Race Recap - Fairhaven Waterfront 15K

Let me start off by saying I got a little nervous for this race... 15K is a long way and the pressure was on... this was my "Racerversary Race" !  I wanted to at least get a slightly better time then I had earned in 2012.  Finishing and smiling was the goal but I did want that PR!  The race was happening in the beautiful city of Bellingham, WA about 45 minutes north of where I live.   My friend Carrie (who is training for her first Half Marathon and for Tinkerbell in January) was participating as well.  I picked her up on the way and we were off.  

After a quick stop at Starbucks we were headed north.  Traffic was a breeze and once we arrived we found parking very easily!  The race was starting off in the Fairhaven area of Bellingham which is kind of "old town" but very trendy.   We had not done early race bib pick up because of the distance so we quickly made the short walk to the plaza to pick up our bibs.  This literally only took less than 5 minutes.  

This race was seriously only $20 to register which included a tech shirt!  I love cheap local races that have cool shirts!

After a quick walk back to the car to re-adjust our fuel belts and drop off our cool new shirts... we made our way up to the start line.  

I of course was sporting some Sparkle Athletic (black sparkle skirt) at this race too... I can't do a race without one on and I am sure it had something to do with my finish time!  Respect the skirt!  

After seeing a few familiar faces at the start line - we were off!  Carrie and I were not planning on running together so we bid our "good lucks" to one another and set off to "run our own races".  The course headed north into downtown Bellingham which sadly in the beginning meant UPHILL... I made it and stuck to my intervals!  Once reaching the south part of downtown the course took a sharp left and headed down to the waterfront and marina.  HERE is a link to the course map.  The weather was perfect for racing but not too great for the "seeing the sights".  It was cool and overcast.  The waterfront at the marina area was pretty but there was no seeing the mountains today.  I was fine with that... last year at this race the sun was out and it was a hot one.  The cooler temps were a welcome thing!  I didn't take any photos during the race (sorry).  My intervals were going great and I felt strong throughout.  Such a different feeling from one year ago... I am not sure what I was thinking last year signing up for a 15K as my first running race ever!  Crazy girl!  This time last year during the last 2 -3 miles I thought I was going to die.  It was hot and I was done.   This time I was glad to be done but could have kept going!  Yeah - progress!  HERE is a link to an official photo of me at the finish that currently I am too cheap to purchase.

This was my friend Carrie's first time going this distance!  She did great... learned some things about herself and felt a real sense of accomplishment on her finish!  I am so proud of her!  

All in all I would highly recommend the Fairhaven Waterfront 15K race.  The course is beautiful and has it's challenges (just enough to keep it interesting).  The registration fee is inexpensive and the shirts are great!  There were tons of drawings in addition to awards for the age groups and overall finishers.  Loved this race and can't believe it has been one year since I began actually running in races.  Oh and for that PR I wanted... Yep... got that!  I shaved 9 minutes off last year's time!  Yahoo!  

Next race (s)... Harvest 5K in Stanwood (literally just down the road from my house) and my entire family is participating!  Saturday - Sept 28.  ...and Bellingham Bay Half Marathon... my 4th Half Marathon on Sunday - Sept 29!  Back to Back!