Little Rock Half-Marathon! A New PR!

On Sunday, I ran the Little Rock Half-Marathon, my very favorite race! I try to run Little Rock every year — partly because the medals are amazing, but also because it's a chance to visit my BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon and stopped in at the race expo for my bib and race shirt. Then I headed to Sheridan and Drew's house just in time for dinner. We have an annual pre-race pasta night tradition, so Sheridan whipped up some tasty Vegan Pasta Bolognese, while I worked on Garlic Bread.

I enjoyed an alcohol-free Wellbeing Intentional IPA with dinner. I've learned that I sleep better when I have NA beer, so I've traded my one pre-race beer tradition for a one pre-race NA beer.

I tucked in around 9:30, and then we got up bright and early so Sheridan could drive me down to the race. She doesn't run, but she always wakes up early and drives me downtown so I don't have to worry with parking. Sheridan is the best! Of course, I had my coffee and pre-race bagel with nut butter first, but then we headed to the race.

The race was SO GREAT, y'all! After running two 50Ks and a full marathon in the fall, I decided to scale back in 2022 and focus on speed with shorter distances. So I trained for three months with a PR plan for my half-marathon. And guess what? I took four minutes off my last best time, which was set at this same race in 2018! It was tough, but I did it! And of course, I took the free Fireball and beer shots offered on the course ... you know, for speed ;-) 

Look at the medal! The medals are massive, especially the full marathon ones (I have two of those from past races), but this year, they even expanded the size of the half medal. It was the 20th anniversary of the race, so they put all the past race logos on the medal. 

Another reason I love this race is because they always have a vegan pasta marinara option post-race. And of course, I had to have my post-race beer!

I also had a vegan protein shake that I brought from home. That held me over until I could get back to Sheridan and Drew's place for a shower and an outing for lunch. I'll save that post-race meal for tomorrow's post because I have a lot of pics from that delicious and fun lunch!