This half marathon was a little different from the other
two. My training this winter was awful…like - only ran 2x week - awful. So I
knew I wasn’t going to be breaking any records this time around. In fact, I
didn’t even have a goal time, really…I figured I’d be around 2:15 but I wasn’t
really worried about it. I had resigned a few weeks ago that since my training
was crap this time around, I was just going to try and enjoy the run. So my
goal was to have fun and enjoy the race…and not walk…or die. J
Since I was just hoping to “enjoy” this race (read: not push
myself to the point of wanting to quit) I decided it might be fun to find
someone to run with. That’s hard though because everyone runs at a different
pace. I was fortunate to get to run alongside a frisbee friend (Nikki) for her
first ever half marathon and Luke (our pastor at church), who is much speedier
than us, but was acting as our pacer. Anyways, I really appreciated being able
to run with them…it calmed my nerves a ton and just made it more fun!
Anyways, 7:02a the gun sounded and we were off! As usual, we
were stuck in a crazy mass of runner-traffic, but guess what? It didn’t bother
me at all! I wasn’t out for time so I didn’t weave in and out of people. It.
Was. Delightful. I just sat back, went with the flow of traffic, didn’t get
annoyed by people cutting me off, etc. Refreshing! The first mile was
definitely nuts, but it started to thin out a tiny bit after mile 2.
Mile 1: 10:05
Mile 2: 9:53
Mile 3: 9:41
Mile 4: 9:43
Mile 5: 9:39
After the first several miles I remember thinking “Wow, running with other
people sure makes the miles go by faster!” Maybe I need to look for a training
partner for all the time! I really enjoyed reading all the signs people
made…”Blisters are braille for awesome”, “Touch here for power”, “Worst parade
ever”, “Don’t (picture of poop)”…we had a good time laughing at them. It was
also around this point when we caught up to the 2:10 pace group who had an
AWESOME pacer. He was really making it fun for all the runners around him. He’d
sing, yell chants, get the crowd cheering, etc. He was really very fun!
Mile 6: 9:53
Mile 7: 9:36
Mile 8: 9:48
Around mile 8 the full marathoners turned right and we
turned left…and I thought “Boy, am I glad we’re going left and not right!” They
still had a longgggg way to go! We said so long to Luke (doing the full) and
went on our way. Some people think this part of the course is boring because we
run straight on a bike path for several miles, but it’s my favorite part. I
always run the bike paths near our house so it’s kind of like familiar
territory. And you don’t have to worry about pot holes, gravel, hills, etc.
Mile 9: 9:50
Mile 10: 9:53
Mile 11: 9:59
This year the half marathon course was a little different
and we turned off the bike path and back into neighborhoods around mile 11. Up
until this point I knew the course from last year but now I was in unchartered
water and wasn’t exactly sure where we were going. Not that I didn’t have a
crowd of people to follow, but still. I was starting to get more tired and then
it happened…a hill. They added a freaking hill at the END of the race! WTH race
directors?!?! It’s like they’re trying to make us die. J
Mile 12: 10:03
Mile 13: 9:18 ß Look, still had a
little energy for a kick the last mile!
Mile 0.31 (according to my watch): 8:44 ß
After 13 miles, that’s practically Olympic speed! Ha!
Somewhere in the last mile or so, Nikki pulled a little
ahead of me, but then I caught her in my “kick” at the end and said “Come on
girl, get it!” and I finished just in front of her. Glad I could give her a
little push at the end because she was pushing me quite a bit earlier in the
race.
OFFICIAL FINISH - 13.1 miles: 2:09:59 ß TOTALLY UNDER 2:10:00,
see?
That’s my worst half marathon time (out of the 3)…but you
know what? It was so fun, I don’t even care!! Was I disappointed in myself in
the week or two leading up to this race? You betcha. BUT it was too late to do
anything about my training (or lack of) so my previous goals went out the
window and the new goal was to just have fun. Mission accomplished.
After crossing the finish line, I grabbed my medal (woot!),
wrapped up in a heat sheet, chugged some water and stretched out for a bit. I
walked back to my car to get my phone and a sweatshirt and to drop off my mug,
etc. Then I headed back to the after-party to meet up with my friend Steph, so
we could get some much-deserved food. All in all, a very fun race day! And,
let’s be honest…almost anything would be better than last year’s pouring down
rain!
So now what? My legs need a break from long runs. BUT I know
plenty of 5k’s coming up to keep me busy. New spring/summer goal: break 24
minutes for 5k!!! Last year’s PR was 24:02 so I was super close…time to hit the
track for some speedwork!
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