Sunday, December 9, 2018

Christmas in Candyland (WW #175)





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Candyland Half Marathon
Andalusia, AL
December 8, 2018
Half Marathon # 58

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Alternate Post Titles:
  • I Thought It Would Be Flat
  • The One Where I Dropped My Gloves in The Toilet
  • I Didn't Get To Use My Polar Slide Ticket
  • Bubble Snow...It's A Thing
  • A Pain in The Ass
  • Christmas Cookies, My Favorite

After tweaking my ankle last week and paying the neighbor dog's vet bill [bad dog, Rocky!], we decided not to follow through with our pricey Mississippi Gulf Coast Half Marathon racecation.  Thankfully, I had not registered and had found an option closer to home.  I ran 5.5 miles Tuesday morning to test my ankle.  

Mailbox Greetings!  (Whew--Ankle Feels Good!)

My ankle felt fine during the run but I decided not to run again as it was still hurting randomly during the week.  The forecast for the Candyland Half Marathon was 100% chance of heavy rain.  Sigh.  But by Friday,  they reported it shouldn't start until mid morning so I paid $45 for last minute registration. Sweet.   [See what I did there?  Candy...Sweet...]

A nice vintage 3/4 sleeve T-shirt

Christmas in Candyland is a popular event in Andalusia with attractions, rides, activities, lights, etc.  Their festive City Hall was open where Santa and Mrs.Claus greeted runners upon arrival.  And warm, clean bathrooms...   In our race bag, we received a cute I Ran With Santa! shirt and a ticket for the Polar Slide among other things.  Sadly, the attractions were closed due to weather -- I was SO going down that slide!  

Ready or not!

At the start Santa and Mrs. Claus lined up with the runners and after their kiss, we were off.  It began to snow.  Shooting from the tops of the old fashioned lamp posts were bubbles.  What a cute touch!  It was a damp, raw, windy mid 40's; the feels-like in the 30's.  With the first step, my right piriformis muscle hurt.  I searched my brain trying to figure out why and couldn't come up with anything.  It was perfectly fine on my last run.  I hoped after warming up, it would feel OK.  I also developed a side stitch in the first mile.  Ugh -- I know better than to drink coffee before a race!  Things were not looking good.



Being this far south, I thought Andalusia would be flat.  Ha Ha Ha.  I mean, Ho Ho Ho.  That's what I get for thinking.  I made it up legendary Hospital Hill and managed to shake my side stitch, but the wheels soon fell off my Candyland bus.  The combo of hills and the pain in my ass were too much.  When we looped through the town square at mile 4; very close to the start line, I thought about quitting.  I continued on.  After all, I had driven all this way.  Surely I could finish?

I slowed considerably.  By mile 9, I incorporated walk breaks to get relief.  The route was quite lovely through the quaint holiday bedazzled town and outlying neighborhoods.  It had gotten colder and the wind stronger.  At points we were so spread out that I couldn't see anyone up ahead and worried about getting lost.  But, there were volunteers or police officers posted at the many, many turns.  I can't say enough about the direction and enthusiastic volunteers.  

Festive Friends
Let it be noted I was not being a complete Scrooge.
I was wearing candy cane arm warmers.

I finished with a humbling 2:17 and medicated my sore ego with hot cocoa and Christmas cookies. Surprisingly, I saw familiar faces and enjoyed chatting with friends.  This race is fairly new but I think it will grow as it has a great theme and affordable price.  Christmas in Candyland would be a great day trip for a family with children, even if you didn't plan to run.

Now I'm possibly left with a piriformis issue.   Only a few days time will tell.  Should I have stopped?  Probably so.  As they say, hindsight is 20/20.


And that's a wrap!


Wendy and I host this linkup for
the sole purpose of supporting active women.
We thank you for linking your 
FITNESS  RELATED  POST  with us!
  

Small town or big city?  Which type of race do you prefer?

Do you have a holiday themed festival nearby?



50 comments:

  1. My race this weekend was "small town" if you count running around a shopping center small town! LOL. Your race sounds fabulous. Except for the PIA. I hope it calms the hell down!

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    1. "I ain't got time for no pain in the ass". LOL. Wow, when you type that out it really looks like the bad English it is.

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  2. What a shame on the race, it looks so cute! A time I could never get, does that help? Onwards and upwards and hope your bottom is fine soon (do you have a spiky ball to sit on? Good for piriformises (piriformi?).

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    1. Oh, I've clocked worse finish times. Mjuch worse. This race just didn't go according to plan. I got several tools for my achy PIA but I think it needs to settle down some first before I aggravate it further.

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  3. Ugh, I know what the piriformis PIA is all about. Hope it vacates your body as quickly as it arrived. That race sounds fun, despite all the hills. And for $45????? What a deal! I love all your alternate post titles ;-)

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    1. This race caters to young people as it benefits high school athletics. I think they kept the price low for that reason. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I could benefit.

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  4. Glad your ankle is OK, sorry you traded it for a literal pain in the ass. Agree with Liz re: spiky ball, gets in the nooks & crannies.
    I love the theme of this race -and your humor. What a good deal on a Half!

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    1. Right now the thought of a spiked ball in my nooks and crannies gives me shivers. Ha!! Once it calms down some, I'll definitely tackle it.

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  5. I have to say that I laughed at the alternative titles for this post, lol. This sounds like a fun holiday themed race, but sorry it was so hilly!
    Glad that your ankle felt okay but sorry to hear about the possible piriformis issue :(

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    1. I'm so bummed I lost my red 75 cent gloves! And UGH to fishing them out to throw in the trash can.

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  6. yikes hope you did not do any serious damage there! Sounds like a cute holiday race though. Love those alternate titles

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    1. I'm praying this is not serious or long term. I have so many races I'd like to run this Winter. It's prime time for us around here.

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  7. I am good with small or big, but since Mr. Judy prefers small & he's my sherpa, that's what we tend to do.

    I get pirformis pain on & off all the time -- on right now, but getting better -- hopefully yours will resolve quickly!

    It sounds like a really fun half. Hot cocoa & Christmas cookies sound perfect this tim eof year!

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    1. The logistics of a small race are so much easier to handle. I parked right at City Hall!

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  8. Sounds like a potentially fun race but sorry that you ended up with a piriformis issue! Ive had that problem way too many times and I really hope it goes away quickly.

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  9. I'm good with any race that has easy packet pickup and plenty of parking. I would love to do the Denver RnR, but the expo is not easy to get to.

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    1. The big city races can be a logistical nightmare. Parking always worries me.

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  10. Sounds like a good race. $45 for last minute registration? That's awesome! Wait...you dropped your gloves in a toilet? Those piriformis muscles are tricky. You never know what is going to set them off.

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    1. Yes, my red gloves went in the toilet (thankfully a few fingers stayed dry for grabbing) and then quickly in the trash LOL.

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  11. That's a great last minute registration price for a half! Hope you don't have a serious injury. I'm more of a big city type of girl for races...the bigger the better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure the registration price will grow right along with the race size.

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  12. What a super cute theme for a holiday race! $45 is a steal in these parts. The cheapest half I know of around here is $55. I wouldn't have stopped for that PIA either. Glad your ankle was ok.

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    1. I'm glad my ankle was ok too -- but it's just another lesson in "It's always something".

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  13. Ugh I'm sorry you felt those aches and niggles! I hope this coming week goes better. The alternate post titles are funny too :) I like your creativity!

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    1. Unfortunately, those aches and niggles are just part of life as this age. LOL.

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  14. I wish my 15K had decorations to look at. Instead we had empty streets and grey skies. BUMmer on your piriformis. (see what I did there? ;-D) Really, truly sorry for the mystery pain. I hope it resolves quickly. I really don't travel for races often, but today's 15K had a smaller feel with a field of a few thousand instead of 10,000+.

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    1. Having fallen in the largest race I've participated in, those big ones now give me pause...

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  15. There was a festive half marathon today but it was 45 minutes away and it was only 20 degrees this morning. I had zero motivation to do it! Although after seeing so many cute holiday outfits, I wish I would have. I hope your niggles go away!

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    1. There were cute holiday outfits aplenty at this race. I felt quite drab.

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  16. The alternative post titles are hilarious :) Great job on what sounds like a tough course. So many fun races in your neck of the woods! I hope the piriformis calms down.

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    1. Winter is our racing season so there any many options to choose from right now.

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  17. I'm so sorry your piriformis reared its ugly head during your race. It's always something, isn't it? Otherwise, it sounds like a fun race!

    Thanks for the linkup!

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    1. It is always something at this age. You just have to learn to roll with it.

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  18. I recently ran a small yet hilly race. It was nice but I have some big ones coming up.


    Hope your PITA disappears quickly.

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    1. I'm not sure I'll run anything really big in the upcoming year.

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  19. 58 half marathons- wow! Runners have a hard time knowing when to stop, don't we? Hope it's not too serious!

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    1. It is hard to know when to stop since we train ourselves to be uncomfortable in races anyway.

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  20. Oh, man! That's disappointing! I'm so sorry and I hope you are ok!

    We have several holiday runs in the surrounding towns - I am actually signing up for one today. It's just a 5K, but it looks like it will be cute. Hopefully :)

    Please take care of yourself! There's just a few more weeks of the year and injury is no way to go out!

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    1. I missed our local festive 5k due to heavy rain so I'm glad I was able to participate in this race!

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  21. I thought it would be flat! haha I have shared that thought so many times on race courses. Ive been mislead a few times.

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    1. There are so few races that are truly flat. I could probably count the ones I've run on one hand.

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  22. I think it was all worth it for that shirt! And I love that you pointed out the very un-scrooge -like arm warmers! Sounds like a great race and I really hope you fully recover and can get back out there soon...

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    1. I was very pleased with the vintage base-ball type shirt. It is different.

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  23. Cute race theme! I'm sorry to hear about your piriformis - hope you recover quickly!

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    1. I'm still working on that recovery. I'm afraid it's going to be a lingering issue.

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  24. Oh no! Hope your piriformis is feeling better too. My hometown has a Hospital Hill too - steepest hill in town. And I know of at least a couple others. Why are all these small southern towns building their hospitals by the steep hills?

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    1. Good question! Maybe they build on hills so everyone could see where the hospital was when they needed it.

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  25. I hope your piriformis issue resolves! It sounds like a fun race, although surprise hills always get me in a race.

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    1. I do better much better the second time I run hilly course. I can have my strategy in place.

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