Double Bridge 15k race recap

It's almost been 2 weeks since the Double Bridge run!  This was my very first 15k and it was awesome. The race took place in Pensacola, Florida and my second time to race here!  My friend Pam and I drove down to Pensacola on Thursday, Feb. 5 to pick up our race packets.  We got a lot of free stuff including an extra long sleeved T-shirt! 

On race morning, Feb. 7, my alarm was set for 2:50 AM.  I don't think I have ever gotten up that early for anything!  4 of us were meeting at Pam's house at 3:30 so we could get down to Pensacola Beach to catch a bus to the starting line and had to be there by 6 AM.  Whew!  It was me, Pam, Katie M,, and my stepmother Beverly.  We made it there quickly and smoothly in time to hit up the restrooms and see a beautiful beach sunrise.  

The beach is my happy plane and where I feel most at peace.  We caught the bus and rode 9.3 long miles to the starting line.  By the time we got there and waited in line for the porta potty, it was time to start!  It was so crowded and hard to get into the corrals aaaaaand my music wouldn't work.  I have wireless headphones and I could not get my phone to sync with the headphones. Just when I was about to panic, they started to work and it was our turn to start.  But first, we take a selfie!

I had on a throw away jacket and shed it quickly.  The first couple of miles were through town, but some parts I could see the water to my right.

 I turned onto the first bridge after about 2.5 miles and it had a pretty steep incline.  I was super excited that I was able to run all the way up the bridge without any trouble.  It was a long 3 and a half miles on the bridge with the sun beating down on me, but I was thankful I wore short sleeves.  It warmed up really quick on that bridge.

My pace was pretty consistent in 10:40's and 10:30's and I was so excited to get off that bridge after mile 6 and get some water.  I did not run with my water bottle at this race to see how I would do and I did get thirsty.  I ran almost 2 miles on Gulf Breeze and it was back onto the second bridge.  Thankfully, there was one last water stop before the bridge and all I could see was this steep incline going up, up, up, just to get on the bridge.

 I was bound and determined not to walk so I ran all the way up the first incline and it curved to the right.  Then I realized, this bridge was a major incline.  I'm pretty sure we ran steadily uphill for almost a mile. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sure felt that way.  I checked my time and decided to try and finish in under an hour and forty minutes so once that bridge started going downhill, I started running faster!  This is the first race in a long time that I was able to really pick up my pace at the end and semi sprint to the finish line.

 I was thrilled my watch said my time was 1:39:15 and my official time was 1:39:09.  I had reached my goal!  I got a really nice finisher medal and met up with the other gals since they finished in front of me.  We ate muffins and took pictures and even took one on the beach!  

This was a great race and even though we had an early start, it was definitely worth running at the beach!  I hope we can do it again next year!