As many of you know, I am an ambassador for Best Damn Race. I was their very first ambassador back when the series started and I grow to love it more and more every year. The BDR season kicks off every year in Jacksonville in January. I haven’t been since the first year in Jacksonville (this was year #4) so I was excited to head up this year and do the 10k.
There are a 5k, 10k, and 1/2 marathon in Jacksonville. The courses have pretty much stayed the same each year, but this year the start/finish was moved to Jacksonville Landing so those courses had to be changed up a bit. I wasn’t concerned about the course at all this year – I was concerned about the weather. We had a cold front come through the night before the race and the high for the day was only going to be in the high 40s. I know to some of you that is warm, but for this Florida native it is super cold. The only thing that was supposed to help was that the sun was supposed to be out. No such luck.
It was cold, windy, and overcast for the entire 6.2 miles. We had times where huge gusts of wind would hit us and you’d hear people around you yell out from the cold. The last few miles were along the river and even though the views were beautiful, those last couple of miles were super cold.
We were very happy at the end of the race when we knew we’d be able to get inside for some food, an adult beverage, and some heat! We even had a chance to catch up with some of the other BDR ambassadors. Even though it was cold, Jenn and I had to head out to the river for a couple of shots with that gorgeous background. Want some proof about how cold it was? We were so cold and in such a hurry to get back inside that we didn’t even remember to take pictures of our medals by the river!
So how was the race for me personally? Well, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I really hadn’t run since before Christmas, so I was worried about how that and the cold weather would affect me. I made it through around mile 4 with our intervals and then I had to start walking a bit more. My hips weren’t happy with me when I started the race, so 4 miles in they were REALLY angry with me. But I had a great time with Jenn and made it to the finish with a smile on my face.
BDR Jacksonville was just the first race of the weekend. After a stop at Maple Street Biscuit Company for a hearty breakfast we hopped back in the car to head to Jekyll Island, GA. We were going to be participating in the inaugural Jekyll Island Marathon and 10k (10k for us) the next day! But more on that later…
*Disclosure: I am a Best Damn Race ambassador which means that sometimes I get to race for free. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
