So, this is what I did yesterday. A half marathon. I had it planned for a couple of months. It was more of a "let me try and do this because I had an injury and I need to prove it to myself that I can come back" race. I set no expectations for myself. I did not have a time goal. My goal was to cross the finish line standing up and uninjured. I did so much better than I thought I would. I ran a 1:57:37 half marathon, which happens to be a PR for me. Go figure!
The race started at 10:20, so we left at about 8:00 for a 1 1/4 hour ride. We made it at about 9:15 to pick up our packets and tech shirt. Got in a short line for the bathroom and then decided to head back to the car for a change. The weatherman had forecast 62 degrees and sunny but it was anything but. It was cold and windy, with gusts 20-30 mph. I had originally planned to wear a running skirt and a sleeveless shirt, but was so glad I packed longer pants, hat and gloves. I did not touch my outfit during the race. That wind was pretty persistent.
The race started promptly at 10:20 with the 5K following at 10:30. Miles 1-5 were pretty flat with a few rolling hills. Miles 5-13 were HILLY. This was the most hilly run I have done. Usually what goes up must come down, but not this time. Just more hills. I felt myself slow down a bit and figured it was a combo of the hills and the wind and just concentrated on the miles passing. I knew if I could do 10 miles, all I had to conquer was a 5k which is do-able.
Starting around mile 9, I felt something going on with my toe. I was wearing fairly new sneakers, which I had not worn for a run this long, and I was concerned that my toe was bleeding. I stopped and wiggled my toe and started running again. The pain did not let up until the run was over :(
The course was a loop and after I passed the Mile 11 marker, things started looking familiar so I knew I was heading toward this finish. I thought maybe I would finish just over the 2 hour mark, so when I crossed the finish line and saw the 1:57, I was quite surprised and happy.
I would probably do this race again. It was small and I was able to run at my pace from the very beginning. At some races where there are a lot of people, you spend the first few miles dodging people and wasting a lot of energy to get to your pace. The course support was good, with water/Gatorade stops about every 2 miles.
The one negative about the course was that it was out on the road with traffic. Most of the time you were on the shoulder where it was single file running and difficult to pass people with the traffic going by. And people drive way to fast. Scary.
One thing I need to learn to do is take pictures while running. All of my pictures came out blurry. I need some tips from other running bloggers!
But here is a good one of a very happy girl!
