Sunday in Arkansas...State 16!

 

Arkansas, on March 5, was my second half this weekend.  So, this meant leaving Stillwater quickly after the first half and driving 5 hours to Little Rock.  Every time I got out of the car that day, I was a little stiff!

But I made it to the Expo, and it was nice to be at a big race expo.  Lots of vendors selling running stuff...and I only bought a pair of socks!  The Goodr glasses on sale were tempting, but I resisted!

I did, however, find a really good donut store on the way to the hotel and got two donuts...a lemon filled donut and a blueberry donut.  I planned to save one for after the race.

Then the fun began.  I arrived at my hotel around 6 and apparently was the very last person to check in because they had given my room away!  After about an hour or so, however, the hotel got me a room at another hotel, and they paid for it.  It was a much nicer hotel and saved me money, so it turned out really well!  This hotel also had a restaurant on the roof which meant I did not need to walk or drive to a restaurant by myself in downtown Little Rock.  The mix up definitely worked in my favor.

The view from the restaurant, even though I ate inside!!

The race did not start until 8, so I did not have to wake up super early.  And I was able to walk to the start about half a mile away.  The best thing about this start was that there were real bathrooms to use at the beginning!  Any time you don't have to use a porta-potty at a race, it is a plus! The race was a very fun race!  Lots of people running and tons of people supporting the runners throughout the town.  I didn't have time to explore Little Rock to really know what it was like, and part of the race was not in the most scenic part of town, but the people of Little Rock were awesome!!  There were so many people supporting the runners.  There were the regular aid stations, but there were also so many community groups passing out their own water and support foods, etc.  I saw lots of things I haven't seen before in races...mimosas, shots and communion!  I also saw men dressed as nuns, although at first I just thought they were tall ugly women!  And there was music throughout the race!  It was definitely a well-supported race.  And although the first half of the race was not the most scenic, it was flatter than the second half, so that was a plus! I went into this run thinking that I would be slower than Saturday since my legs were tired, but I ended up running about a minute faster!  My time was 2:24:27!  At the end of the race the music was "My God is Greater" and I sang along as I finished strong...right after I was given free lipstick!  

The start of the race

We ran over this bridge two times

After the race I had another quick clean up and check out...after eating my second donut.  Then I drove to Hot Springs for my massage.  Hot Springs is a National Park, but a very un-nature park.  It has a row of old bath houses on one side of the street and stores on the other.  And on the road were too many cars and motorcycles!  I had planned on soaking in one of the hot springs baths and getting a massage, but the baths were closed for repair, so I just got a massage at Quapaw Baths.  I also ate lunch at Superior Baths, bought soap and walked on the grand promenade. And of course, I filled up my water bottle with water from the thermal springs!  There was also a hike to an observation tower, but I decided against that so that I could start driving home.  

The Grand promenade

The fountains were hot water

This old bathhouse is now a restaurant

Traveling is fun, but after so much driving, and a long drive home, I was glad to be home and not driving anymore!  But it was definitely good to get two more medals to add to my collection and check off two more states!!