Sunday morning started in the dark and me in a running skirt and tank top. My sister was wondering what else I was going to wear. It was warm enough that that was it. I put on my shoes and grabbed my #runchat hat and heading to the Palm Desert Civic Park to get lined up for my first half marathon of 2016.

Parking right around the Civic Park was plentiful and I had no problems finding a spot that was less than a tenth of a mile from the start line and very near actual indoor bathrooms. There were also plenty of porta-potties available so that runner could get all ready to go.

I chatted at length with the man who was parked next to me. He had on tights and a fleece which he intended to give to his wife shortly after the start. He thought I was crazy with so little on. I also talked to a man who has relatives in the Asheville area. He was running the 5K and had all kinds of questions about the Asheville races I run and what is happening there in June as he and his wife are going to be visiting. Then, a gentleman approached me. He was having issues changing his Garmin from bike to run. I give him credit as I usually forget. He had on tights, gloves, a long sleeve shirt and a tank over that. My guess is he is at least ten years older than I am and he had rode 50 miles the day before in Palm Springs and was running the half marathon.

As he and I were talking, my friend Tracy found me. She and I caught up quickly before the Star Spangled Banner and we were off. While we both thought we might finish at the same time, we each had different plans for the race so we ran together for maybe a half mile and said we’d see each other later.

Again, I was concerned about the potential flatness of the course. While not a pancake, I am use to rolling hills at the very least. This may look like more elevation change than there actually was.

I did take photos during the race but it was so sunny that many did not come out as I didn’t want to stop too long. I started off a bit fast but managed to settle down until mile 7. My hamstrings started to hurt about mile 7 and I needed to make a bathroom stop. By the time I got to mile 10 – I sometimes hate that only a 5K left feeling, I was so sore that I was walking more than I was running. Because of that, I am very happy with my 2:51 finish time. I did not really train for the race, having run two 10Ks earlier in January but not really doing anything longer than that.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Most of the roads that the race was on were three lanes of traffic. One lane of traffic and the bike/golf cart lane were available to runners.

While it was blue skies and sun, you had gorgeous mountain views for the entire race.

And, because I did both the running and the riding over the weekend, I came home with some extra bling.

Did you race this past weekend? Where – local or away? Or did the winter storm disrupt your plans?