Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Race Review

This was my first Rock 'n' Roll event to run.  They are expensive, but fun.

It was required that everyone attend the expo to pick up their own packet.  This is the first race I have ran that would not let friends pick up for you.  A bit of a pain, but the expo was good.

Doug, Randee and I went to the expo on Saturday afternoon.

Parking was $12.  Boo, but we were aware of this before we went.  Rock 'n' Roll did a good job of sending out updates and keeping racers informed.

Apparently they want you to Run Happy and not Bitchy.  The Happy Runners....nah.

We did LOTS of shopping!

They had a lot of vendors at the expo and all three of us bought something....or a few things.

Doug was very amused by the Human Jesus Lizard sign.

All in all the expo was great and I'm glade I chose was made to go.

We knew from the White Rock Lake Marathon that traffic could be a nightmare.    We left at 5am for the 8am start.  It ended up being perfect.

This was my first race that started and ended at different points.  We parked at Fair Park (the finish) and they shuttle you to the start line.

It was hard, but we finally found a Starbucks that opens early on Sunday.  It was very close to Fair Park and many roads were blocked off trying to get there.  We had to make multiple detours and drive in reverse, but we got our caffeine fix.

Randee and Brittany.  Is her tongue on that nasty glass?

Randee pointing out her boobs.  As if we did not notice those big ol' things.

All us girls ended up sporting our new compression socks.

 Talia's kick butt phone GPS got us from the Starbucks to the race, via a parking lot, in like two minutes.  We did not hit any traffic! Awesome.  We could see the highway's backed up as we snuck in and parked with ease.

I think we're becoming real runners.  Randee popped a squat by the dumpster.  Don't say gross.  You know your laughing.

We had to wait about 3 minutes to get on a shuttle.  Just long enough to take more pics!

Doug and I.  Ahhh.

The cool kids, Brittany and Talia.

The dorks, Randee and me.

I wore my first ever throw away shirt.  At the expo on Saturday it was nearly 90 degrees.  On Sunday morning it was in the 40's.  BIG difference.  Perfect running weather, but cold standing around weather!

Randee and Brittany cheesing it up on the school bus...aka shuttle.

Why's Doug's head so blurry?

Talia looks like she is in her bathrobe.

We were super impressed with the Starting Line Village.  The best part was that we arrived before the port-a-potties got super long lines and super nasty.

Even after popping a squat, Randee wanted to try out the un-poop filled potties.

It was about an hour before race time.  We had no problem entertaining ourselves.

Ha!  Randee and Happy in the same picture.  Funny!

We were peeing like rockstars.  You didn't know that rockstars squat?

The Start Line Village.  They had areas for water, food, medical, and a crap load of other things.

Doug was a happy man!  Nice butt Talia.

I'm not sure what Randee took....but she was VERY entertaining.

Brittany lookin' all fly.

Then Randee and Brittany had a boxing match.

Then we found Alecia from Tin Can Treader and her dad.

They rocked a 2:11:35.  They had the exact same finish time, but they placed Alecia one spot above her dad.  She was quite happy about that.

We were all in different corrals.  Sadly we all split up.  Randee and I got in corral 9.

Funny side note.  Randee put 1:30 as her estimated finish time when she registered.  She was in corral 1.  Thankfully elite runner Randee was kind enough to move back and start with me.

Our view for about half an hour.  They did a wave start.

Last minute self portrait.

And we're off.

5K done.  Why we have our mouths wide open I have no idea.

10K done.  Half of each of our heads.

I lost Randee around mile 8.

15K done.  How do my nose hairs look?

The course had a few rolling hills on the first half, and was mainly flat or downhill the second half.  The course was awesome. Downtown to uptown.  Lush treed & beautifully landscaped neighborhoods and parks. It really did show off the best of Dallas.  Live bands every mile and great spectators and cheer squads continually along the route.

There was water every couple of miles and every other stop also had Cytomax.  I actually liked the Cytomax and I never like sports drinks.  Around mile 8 they also had Gu.  Each replenishment station had plenty of supportive and entertaining volunteers.

My official finish time was 2:16:05.  I was hoping for 2:15:00.  I had a little left in me when I finished.  I could have done it.  Only the last two miles seemed to go on forever.  However, I only died about 2 times.  Not my typical 18.

Randee did great for her first half - 2:17:54.

The Sweaty Runners.

My splits:
Mile 1 - 10:33 (due to traffic that was nearly impossible to get around)
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:21
Mile 4 - 10:11
Mile 5 - 10:33
Mile 6 - 10:14
Mile 7 -10:43 (this mile had the hardest incline)
Mile 8 -10:31
Mile 9 - 10:16
Mile 10 - 10:11
Mile 11 - 10:30
Mile 12 - 10:03
Mile 13 - 9:50
.1 - 8:32 (my sprint to the finish & I swear I was peeing on myself)

We had to wait in the cold for a while, but we got to see Doug cross the finish line.  He had a huge smile on his face and was punching the air.  Not sure what that was about, but proud of him.

No pictures, but....

Talia finished in 2:09:41. 

Brittany finished in 2:06:41.

There was a ton of water, sports drinks, bagels, bananas, and other options at the finish line. Even as the last runners were finishing there was more then enough left.

We did not stay to enjoy the concert or festivities.  It was drizzling and cold.  And there were no wraps.  Bummer.

Doug and I joined Alecia, my parents and all the kids for lunch at Boston's.  We were ravenous.

Alecia and Doug were so hungry they were gnawing on their medals.

My lovely mom and Audrie.  It was Audrie's 9th birthday!

We considered wearing our medals to work on Monday.

My dad came to lunch like this.

We got home and I put on my compression tights and socks.  And iced.  And took ibuprofen.  Oh yes, and bathed.

And then went to the grocery store in this.  Sexy don't you think?

The Bling.

I loved the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half.  I will run it again. The course was awesome. The organization was awesome.  The entertainment was awesome.