Half Marathon Recap

Saturday, I ran my third half marathon. I'm pretty proud of myself so I thought I would write about it. I almost didn't run it because I didn't think I would be able to finish or get the time I wanted. I loved/hated my first two half marathons so I was nervous I would feel the same way this time. I didn't hate it at all!

 My training schedule was pretty simple. I only had five weeks to train and I didn't want to wear myself out running too much and adding miles too fast.. Instead of running x amount of miles every day, I used x amount of minutes. It was better for me because I had to push the double stroller on all my week day runs and it took off the pressure of getting so far each day. It is more difficult running with the stroller because my stride is different and I have to keep my hands on the stroller. 30 or 40 minutes was manageable to keep two kids happy in the stroller. I really think all the stroller pushing made me a stronger runner.

Long runs were really hard for me. About two weeks in, I just felt tired. Like I was working too hard and my body needed more rest. I was/am still getting up two or three times at night with Reagan and sometimes Bo and wasn't getting much sleep. So I cut out the long runs for rest instead. We ran a few 5/10ks on Saturdays but nothing longer. The rest really helped. My weekly runs got easier and I was getting faster. As nervous as I was about actually running the half, I thought I could do it.

Race Day!!
Saturday morning it was beautiful. A little chilly but almost perfect running weather. Dean and the kids were running the 10k. We got them all bundled in the stroller and were ready to go. 

I never run with music. Never in high school or college. I have tried several times but I just didn't like the distraction. I tried it again a week before the race and found it really helpful. Who knew?! I hadn't ever run with earphones though because I needed to hear the kids in the stroller. Amazingly, it didn't bother me too much. I had to switch playlists every 30 minutes which was a pain but it worked. I also ran with new ProCompression socks that I had only worn once before and a new SparklySoul headband, which I had also only worn once before. While trying something new right before a race is probably not the best idea, it worked for me. I loved both my socks and headband. 

 The start was kind of confusing. Maybe because we only got there 20 minutes before the race? There wasn't really a start line or timing mat so we all just sort of took off. We had a super long, downhill section and then would have a steep uphill at mile 4. These hills gave me both my fastest and slowest mile splits in a long time.  Lucky for Dean, the 10k turned around before the hill. It was a tough climb up but I felt pretty good and knew that I could use the downhill to my advantage on the way back.

Bo fussed so much Dean let him watch trucks on his phone. He really knows how to get what he wants.

My "realistic" goal time was 2:20. My "I really wish" goal time was 2 hrs. The course was pretty nice after the hill. There were a few small rolling hills but I felt pretty strong and good about my pace. I tried not to worry about my mile splits. I just wanted to run at a pace I felt good at. At about mile 8 I knew I could be close to finishing in 2 hrs. Next up was the hill. I tried to take the downhill nice and easy. Being that it was gravel and kind of steep, it was difficult. By the bottom my knees were trashed. It was much harder on my legs than I anticipated.

I knew that the last three miles were going to be tough. I have had knee issues for most of my running life but hadn't had any when I was training. I didn't think it would be a problem but my body didn't really recover well once I got to the bottom of the hill. I was hurting and just hoping that Dean and the kids were going to meet me somewhere around mile 11 or 12 to help me finish. There was also a guy running next to me who would run in front of me a little ways then stop and walk until I passed him a little and then do it again. It went like this for my last three miles and was so annoying. I tried not to let it mess with my head and just run my own race but it was difficult.

Dean met me at mile 12 and ran with me almost all the way to the finish. I am not always very nice to him when we run together but I was so thankful that he was there that last mile. Even when he told me the finish was right around the corner and it wasn't. Surprisingly, I had enough left in my legs to speed up the last 100 meters through the finish. I finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes. I got 4th in my age group and Dean got 1st in his and third overall.

I feel good about the race I ran and I know I left it all out there. I know I couldn't have shaved 7 minutes off my time so I am happy with it. I did what I wanted to do and now I'm ready for another one. Well, maybe in the spring and maybe with less hills.