Race Recap: Summerfest Rock 'n Sole Half Marathon
This was my third year running a Rock 'n Sole race and my second year running the half marathon. Saturday also marked my first race since that bad car accident that left me on the receiving end of the crash and a swollen (still sometimes sore) knee. I've spent the last 6 months easing back into working out and running, hoping that my participation in this race wouldn't set me back or be a completely awful experience.
My morning started at 3:45, when I woke up to get ready. I had checked my weather app the night before (okay let's face it, the whole week leading up to Saturday) and was well aware of the 99.9999% possibility of rain. It was already low 50's and very cool, so I took a hot shower to wake myself up, made a cup of coffee, and started prepping my bag that B would be carrying with any "emergency" supplies I might need during the course of the day.
My first race sporting my Oiselle singlet as a Flock runner and an Oiselle temporary tattoo!
We left to venture down to the Italian Community Center (where we planned on parking) at 5:40 and had a quite easy time parking, which I wasn't anticipating. The freeway exits were all closed except one so I wanted to allow extra time in case traffic was backed up. Once we parked (woohoo for $5 parking!) I finished gearing up, B got his bike out of the trunk, and we were headed to the start line!
That is some intense fog!
Rain started sprinkling about 15 minutes before the race start and it was chilly because of that, but once I started moving, it was actually pretty nice to have the rain cooling me off!
Saying hi to some peeps at the start line!
I was not running this race for time, since my training was pretty lackluster and I had been dealing with some knee issues. So I set out to enjoy the run and the atmosphere of this wonderfully run race. The course was the same as last year, taking us north across the Hoan Bridge (I hate that damn bridge, feels like we are on it forever!), up Lincoln Memorial Drive, a vertical incline at Lafayette Hill, through the neighborhood on Lake Drive where there was a house handing out beer (!!) and then back down Lincoln Memorial Drive, in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World before ending outside the Marcus Amphitheater at Summerfest.
It seemed as if my mind and body went through my typical stages of running a race: feeling awesome until about mile 4-4.5, having legs that feel like lead from mile 7 to mile 10, then getting that second wind at mile 11 because hey, it's almost over!!!
I finished with a time of 2:13:50, which is much better than I thought I would have done considering the numerous walking breaks I took.
People who ran the race previous years got an additional bib signifying their alumni status.
Overall, I'm super happy with my performance and the race itself. Rock 'n Sole is a wonderfully run event with lots of water/aid stations, energetic volunteers, and a great course. I strongly recommend this race if you are in the Milwaukee area!
Check out my review on BibRave.com!
