Team Minion Half Marathon

Last year after my friend Tara ran the Silver Strand Half Marathon, she told me how much she hated the course and how she'd never run it again. Much to my surprise, she signed up this year and asked if I wanted to sign up too. Wait a minute, I thought this was a boring and ugly race? Apparently it was a bit boring but it was also flat, and the perfect scene for a new half-marathon PR. Tara signed up for the race along with a number of my other running friends, and when they were trying to talk me into it I said okay, but with one condition... we had to dress up like minions! (From the movie Despicable Me.) Not sure why those characters came to mind, but I thought they were cute and would make a good group outfit. I was expecting everybody to protest and I would just skip on the race. Nope! Everyone agreed and before I knew it I was registering for the race as well. 

Team Minion Party

No running costume is complete without a Glam Runner tutu, so to outfit Team Minion with a set of blue tutus Barb invited us all over to her house the weekend before the race for a Minion Party. A what? A minion themed party where we made tutus and watched Despicable Me while the guys played poker in the other room and asked themselves how they all fell in love with a bunch of grown women who habitually run around  in public wearing tutus. 

Who Doesn't Love Minions??

Minion Tutu Making

The following weekend on the day before race day David and I went to Road Runner Sports to pick up my race bib and to check out some new running shoes. I have been wearing the Nike Structure Triax for all of my 8 years running marathons, but was finally interested in trying something new out. I had been thinking about giving Newtons a try to see what all the hype was about, but in the end decided against the $175 shoes and bought a pair of Saucony Guide 7s.

Newton Running Shoes

Holy Heel Striker Batman!
(Old Nikes on the left, new Sauconys on the right)

The night before the race I laid all of my gear out and made a last minute decision to race in my new shoes. You know how they say you shouldn't do anything new on race day? Whatever, I wore the shoes anyways. (They ended up being fine aside from one blister.)

Minion Outfit Ready to Go!

Team Minion met near the start line before the race to assemble for our group picture. Seeing all 14 of us together at once made the effect of the costume so much cuter! What great ideas I have! 

Team Minion Pre-Race

Soon we were off and it was time to run the race. I hadn't run a half marathon since July and wasn't sure what to expect for my time since I've been so tired this year training in between rounds of chemo. I was also running with two friends who had never run a half marathon before so I was ready to just let the morning work out any way it would. 

Running Along the Strand

The course was fairly boring and looked the same for the majority of the race which really seemed to make the miles drag, but finally one by one we were ticking them off. I was excited as usual to see David a few times on the course (best race support husband ever!!) and again at the finish line along with the rest of Team Minion.

Running With Kerri's Tutu For a Bit

Team Minion Gang Signs

While I do love flat races I don't particularly like boring ones. Parts of the race were scenic and were along the water, but other parts were just boring as we plodded on down the strand. I'd probably do this race again if someone asked me to, but I doubt I'd sign up on my own. 

Congratulations to Kerri & Kristen
on their First Half Marathon!

Next up are a couple of fun Christmas themed 5Ks and it is also time for me to start training for my next full marathon ... Napa Valley in March!