Great American River Run Half Marathon + Post-Race Eats!

On Saturday, I ran my 7th half-marathon — the Great American River Run in downtown Memphis. This race has only been around for four years — it's the close-out event for the annual Memphis in May International Festival — and I've run it since the beginning. The first two years, I ran the half, and last year, I could only do the 5K because I was coming back from a fractured foot (the first of two fractures last year!).

The course runs through downtown Memphis, including a jaunt down Beale Street, a loooooong slog down Second, a shade-less stretch through Harbor Town, and a victorious spring to the finish down Riverside Drive. It's always pretty hot in Memphis by the end of May, but this year was especially brutal with temps in the high 80s and low 90s for all of the race. And it was super-sunny the whole time with very little shade.

I actually set my half-marathon PR of 2 hours and 33 minutes on this course a couple years back, but that year, it had stormed all morning and was overcast for the whole race — so it wasn't as hot. This year, race officials were warning us to take it slow and not aim for PRs. And I didn't get one, coming in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, quite a bit slower than my best time.

But that was okay! I was just glad to be done! Here's a lovely pre-race pic reppin' my No Meat Athlete tank, before I got all sweaty.

And here's what I looked like at the end. Rough!! This was after pouring lots of water over my head throughout the race. I was soaked with water and sweat.

There wasn't much post-race food left when I was done. But there were a few apples and small bags of pretzels, so I grabbed an apple for immediate post-race carbs and saved the pretzels for later. And I had my celebratory free beer after the race of course!

I didn't hang around the post-race party long though. I headed straight home for a shower, and then I headed straight to the Cooper-Young Farmers Market for Lulu's Baked treats before the market closed. I got the Potato Bialy to eat with a salad for dinner that night, the Strawberry Rosewater Muffin to have as a pre-run snack on Sunday, and the Smoked Carrot Cashew Cheddar Bun to enjoy later in the weekend.

Just down the road from the market is Imagine Vegan Cafe, and I deserved something decadent after that tough race. So I ordered the new Vegan Shrimp Po' Boy and a side of Potato Salad to go. That crispy fried shrimp sandwich (they use Sophie's Kitchen, I believe) with remoulade, lettuce, and pickles hit the spot!