Battleship 12k Recap

I really wanted to run a half marathon this month, but I’m not quite ready to tackle that distance. It’s been almost 3 months since my surgery and I’ve been running consistently for 7 weeks. I decided to sign up for the Battleship 12k because so many friends were going and I felt comfortable racing this distance! I was so excited to be able to run in honor of our veterans.

On Sunday, November 12, I left my house around 5:15 to make it down to Spanish Fort in plenty of time to pick up my packet. I texted my friend Jenny aka @jennyfren on IG who lives in Daphne and met up with her, her husband Eric, and Heather aka @potterontherun who had flown in from Dallas to run. While I was waiting for them (and trying to stay warm) in the Fairfield Inn Hotel, I saw Holly @hohoruns in the lobby and gave her a hug! She was chatting with someone so we said we would catch up later. I met up with my friends and we made our way up to the starting line. We found Rick and Jodi who I actually literally “ran into” at MS Gulf Coast Half Marathon last December. I feel like I know them and have followed them for a long time. Jodi and I had similar surgeries so we chatted about that. I told her she was my “hystersister.” We took pictures, chatted, I met Jennifer @jenzenator also on IG before the race started. We sang the National Anthem and it was time to race!

It had been sprinkling on and off since I got there so when the gun went off…. wouldn’t you know my Apple Watch would NOT turn on! I kept tapping it and tapping it. If you’ve read my other race recaps, something usually funny always happens to me. Sigh, anyway after fooling with it for what seemed like forever, I took off my arm strap that was holding my phone and turned on my Nike App. I think most of the time I was trying to get my watch to work, we were running downhill. However, Heather took some pictures of me at the beginning of the race. Thank you Heather! Down Hill we go!!

So since my watch wasn’t working, I didn’t look at it and just ran! My Nike app was only .2 miles behind the mile markers and it said I ran my first mile at 9:35. I was like… uh no way I ran that fast! I will say not looking at my watch seemed to make the miles go by faster. My friend Katherine @irunthislife ran beside me for a few minutes and she told me my pace was 10:10. Huh… that’s a little too fast but I felt fine so I kept chugging along. She stopped to walk and then Holly ran past! I was so tickled I finally met her! I didn’t take any pictures while I ran until mile 6. The course was downhill, one small bridge uphill, mostly flat until the big bridge after Felix’s Fish Camp on the Causeway. I stopped to take a picture of the Battleship at mile 6 when the photographer asked if I wanted my picture taken. I said “sure!” and Heather ran up and we got one together. She is such a sweetheart and this is one of my favorite pictures. We had a big bridge to climb after we took this picture and I could tell I was getting tired. I made it up and over the bridge without walking! Yes! I turned into Battleship park where they were passing out flags. Heather was in front of me and Katherine had stopped to wait on me. We ended up finishing the race together and sprinted to the finish line! The clock read 1:15:56 but my official time was 1:16:43 which was a PR for me!! I ran this distance almost 4 years ago and beat my time by 4 minutes! I got to ring the PR bell!!All 4 of us have had surgeries over the last year. Finish line feeling! Jenny, me, Heather, and JodiHeather, Jenny, Eric, me, Jodi, RickMe, Jenny, Jennifer, Heather Me and Holly!

I had so much fun taking pictures and talking with everyone at the finish line. It was cold and raining, but it didn’t matter. It was such a wonderful day and I needed this so much after a rough few months. It was a great comeback race and for such a wonderful cause. I had a great race and ran strong pretty much the whole time. I didn’t get tired until I turned into Battleship Park. I’m so thankful for such a wonderful day with friends and running for and with our veterans. Thank you for your service. We run free because of the brave! I can’t wait to run this again next year!!

I am linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!