I ran the flying pig marathon this past Sunday, and my mindset of a hill has officially been adjusted. Coming from Chicago, we don't have very many opportunities to truly experience running hills, but the Flying Pig sure lived up to the hilly warnings I had from previous runners. So, even though I had barely any training on hills, I still had a blast. The race is a combination of runners from the marathon, half marathon and marathon relay. The full and half split right before mile 9 which meant a majority of the runners turned the opposite way from us. Even though the runners had slimmed down, the crowd did not. We were running through a residential area, and there were supporters all along the way giving out oranges, candy, bacon (!), and (not kidding) hot dogs in a bun! There were plenty of water stations - almost one every mile. I enjoyed the course having many turns because it meant I didn't have to worry about where I was going, but could just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm not a huge fan of the tshirt because it has some "emojis", but that doesn't change my overall opinion of this race. It's not easy, but it's definitely a fun journey!

The Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago is first time I've ever run an 8K race. It's intriguing to me because it's the most familiar distance to me. It's the distance that I use in most of my everyday runs; however, as you know, races are different. I wanted to do the Shamrock Shuffle because I've heard great things about the race, and it was a good way to begin the 2017 racing season. I had heard the expo was great, but was slightly disappointed. I assumed it would be similar to the Chicago Marathon expo knowing that Bank of America sponsors both, but it wasn't quite as exciting. The course was flat and fun running through the Chicago loop area and up Mount Roosevelt (the hill on Roosevelt - given the name being the end of the Chicago Marathon) to the finish. I didn't need stop at the water stations, but I was surprised that there was only one or two of them along the course. Overall, I thought it was a fun 8K race, but I didn't think the hype was all it cracked up to be.

The New York Marathon is a very unique experience. The race doesn't officially start until 10 AM, but it is at Staten Island, so if you are staying in Manhattan, you have the option to take the bus (closer to the hotel) or take the ferry (farther, but more flexible). I chose the bus, which meant getting up early to take a 90 minute bus ride to the start where I would wait for another 2 hours for the race to start. Believe me, the views and the crowd on the course made up for all this hassle. I remember passing over the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn and just being in awe - seeing the Statue of Liberty and the tall buildings of NYC. The course was not easy, but the spectators were loud and encouraging. There was a lot of read to prepare for the highs and lows of the course, and I was forever grateful that I took the time to prepare. It's a hard race to get into, and I was lucky enough to get in through the lottery and loved every second of it (even if I did have to get up 5 hours before running a marathon :) ).

I am so sad that this race has not continued in the Washington DC area. I originally signed up because I heard all the buzz about the Tiffany necklace handed out at the finish line by a firefighter. Although that was a nice perk, this race was so much more than the finish line. To begin, the course was amazing as it passes by every monument and the fact that only women run this race is also amazing. It was a fast paced course, and the weather at the end of April was perfect. Public transportation was easy to the start line, and my spectators were able to rent bikes to ride around to watch me! Overall, this is the best half marathons I've run to date.