Half Marathon Results

The big run was on Sunday! After 12 weeks of training I completed my half marathon. I have to admit I wasn’t exactly excited about running that morning. I was suffering from an abscessed tooth the weekend before that ended with me in the ER in desperation. I would have taken any drug that would take the intense pain away (and I hate taking any medications if they aren’t necessary). I ended up not sleeping a single minute that night even on prescription pain killers. So I missed a day of training the Monday before the run. Monday morning the dentist took care of the tooth.  I was wiped emotionally and physically, but fortunately I was able to get back on track with training the next day.

Then the morning of my run I woke at 2:45ish and couldn’t get back to sleep (pre race jitters maybe). So I laid in bed till 4:45am when I got up to eat a small breakfast so that I would have plenty of time for it to digest before the big run.

My friend Lisa and I arrived at the race a little behind schedule. My husband dropped us off to go park and I forgot my stopwatch in the car. Ugh! Then Lisa and I were waiting in line at the bathroom for so long (the lines were crazy long) we thought we were going to miss the start of the race.

Waiting to pee=zero warm up time. I was able to get in a few dynamic stretches while waiting in line for the bathroom but that’s about it. However, I think the lack of warm up became an advantage in hindsight. I just took my first mile slow and used that as my warm up and quickly got into a nice pace that I felt comfortable with. By mile 7 I was ahead of my goal pace and still feeling great.

My kiddos and hubby were waiting to cheer me on at mile 9. My husband handed me my coconut water with raw honey and that gave me a little boost in energy. That stuff is better than Gatorade (in my opinion). It has all the electrolytes without all the added food coloring and junk that’s in most sports drinks out there.

Me at mile 9 ready for some coconut water…

My kiddos and husband were the ultimate cheering section! They stayed out in the rain and didn’t complain once. Here are my kids with their signs…

I felt great for most of the run, until I hit a bit of a wall at mile 11 when there was another uphill portion. The whole first half of the run was up and down hills but the route had evened out a bit after that. This hill at mile 11 hit me harder than the others. But I sucked it up and tried to keep my pace. Then with a mile and a half left I was able to pick up my pace and was even able to sprint the last portion to make my goal pace. As I was nearing the finish line, I heard the announcer say the time for the runners ahead of me and realized I was going to have to give it all I had to make my goal. I almost threw up after passing the finish line (fun… right?), but I was so elated to be done.

almost to the finish line…

Then I joined my husband and kiddos at the finish line to cheer on Lisa as she came in.

This was Lisa’s first half marathon ever, and she made her goal as well! She wanted to finish the run under 2:00 and she did (1:59)! I was so proud of her!

The race was an absolute blast! I think it will be the last 1/2 marathon I run (at least until the kiddos get older) because the training just takes up so much time. And of course, my first love is lifting, so I’m beyond excited to have more time to lift now and focus less on running. It was a great race to end on. I got to enjoy an amazing experience with a dear friend. Everyone involved (the organizers and volunteers were wonderful), and my family was such a great support. The thing I like best about distance running is that even if you aren’t close to placing (like me), you still have so much fun. It’s more about the experience and pushing yourself to see what you can do. This race was against my person clock, not to see if I could get first (because, lets face it, I will never be first… or even 3rd). I watch those who win these distance races in complete awe as they run a pace that I can’t run a single mile in. They are a-ma-zing.

I just love how everyone in the race is so positive and cheers everyone on no matter if they are first (and maybe even more so) if they are last.

So, while I will never be 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd in my division I was happy to have gotten these results:

• I got a PR (personal record) at 1:43:34 (7:55 mile pace).
• I was 30th out of 519 women (not bad).
• I was 12th out of 178 women in my age group.
• And I was 115th overall (out of 890 participants).

And if you read my previous posts, you will know I was attempting to keep all the muscle I’ve worked so hard to get while still running distance. I feel like I did an adequate job of that. Today was my first day back at lifting focused workouts (2 days after the race). I felt strong, and I’m ready to build more muscle. It will be nice to get back to 2 leg days a week but even with less lifting while distance training I felt strong most training days.

Here I am 1 day into lifting after the race. I’m ready to focus on lifting again!

And of course, a 1/2 marathon wouldn’t be complete without a celebration dessert.

I made these with almond butter rather than peanut butter and they are so good!

Thanks everyone for all your support! This run was an experience I will never forget.