Race Review: 🎶 2020 Virtual Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon 🍺

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

 

This weekend I had the opportunity to run the Virtual Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon! It had been a loooong time since the last time I ran 13.1 miles (since MARCH!) so I went into this race with the plan to take it nice and slooooooow and to enjoy each mile as much as possible. I was bummed that I couldn't be running on the coast of New Hampshire for this run, but I wanted to make the most of it! I had a great time enjoying the crisp fall air, and even vlogged my experience on my Instragram story which you can find in my BibRave Pro highlight on my profile!

I tried to keep my run right around an 11 minute pace, and it looks like I was right on the money! I'm really happy with how the run went. I will say that my legs started to feel the impact of the run around miles 9 and 10, but for the most part I was feeling really great for not having captured this distance in MONTHS! I was so happy to finally finish up my run and have it go as smoothly as it did. Because my race goody bag hasn't come in the mail yet, I decided to pose with a pumpkin as my finish line ~bling~ because my race outfit made me look eerily similar to a pumpkin. 🎃😂 I am excited to get my race swag in the mail to officially celebrate. Check out some photos of what I'll be getting below!

Race bib & sticker!

Quarter-zip sweatshirt!

Race medal!

I'll definitely be posting my swag over on Instagram once it arrives, so stay tuned for that!

After arriving home, I indulged in some puppy kisses, a nice hot shower, and a breakfast sandwich before logging on to the virtual finish line celebration on Facebook Live. Fellow BibRave Pro Ryan from IRunonBeer hosted the event which was so cool! One of the big draws of the live Rockfest event in Hampton, NH is the finish line party where you get to indulge in craft beer, lobster rolls, and live music. During the Facebook Live event, there was live musical performances, recipes to DIY your own lobster rolls at home, and Ryan even taught us how to create an at-home beer tasting! There was also plenty of opportunities to enter into giveaways for future race entries into some of Loco Running's upcoming events.

It was so much fun to chat along with my fellow Rockfest runners and enjoy some comradery even though we were all just hanging out in our own homes. One of the hard things about virtual racing is that it's tough to create that finish line feeling of joy and accomplishment when you're running by yourself in your own neighborhood. I think Loco Running did a fantastic job of recreating the finish line festival, and it felt great to have a commemorative moment after achieving another 13.1!

The rest of the day was spent lounging with Snowy and watching football. I also picked out a Smuttynose beer to enjoy as I lazed around for the rest of the afternoon - the Smuttynose Mysterious Haze Double Dry-Hopped New England IPA! I actually really enjoyed this beer and it's exactly what I look for in an IPA: juicy-yet-hoppy with a citrusy taste. 10/10 would recommend.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with the Smuttynose Rockfest Virtual Half Marathon. Race directors are having to make some seriously difficult decisions this year in order to make their races as safe as possible, but I know that they're trying their hardest to recreate the racing experience to the best of their ability. I really feel like Loco Running did a great job with Rockfest, and I would absolutely love to run the in-person event in future years. I definitely recommend that you do the same, and hopefully we can run together in person in the future! 🧡🍻

Friday (Saturday) Reflections // Reading Like Rory Gilmore ☕ + Happy Spooky Szn! 🎃

It's Spooky Season, y'all! 🎃 I think October tends to be one of the most universally liked months of the year. It's the first true ~festive~ month of the holiday season and the changing of the season always brings a feeling of a new beginning, and who doesn't love that? The leaves are gradually changing colors and falling to the ground, and my neighborhood is looking more and more quintessentially New England every day. I think Snowy's enjoying the cooler weather as well because it's becoming increasingly difficult to coax her inside after her walks. 

This month I'm participating in the Pageathon! This is a readathon where the goal (like the name suggests) is to read as many pages as you can throughout the month. To make it a bit more interesting for myself, I decided to give myself a theme to follow each week of the readathon. I'm not going to give any theme spoilers, but I will tell you that this week I'm reading like Rory Gilmore! ☕ That means that I'm only reading books that you can find on the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge list. I've been wanting to do this for so long, but I wanted to wait until autumn because I feel like autumn is the most Gilmore Girls season of them all!

I have a decent amount of books from the list on my TBR, so I chose four that I was most interested in to pick from this week. I don't anticipate that I'll be able to read all of these titles, but it will be great to have a good stack to pick from throughout the week before the next theme kicks in! Here are the books I'll be choosing from this week while sipping my coffee like a true Gilmore:

🧟 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (because duh - spooky szn!)

💡 Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

🎭 The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

💔 High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (on Kindle, so not pictured)

This weekend I'll be running the Virtual Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon, which will be interesting because I have not run anywhere close to that distance since March 😂 I'll definitely be taking it nice and easy, and try to enjoy my 13.1 mile journey. I'll be doing a virtual race review next week so you can get my thoughts on how the run went, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that my legs don't fall off! 😬

Chicago is CANCELLED 😭

Disclaimer: I received entry to Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

The 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, October 11, and race weekend activities have been canceled by event organizers and the City of Chicago in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. pic.twitter.com/ASTBlFbIEX

— Chicago Marathon (@ChiMarathon) July 13, 2020

I got this notification on my phone in the middle of a meeting this afternoon. I know I was expecting it but I'm still just so BUMMED to see it in writing! The 2020 Chicago Marathon has been cancelled and will not be running as scheduled this October. 😭 If you remember from my last post, Brett and I were making bets on how far into my training I would be when we officially got the news. He said 8 weeks, I said 5. Turns out we were both wrong, as today would have begun my fourth week of training (if you could call it that lol)! As disappointed as I might be, I am already thinking of the positives:

1. I no longer have to wonder about when the announcement will finally come. Being on the hook about this race has really messed with my mental game and I've found it really hard to focus or stay motivated to go out on runs.

2. As a direct result of #1, I honestly haven't been consistent with my training for Chicago. Now that I know for a fact that it is cancelled, I can focus back on other aspects of my physical health like flexibility and strength training which have definitely suffered during the quarantine. I'll add back in mileage after I've had the chance to work on these other pieces of my fitness!

3. I still (as of now) have Smuttynose to look forward to this October! I know that other races in NH have been running in the last few weeks, so I'm hopeful that I'm still able to head up to Hampton in early October to run the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon. I'm hopeful that because it is a smaller local race it will hopefully be able to remain on as planned, but I guess we'll just have to wait to find out. If you're interested in joining me in October at the Rockfest Half, head over to hamptonrockfest.com and use code "SAVE10" for 10% off your registration!

4. Depending on how the situation in Florida develops (it's not doing great right now, y'all), I still might be able to visit my parents on the weekend Chicago was originally scheduled, and maybe even run another race while I'm down there! I'm not entirely sure what the smartest decision is for that right now, but we'll keep an eye on it and potentially take another trip in 2020.

5. Chicago's contingency plan is GREAT! They're offering either a refund or a deferral to 2021, 2022, or 2023. I'm so glad that they're being so flexible with their runners. I might defer to 2023 because I'm not entirely confident that we'll be out of the woods yet this time next year, or even the year after that, but I'm going to give myself to think about it before making a final call.

6. I still have one marathon on the 2020 race calendar - Rock n' Roll Savannah in November - so we'll see if I'll be running another 26.2 come the fall. There might still be hope, y'all! 🙃

So, at the end of the day, everything's going to be fine. I'm glad I have time to refocus on my fitness, and perhaps get my head back in the game when it comes to training. I want to find discipline and motivation again. I want to keep showing up for myself. Now that Chicago has been cancelled (or really postponed, since I'll definitely be running this race in my future!), I feel like the pressure is off a bit and I have room to grow and recenter as an athlete.

How are you feeling about the Chicago cancellation?

Do you have any races still on your 2020 calendar?

2020 Half Marathon Schedule (So Far!)

Life in my neck of the woods has been a lil crazy lately in both my work and personal life (as it always gets this time of year!), so I apologize for the lack of life updates from me over here on the blog. I hope you all enjoyed my posts about my New Orleans trip (which you can find here, here, and here) because I had a blast sharing them with you! I'm hoping once I'm done with travel post-LA weekend (so mid-March 😂) I'll be able to get back to my normal blogging rhythm and update you on my non-running aspects of my life, but until then just know that even though I've been busy I've been having a great time!

I'm about to jet off to Orlando for Princess Half Marathon weekend and I am oh so excited! ✈ There will definitely be Disney posts and vlogs coming your way when I return so get excited for that! I feel like my full marathons get the bulk of the attention on my blog and socials, but because I'm about to embark on my first half marathon of the year, I thought I would highlight all of the half marathons I'm planning to run in 2020. (So far! There's always room for more. 😉) I really love the half marathon distance because I feel like while it's still a huge undertaking when it comes to endurance, it's also a distance where I feel comfortable trying to push the pace on. I hope to see some of you at these races throughout the year!

Disney Princess Half Marathon

Sunday, February 23
Orlando, FL

The Disney Princess Half Marathon has been on my bucket list since I was in college and I am SO JAZZED that I finally get to run it this Sunday! Like I said, I'll be posting plenty about my experience here and on my channel, but definitely follow along on Twitter and Instagram as I'm sure I'll be making plenty of posts in real-time. 👑

Providence Half Marathon

Sunday, May 3
Providence, RI

I love staying a bit local for half marathons and shorter distances. It allows me to make it either a morning or day trip instead of it being a multi-day affair like my marathons tend to be. I'm extra excited that my Half Fanatics membership got me a baller discount for the Providence Half Marathon this May because I've been eyeing this race for a while! Providence is only about 30 minutes from where I live so it'll be a great way to spend a Sunday morning after a crazy spring semester!

John & Jessie Kelley Half Marathon

Saturday, August 1
New London, CT

I ran this race last summer and I was totally impressed by it! This is a race that runs completely on runner donations and if you can't afford a donation you are still able to run it for free. I honestly wasn't expecting much more than an outlined course but I was blown away at how much volunteer support they had, how many water stations were available, and the fact that there were finisher's medals! This race is only open to 1,000 runners and the registration doesn't open until May, but I totally want to go back and maybe make this a recurring race for myself!

Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon

Sunday, October 4th
Hampton, NH

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

As I mentioned in my previous post about this race, I have been wanting to run the Smuttynose Rockfest Half for years, so I was pumped that I was added to the BibRave Pro team that was running this event! I am so excited to return to my home state and run along the coast, and I'm especially excited to experience the post-race party. There is plenty more on this race to come, so stay tuned! If you're planning on registering (which you definitely should!) use the code "SAVE10" for 10% off your registration!

Mount Dora Half Marathon

Sunday, December 20
Mount Dora, FL

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Mount Dora Half Marathon & 5K to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

The last half I have on my schedule (for now!) is the Mount Dora Half Marathon! I love me a good, festive race during the holidays and because now I'm usually down in Florida around Christmas, I'm always looking for a race that is near my parents. Luckily, the opportunity presented itself for me to run the Mount Dora Half in December! We have quite a bit of time before this race comes around (just a cool 10 months 😂) but I'm excited for the festive feel of this small town race! Use the code "BIBRAVE" for 10% off your registration and join me in Florida this December!

I'M IN!!!: Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon 2020

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

As I continue to build up my 2020 marathon calendar*, I'm noticing a severe lack of shorter distances lined up for myself. I tend to prefer stay local when it comes to non-marathon distances (because you know, MONEY) so I was thrilled when the opportunity to run the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon with Team BibRave came about! I knew I had to jump at the chance and I am so excited to say that I'll be toeing the line in Hampton Beach on October 4th wearing my very best orange gear. 🧡

The Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon has been a race I've been wanting to run since I started running long distances. It's in Hampton Beach, NH during one of the best times of the year in New England, and, from what I hear, has an *unreal* after party for its runners! Being a Southern NH girl myself, I am so excited to head back to my old stomping grounds and run along the coastline of what I will always consider to be my home state. I hope you all consider running the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon or 5K this October with me!

RUNNER PERKS

-13.1 or 3.1 miles of scenic New Hampshire coastline during one of the best times of the year in NH!

-Tired of getting a t-shirt with every race you run? Well, for this race you get a participant FLEECE! I'm so psyched about this!

-Access to the Smuttynose Rockfest after party featuring a festival including live music, beer (21+), and tons of delicious food!

It's going to be such a fun day and I cannot wait to head to Hampton Beach in the fall. I'll be sharing my training updates and more details about the race during the months leading up to October. If you're interested in registering for this race and running with me, head over to hamptonrockfest.com and use "SAVE10" for 10% off your race registration. Prices increase on Friday, January 24th so register soon for your best possible price!

*Seriously, y'all - it's getting out of hand. More on that on a later date.