran the Bride of Frankenfooter 5K on a Saturday night and then the Frankenfooter Half Marathon the next morning to complete the Living Dead Challenge!

This race was the weekend before Halloween so of course I needed a costume.  But running 13.1 miles in a costume....it must be comfortable.  My friend Denise and I dressed as Finn and Jake from the cartoon Adventure Time.  I bought my favorite type of running skirt from runningskirts.com in gold and a tank that matched. I finished my ensemble with a yellow Jake hat.

Our group of crazy costume runners including a zombie cheerleader

Again, I had the goal of a PR.  The weather was cool, I was well rested and hydrated.  The race started and I took my time with the first mile, running about a 10:15/M pace to really warm up.  I've learned that if I take off too fast, my energy is zapped.  After the first mile, I picked up my pace.

We ran in and out of some small Port Richey parks.  I liked seeing people run past me in the opposite direction (both ahead and behind me on the course).  The costumes kept my interest and I was able to cheer for my fellow runners.

At the first fuel stop, they handed out chocolate PowerGel.  I ate it reluctantly, not enjoying it at first but then I grew to like the chocolate.  I definitely felt the boost of energy whether it was the caffeine or sugar/carbs that my body needed to keep going.  I ate another one later on the course.  Yum!

At about mile 7, I caught up to my costume buddy, Denise.  We ran a little ways together but I was in the groove so I pulled ahead and kept going strong.

At mile 9, with 4.1 miles left, I looked at my Garmin to check my PR status.  The time was 9:41 am, yes, time of day.  I had it in my head that since the race started at 8:00 am, I needed to finish before 10:14 am to beat my Gasparilla Half PR.  I thought to myself, "I can't run 4.1 miles in 30 minutes...so no PR for me, oh well, too bad, but that's weird because I've felt great during this race."  I continued to run a nice pace even though I didn't think I'd PR.

At about mile 11.5, I looked at my Garmin again.  This time I looked at race time instead of time of day.  I had been running for 1 hour and 53 minutes!  With 1.6 miles left, I was definitely going to PR.  I had such a dumb moment at mile 9!  The race didn't start on time at 8:00am.  What was I thinking? Why would I look at time of day?!

I got a PR by 6 minutes 45 seconds!

My friend Maribel also PRed!

Photo by Denise

Overall place: 87/228
Female place: 42/143
Age Division place: 8/26
Average pace: 9:47/M
Gun time: 2:08:04.4
Chip time: 2:07:51.1
Race #16 for 13 in 2013.

Have you ever run in a costume?