Mississippi Gulf Coast Half Marathon 2: Electric Boogaloo

Last year, the 1/2 Marathon was my first ever. This year it was my third. I'm proud to say that today I set a new personal record, beating last year's time by 2 minutes (and last month's time by 10!), running 13.1 miles in 1:56:57.
Much like last year- it was SO COLD this morning. Driving over, my car thermometer said it was 38 degrees! Fortunately, it was pretty sunny and by the end of the race it was in the mid-50's. Overall, it was a gorgeous day for a run and the time really flew by for me for the most part. Around 10.5 miles, I started really flagging and my running buddy Margee had to remind me to eat the Gu chomps I had in my belt, and the last 3 miles were pretty tough. Fortunately, I knew that I had a good shot at a new PR which kept me motivated!

Pros of this race:
The T-shirt is long sleeved and the design always makes me smile. What's better than a long sleeved race t-shirt? A long sleeved race t-shirt with a rocket on it!
Whatever energy drink they provided tasted really good. It wasn't too sweet at all.
After the race, there were Nilla Wafers and cups of hot chicken soup. Bliss!!
It's a fast run- flat and uncrowded.
It's cheap- it was $25 prior to Nov. 22 and $30 on race day.

Cons:
If you run this race alone, you will be bored. It's a small race and there are long stretches where there aren't that many people. It's also not all that scenic- you're running down a road with woods and nondescript buildings along side it for the most part. There are a couple airplanes and booster tanks at one point, but that's about it.

Overall- I like to run this race because I'm on the coast anyway for Thanksgiving and it's a great excuse to eat all the stuffing I can fit in my face. :) Also, I've gotten times I'm proud of both years I've run it. If the opportunity arises, I'd definitely run it again!

As for recovery, I'm doing basically the same thing I did after the Jazz Half Marathon- today I got home, napped, did runner's yoga, then took an Epsom salt bath. Tomorrow, I'll be doing a lot of walking b/c I'm going to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival with a bunch of my friends. So far I'm in more pain than I was last time, but I think that's b/c I had to drive half an hour back to my parents' house after the race and then an hour and a half back to New Orleans this evening, so my legs are kind of stiff. They're not too bad though!

How did you spend your long weekend?