Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon Weekend (SLTM) is several
running events in one weekend organized by Running Alliance Sports. RAS also puts on the best events, with the
best swag, and I have wanted to do the SLTM for two years now, luckily this year
I was able to do it! At the SLTM they have green beer as a swag item at the finish.
As the name suggests, it is a entire weekend of running
events. Saturday has a half marathon
option or a half marathon relay (6.5 miles each), Sunday has a full marathon,
full marathon four person relay, full marathon two person relay, or a half
marathon. If you complete a half
marathon on both days, or a half on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday, you
get a third medal. If you know me at
all, you know that I love race BLING and I was all about these medals. Each year the SLTM has GLITTER on their
medals, so I was all about this race!!!!!!!!!
Saturday’s Half Marathon
Saturday’s half started with me waking up at 4:30 to get
dressed, eat, feed the monster, and stretch a bit before Aly came to my
house. I drove Saturday and Aly drove on
Sunday since Seabrook was so far and we didn’t want to drive out separately for
both days. We got their early and hung
out while waiting for the start. I taped
up my knee and foot, and also had some breakfast.
They sang the National Anthem and then the gun went off for
our start promptly at 7:15 am. The
course was two 6.5 mile loops around the Lucky Trails in Seabrook. At the 4.5 mile area there was a short turn
around with a water stop and a bathroom. I stopped to stretch and use the
restroom, plus ate some sports beans. The
rest of the first leg was pretty much uneventful, but the second one it had
started to get hot and miserable. I had
already not been prepared to run 13.1 miles since I had been injured and had
not been training, so I was prepared not to do very well. On the second loop I got to see my friend
Marney from the 30K I did in December.
After I finished the race, I found Marney in the food section and we
took a picture. I was so good seeing
her! After the race I waited for Aly to
finish while I was stuffing my face with a hamburger and ice cream! Running Alliance Sport has the best food and
race swag!
I finished at a disappointing time of 2:51:59, which is even
slower than my very first half marathon. Boo.
Sunday’s Four Person Full Marathon Relay
Back in November we registered for the Sunday four person
relay with me, Aly, my friend Debra, and my friend Kennisha as the four person
team. It would have been Debra’s first
running event ever and she was really nervous about it. I had given her a training plan starting at
the beginning of December, but about two weeks
away from the race she backed out saying that she wasn’t ready. We had to scramble to find a replacement, and
luckily our friend Claudia was able to run with us. Then, the morning of the race, at 4:45 am
(the race started at 7:15) Kennisha backed out because she had a headache.
:/ Luckily, Carberry (Aly’s BF) was
coming to watch Aly run anyway, so he was our last minute stand in. I was NOT up for running a second leg, so I
was super glad that he was able to fill in.
Aly and Claudia came to my house and we drove to Seabrook
together. We stopped at McDonald’s for
coffee and breakfast on the way and this group of guys (dads and sons on a
fishing trip) commented on our matching outfits.
We got there about 15 minutes before the start and Claudia
was our first leg. We had set up a camp
by the finish line and hung out there until everyone was done with their
leg. We all knew about what time we
wanted to be finished with our 6.5 miles so about the time we started looking
across the field for them, once they came around the corner the next person
went to the exchange section for their leg.
My leg of the race went ok, but I really wasn’t feeling the run. Some days are just not good running days and
this was one of those days for me. I had
run a half marathon the day before and was still tired from that, in addition
to still being burned out.
We finished at 5:22:52 for our 26.2 mile race of four loops.
-----------------------------------
Overall, it was not my weekend for running. I can blame it on my foot, my knee, the
trails, or the heat, but really it was that I was just unprepared and not on my
racing game. Racing burnout has gotten
to me and I am going to take a step back for awhile, especially while I am in
Kenya. No more races until AT LEAST May,
if not the end of the summer. (Minus the TIR race recap I need to write and upload)
For more pics of my St. Patrick's Day weekend, plus more pics of the races go here.
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