I felt really accomplished (and exhausted) after the 20 miler Sunday morning, but by the evening after some stretching and stuff I noticed a strange soreness or tightness in my left groin. I recognized it from when I had pulled or slightly injured my right groin back in 2012 when I start training within 5 weeks after giving birth to Dorian and ended up limping through most of my 2nd half marathon 6 months later. I didn't worry a lot, I figured everything was sore down there and a day or so with stretching would help. It seems to flare up in the evening, but this morning I took Dorian and Rocky out for an easy 4 miler but ended up with only 1 mile due to the pain or soreness.
I just didn't want to risk pushing it if it just needs some rest and recovery, I am hoping and praying that a few days of no running will do it wonders. But I am seriously scared that the injury is already there, especially when I am constantly chasing Dorian around and never really getting the recovery I need. I've made it this far with my first training and I would just lose my mind if I can run the Monumental Marathon after all my hard work to get this far :'(
I am going to wait until Thursday or Friday, just keep an eye on things and maybe even ice that area when I can lay down for 15 minutes of so, and just keep praying that this is just from fatigue and a minor irritation that will go away with rest.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Closing out Week 16 with a 20 Miler
From the very beginning, I knew this was going to be a crappy run. I only got 5 hours of sleep last night, and I really, really, really wanted to stay in bed so that made things even harder. From the very first mile I knew it was going to suck, my right glute or upper hamstring was tight and annoying me already and I was only in the first mile. I was already contemplating cutting this run short and just calling it quits, the taper can begin early.
I kept going, trying to distract myself with other things and movies since I don't carry my mp3 player during runs anymore. I took my first gu at mile 8, and then my 2nd gu at mile 12 then the 3rd gu at mile 16.6.
I can't say how tough it was to push beyond 10 miles but I was absolutely happy when I had reached the half way point. But the moment that drew the most excitement was when I had reached mile 17, but I was so exhausted I couldn't really show it lol.
I had misjudged my route, and ended up with just over a mile of walking after reaching 20 miles so that really freaking sucked.
I ran 20 miles in 3:22:39 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile, an elevation gain of 320 feet and a loss of 328 feet. Throughout the whole run I would have doubts sneak in, wondering how on Earth I could imagine running 26.2 miles in a time under 4:30:00 when I have such an awful time during training runs. But then I realize something, I do these training runs... all these sucky and hot and freezing training runs, even the runs up to 20 miles by myself and sometimes when I am feeling sick or just blah. If I can accomplish that much by myself and through those odds, by freaking god I can complete 26.2 miles with a huge parade of runners!
Laps or splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:13
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:22
Mile 4 - 10:23
Mile 5 - 10:28
Mile 6 - 10:17
Mile 7 - 10:06
Mile 8 - 10:06
Mile 9 - 10:08
Mile 10 - 10:04
Mile 11 - 9:55
Mile 12 - 10:45 (I walked the hill between 11.3 and 11.7 miles)
Mile 13 - 10:04
Mile 14 - 9:42
Mile 15 - 11:03 (I happily walked the big hill between 14.3 and 14.7)
Mile 16 - 9:45
Mile 17 - 9:23
Mile 18 - 9:22
Mile 19 - 9:40
Mile 20 - 9:21
My second 20 miler is done, which closes out week 16 and so begins the taper (tomorrow) and I am really going to enjoy it. I have put in the training, taken on many challenges and I know I will complete the Monumental Marathon on November 1.
I kept going, trying to distract myself with other things and movies since I don't carry my mp3 player during runs anymore. I took my first gu at mile 8, and then my 2nd gu at mile 12 then the 3rd gu at mile 16.6.
I can't say how tough it was to push beyond 10 miles but I was absolutely happy when I had reached the half way point. But the moment that drew the most excitement was when I had reached mile 17, but I was so exhausted I couldn't really show it lol.
I had misjudged my route, and ended up with just over a mile of walking after reaching 20 miles so that really freaking sucked.
I ran 20 miles in 3:22:39 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile, an elevation gain of 320 feet and a loss of 328 feet. Throughout the whole run I would have doubts sneak in, wondering how on Earth I could imagine running 26.2 miles in a time under 4:30:00 when I have such an awful time during training runs. But then I realize something, I do these training runs... all these sucky and hot and freezing training runs, even the runs up to 20 miles by myself and sometimes when I am feeling sick or just blah. If I can accomplish that much by myself and through those odds, by freaking god I can complete 26.2 miles with a huge parade of runners!
Laps or splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:13
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:22
Mile 4 - 10:23
Mile 5 - 10:28
Mile 6 - 10:17
Mile 7 - 10:06
Mile 8 - 10:06
Mile 9 - 10:08
Mile 10 - 10:04
Mile 11 - 9:55
Mile 12 - 10:45 (I walked the hill between 11.3 and 11.7 miles)
Mile 13 - 10:04
Mile 14 - 9:42
Mile 15 - 11:03 (I happily walked the big hill between 14.3 and 14.7)
Mile 16 - 9:45
Mile 17 - 9:23
Mile 18 - 9:22
Mile 19 - 9:40
Mile 20 - 9:21
My second 20 miler is done, which closes out week 16 and so begins the taper (tomorrow) and I am really going to enjoy it. I have put in the training, taken on many challenges and I know I will complete the Monumental Marathon on November 1.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
I think I already talked about Wednesday's 10 miler...... and the Lunar Eclipse.
Thursday morning I was more prepared for the weather conditions, Rocky and I ran 4.2 miles in 43:22 with an average pace of 10:19 min/mile. Then Friday's morning 6 didn't happen due to mommy duties so Rocky and I had to get it in during the evening which meant I was wore out from a day of chasing Dorian around. It started out relatively easy and slow, and in the rain but we picked it up because picking up the pace helped my upper right hamstring, or maybe it was the bottom part of my butt cheek....... hmmm... we ran 6 miles in 58:28 with an average pace of 9:44 min/mile which I do have to admit feels relatively easy... especially if I wasn't on hills so I am hoping AND praying that I can hold that pace during the first half of the marathon and maybe pick things up.
Mile 1 - 10:28
Mile 2 - 9:58
Mile 3 - 10:01
Mile 4 - 9:53
Mile 5 - 9:28
Mile 6 - 8:39
I was definitely already feeling recovered and well, so I am feeling pretty positive about my training.
This morning Rocky and I ran 4.8 in 49:55 with an average pace of 10:24 min/mile, to equal out 30 miles before my long run tomorrow. So far it doesn't look like much rain so I am keeping my fingers crossed, I am hoping I can get a 20 miler in but will be just as pleased if I can get in 18 before my taper begins.
Thursday morning I was more prepared for the weather conditions, Rocky and I ran 4.2 miles in 43:22 with an average pace of 10:19 min/mile. Then Friday's morning 6 didn't happen due to mommy duties so Rocky and I had to get it in during the evening which meant I was wore out from a day of chasing Dorian around. It started out relatively easy and slow, and in the rain but we picked it up because picking up the pace helped my upper right hamstring, or maybe it was the bottom part of my butt cheek....... hmmm... we ran 6 miles in 58:28 with an average pace of 9:44 min/mile which I do have to admit feels relatively easy... especially if I wasn't on hills so I am hoping AND praying that I can hold that pace during the first half of the marathon and maybe pick things up.
Mile 1 - 10:28
Mile 2 - 9:58
Mile 3 - 10:01
Mile 4 - 9:53
Mile 5 - 9:28
Mile 6 - 8:39
I was definitely already feeling recovered and well, so I am feeling pretty positive about my training.
This morning Rocky and I ran 4.8 in 49:55 with an average pace of 10:24 min/mile, to equal out 30 miles before my long run tomorrow. So far it doesn't look like much rain so I am keeping my fingers crossed, I am hoping I can get a 20 miler in but will be just as pleased if I can get in 18 before my taper begins.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Week 16 So Far
Yesterday morning's 5 miler was sore, and a bit tight but not bad though probably the slowest I've ran a 5 miler in a while. Temperature was nice and around 59 degrees, and Rocky was happy to be out.
We ran 5 miles in 54:00 with an average pace of 10:47 min/mile, definitely slow and easy. I could feel my right hamstring and butt cheek try to tighten up every once and a while, but not bad.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 10:29
Mile 3 - 10:51
Mile 4 - 10:50
Mile 5 - 10:39
Like I said, definitely slow and easy. I did some foam rolling yesterday and some stretching, but wasn't really feeling tight or anything throughout the day.
This morning was a no excuse morning, I was making damn sure that I was getting up in time for the Lunar Eclipse. And though I still felt sore and sluggish, Rocky and I (most I) enjoyed watching our first Lunar Eclipse from beginning to end. It made things so much easier, like getting spooked by 3 or 4 different skunks 4 different times and the constant wedgie I was dealing with. I am honestly so sick of wearing shorts damn it.
We started off slow, but truly the whole run itself was a slowish pace, not my usual 10 miler BUT I said I would take this week relatively easy and not push myself into an injury so that is what I am doing.
We ran 10 miles in 1:44:56 with an average pace of 10:29 min/mile, elevation gain of 219 feet and a loss of 217 feet.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:07
Mile 2 - 10:47
Mile 3 - 10:36
Mile 4 - 10:24
Mile 5 - 10:06
Mile 6 - 10:22
Mile 7 - 10:16
Mile 8 - 10:36
Mile 9 - 10:24
Mile 10 - 10:17
So I am feeling pretty good, so that is a good sign.
One of my friends on RA just ran her first marathon and didn't do well, her goal was around 4 hours and she ended up finishing close to 5 hours so now I am really questioning my goals. She of course has only ran 2 half marathons before she began a Hidgon plan or whatever, and somewhere after mile 13 her throat started acting up severely, and the warm weather didn't help her at all. Hopefully it was a fluke and she'll have a much better 2nd marathon.
We ran 5 miles in 54:00 with an average pace of 10:47 min/mile, definitely slow and easy. I could feel my right hamstring and butt cheek try to tighten up every once and a while, but not bad.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 10:29
Mile 3 - 10:51
Mile 4 - 10:50
Mile 5 - 10:39
Like I said, definitely slow and easy. I did some foam rolling yesterday and some stretching, but wasn't really feeling tight or anything throughout the day.
This morning was a no excuse morning, I was making damn sure that I was getting up in time for the Lunar Eclipse. And though I still felt sore and sluggish, Rocky and I (most I) enjoyed watching our first Lunar Eclipse from beginning to end. It made things so much easier, like getting spooked by 3 or 4 different skunks 4 different times and the constant wedgie I was dealing with. I am honestly so sick of wearing shorts damn it.
We started off slow, but truly the whole run itself was a slowish pace, not my usual 10 miler BUT I said I would take this week relatively easy and not push myself into an injury so that is what I am doing.
We ran 10 miles in 1:44:56 with an average pace of 10:29 min/mile, elevation gain of 219 feet and a loss of 217 feet.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:07
Mile 2 - 10:47
Mile 3 - 10:36
Mile 4 - 10:24
Mile 5 - 10:06
Mile 6 - 10:22
Mile 7 - 10:16
Mile 8 - 10:36
Mile 9 - 10:24
Mile 10 - 10:17
So I am feeling pretty good, so that is a good sign.
One of my friends on RA just ran her first marathon and didn't do well, her goal was around 4 hours and she ended up finishing close to 5 hours so now I am really questioning my goals. She of course has only ran 2 half marathons before she began a Hidgon plan or whatever, and somewhere after mile 13 her throat started acting up severely, and the warm weather didn't help her at all. Hopefully it was a fluke and she'll have a much better 2nd marathon.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Less than 4 Weeks Away.... The Crazy Thoughts Begin
So the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is less than 4 weeks away, pretty soon to be 3 weeks away. My final long run this Sunday will be 18 miles and the I will start cutting things back, the week after the 18 miler won't see any cutbacks but the long run will be 12-15 miles, then the week following that will show a couple of cutbacks during the week, not much yet but the long run a week before the race will be around 10 miles. Then I think I am going to run Tuesday and Wednesday, then maybe a very easy 2-3 miler Friday morning the day before the race.
I am seriously questioning my taper, the final 2 weeks of this training cycle is going to be the most insane.
Link to my training plan on www.runningahead.com
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6d1d5cb5e27e4230a9d79029229a9ba6/plans/453
I am not following any plan, I've read through many plans when I was coming up with mine and then I just customized it to fit me and work for me. The last 15 weeks have gone great, but now the final 3-4 weeks are weighing heavily on me.... am I doing it right.... do I need to cut back more or have I cut back too much? And of course it feels like 3 1/2 weeks are going to take freaking forever!! I hate listening to myself, and now myself is going to get louder and louder as the days go by.
Aaaaaaaaccck!!!
I was pretty sore last night, I could hardly sleep due to my right quad being tight and my right calf being tight but I am feeling quite a bit better today. I've got a 5 miler tomorrow morning, just going to take it easy and listen to my body.
I am seriously questioning my taper, the final 2 weeks of this training cycle is going to be the most insane.
Link to my training plan on www.runningahead.com
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6d1d5cb5e27e4230a9d79029229a9ba6/plans/453
I am not following any plan, I've read through many plans when I was coming up with mine and then I just customized it to fit me and work for me. The last 15 weeks have gone great, but now the final 3-4 weeks are weighing heavily on me.... am I doing it right.... do I need to cut back more or have I cut back too much? And of course it feels like 3 1/2 weeks are going to take freaking forever!! I hate listening to myself, and now myself is going to get louder and louder as the days go by.
Aaaaaaaaccck!!!
I was pretty sore last night, I could hardly sleep due to my right quad being tight and my right calf being tight but I am feeling quite a bit better today. I've got a 5 miler tomorrow morning, just going to take it easy and listen to my body.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
1st Annual Blood Moon Run 5k (the night after the half Marathon)
So as you know, yesterday morning I ran the 2014 Evansville Half Marathon and besting my 2013 PR by 3 minutes and 26 seconds by finishing in 1:53:12 with an average pace of 8:39 min/mile. It was a tough race, unlike all my other half marathons I was running on fatigued legs but I toughed it out and focused on keeping a steady pace and keeping it under 9 min/mile.
It was tough, and I was definitely feeling it afterwards but I had my Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator tablets and my Gaspari Nutrition BCAA tablets to take within 20 minutes (took me 10 minutes to get from the finish to my Tahoe). I didn't really eat much throughout the day, honestly I wasn't really that hungry but I did manage to have a good sized lunch at Denny's (Banana Pecan Pancakes, two orders of scrambled eggs and 4 pcs of turkey bacon) and then I took two more of my Tissue Rejuvenator tablets later that afternoon.
I had signed up for the Blood Moon Run 5k a week ago, don't ask why but I think it was pretty much because of the name of the race (love it!) before I looked at the date lol. I told myself I would take it easy, run this as a cool down. I had no idea what the course was like, and within the first quarter of a mile there was a gigantic hill, almost 100 feet in less than half a mile, not exactly what I am used to though some would just scoff at this lol. It definitely took the wind out of me, but I didn't walk it at all and having people around me that knew I had just ran the half marathon that morning pushed me more. I didn't want to walk during a 5k.
A friend of mine that I knew ran the half marathon that morning as well, she had gotten ahead of me during the hill and just about disappeared. She is training for her first 50k which is also on November 1, so she is pretty tough. Well, we came to a fork about a half mile in the race and she and a few others took the wrong turn. I tried to take advantage of that as we were now going down hill, but I could hear she was already close behind me. The second hill, just after mile 1 wasn't nearly as big as the first one but it gave her a chance to pass me again but I managed to keep her within 20 feet ahead of me. Throughout the rest of the race she would yo-yo between 10 and 30 feet ahead of me, and my plan to take it easy had gone out the window. I gave chase and stayed on her, not sure if I had the strength or energy to pass her but I just kept a steady pace. As we came around the turn to the finish, she and I gave a great kick but she managed to finish 2 seconds ahead of me.
I finished the 5k in 26:37 with an average pace of 8:34 min/mile, 185 feet in elevation gain total and a loss of 188 feet.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 9:20
Mile 2 - 9:28
Mile 3 - 8:08
Overall: 8th out of 32
Gender: 3 out of 21
Yeah, it ended up not being an easy, slow run but I really enjoyed the challenge and my friend thanked me for pushing her (she ran 10 miles this morning, after having ran 13.1 yesterday morning and 3.1 that night!) I hope I can gain as much endurance and strength when I begin my training for my first 50k next year.
I am feeling pretty good this morning, a little sore but not bad. I am not running today or tomorrow, just going to stretch and foam roll and then resume my training on Tuesday, keeping in mind to take it easy.
It was tough, and I was definitely feeling it afterwards but I had my Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator tablets and my Gaspari Nutrition BCAA tablets to take within 20 minutes (took me 10 minutes to get from the finish to my Tahoe). I didn't really eat much throughout the day, honestly I wasn't really that hungry but I did manage to have a good sized lunch at Denny's (Banana Pecan Pancakes, two orders of scrambled eggs and 4 pcs of turkey bacon) and then I took two more of my Tissue Rejuvenator tablets later that afternoon.
I had signed up for the Blood Moon Run 5k a week ago, don't ask why but I think it was pretty much because of the name of the race (love it!) before I looked at the date lol. I told myself I would take it easy, run this as a cool down. I had no idea what the course was like, and within the first quarter of a mile there was a gigantic hill, almost 100 feet in less than half a mile, not exactly what I am used to though some would just scoff at this lol. It definitely took the wind out of me, but I didn't walk it at all and having people around me that knew I had just ran the half marathon that morning pushed me more. I didn't want to walk during a 5k.
A friend of mine that I knew ran the half marathon that morning as well, she had gotten ahead of me during the hill and just about disappeared. She is training for her first 50k which is also on November 1, so she is pretty tough. Well, we came to a fork about a half mile in the race and she and a few others took the wrong turn. I tried to take advantage of that as we were now going down hill, but I could hear she was already close behind me. The second hill, just after mile 1 wasn't nearly as big as the first one but it gave her a chance to pass me again but I managed to keep her within 20 feet ahead of me. Throughout the rest of the race she would yo-yo between 10 and 30 feet ahead of me, and my plan to take it easy had gone out the window. I gave chase and stayed on her, not sure if I had the strength or energy to pass her but I just kept a steady pace. As we came around the turn to the finish, she and I gave a great kick but she managed to finish 2 seconds ahead of me.
I finished the 5k in 26:37 with an average pace of 8:34 min/mile, 185 feet in elevation gain total and a loss of 188 feet.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 9:20
Mile 2 - 9:28
Mile 3 - 8:08
Overall: 8th out of 32
Gender: 3 out of 21
Yeah, it ended up not being an easy, slow run but I really enjoyed the challenge and my friend thanked me for pushing her (she ran 10 miles this morning, after having ran 13.1 yesterday morning and 3.1 that night!) I hope I can gain as much endurance and strength when I begin my training for my first 50k next year.
I am feeling pretty good this morning, a little sore but not bad. I am not running today or tomorrow, just going to stretch and foam roll and then resume my training on Tuesday, keeping in mind to take it easy.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
The 2014 Evansville Half Marathon
I am very loyal to this race, as it is the race that inspired me to begin my running journey so as long as nothing stands in my way I will run the race every year... can't always guarantee that I'll "race" it but I will run it.
First I want to point out that I have been training for a marathon, my first marathon that is - and I am not using this as an excuse but all experienced marathoners know how fatigued and tired your legs and body are feeling in the final weeks of training (this being week 15 out of 19 weeks for me) so trying to get a PR during a half marathon isn't easy.
But my A goal was to better my current PR of 1:56:38, and at the rate I have been feeling lately, I would be lucky if I got close to that time.
Post Race: I took it pretty easy this week, taking Friday off for rest as my legs were already complaining (nothing new there) and I wanted to be as fresh as I possibly could but still feel almost as if this half marathon was the final 13.1 miles of a marathon.
I woke up at 3:15 AM to eat a Cinnamon Raisin English muffin with some Peanut Butter (Touch of Honey) and drank some water, then I laid back on the couch to sleep until 5 AM. I think I actually slept from 4:15 to 5 AM, I got up and got dressed and had some coffee. Went to the bathroom, put my hair up then messed around a bit before going out and starting the Tahoe to warm up. Hubby came out of the bedroom and wished me luck, then went back to bed lol.
I parked at the YMCA, just a quarter of a mile or so away from the start/finish but I knew I would be able to drive out of there without hitting any of the course. A bunch of people were already there, it was 43 degrees but I chose to wear my dri-fit nike tee, capris and gloves and sunglasses. Luckily we could go into the YMCA building and hang out and use the restrooms while staying warm.
The start: I lined up around the 2:00:00 pace group, but I had my eye on the 1:50:00 group. From the moment we started, I questioned my goals because both calves, both hamstrings and my glutes were tight and sore, they weren't happy at all. I told myself to just please get under 2 hours but I even questioned that at this point.
Mile 1 - 8:51
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 8:45
5k split - 27:12
Things were easing up a little at this point, though I was hoping and praying my shins wouldn't act up. I have a huge bruise on my right shin, not sure where it came from but last Saturday's run on bricks and stones hurt like hell, I feared I had shin splints.
Not potty breaks yet, a good sign. I had lost sight of the 1:50:00 group but I was still ahead of the 2:00:00 group so that was good.
Mile 4 - 8:41
Mile 5 - 8:30
Mile 6 - 8:36
10k split - 53:47
Still no potty breaks! And my body was easing up some, I was passing people and people were passing me. At this point we had reached the greenway, luckily the crowd had thinned out some so I wasn't slowed down or bottlenecked. There is quite a bit of hills on this way, but they didn't seem to be giving me any difficulties. I just wanted to focus and stay on pace, stay under a 9 minute pace no matter what.
Mile 7 - 8:31
Mile 8 - 8:38
Mile 9 - 8:48
15k split - 1:20:26
I am pretty sure that both the 10k split and the 15k split are record PRs for me, I think I knocked a minute off my 10k PR and 4 minutes off my 15k PR. Still no potty breaks, but I was definitely feeling exhausted and tired but I knew I just had to keep going to the end. I knew at this point that as long as I kept running I was going to get a sub 2 hour at least, but math isn't my strong suit and it damn sure isn't when I am running so I had no idea what my finish time would be. It was only 43 degrees but at this point the sun beating down on me was becoming unbearable.
Mile 10 - 8:33
Mile 11 - 8:22
Mile 12 - 8:44
Mile 13 - 8:37
Mile 13.1 - 7:23
My official time was 1:53:12 with an average pace of 8:39 min/mile, my old PR was 1:56:38.
Overall: 400 out of 1,975
Gender: 132 out of 1,191
Division: F 25-29 : 25 out of 148
Even in the heat of my first marathon training, I managed to PR during this half marathon by 3 minutes and 26 seconds. I am tired, I am extremely sore and I still have a 5k to run tonight.... I am pretty sure I'll be taking it easy tonight. Tomorrow and Monday are going to be rest/recovery days for sure. Once there are pics posted I will edit this RR.
At this point I don't even want to think about the marathon I've got to run in 4 weeks lol....
First I want to point out that I have been training for a marathon, my first marathon that is - and I am not using this as an excuse but all experienced marathoners know how fatigued and tired your legs and body are feeling in the final weeks of training (this being week 15 out of 19 weeks for me) so trying to get a PR during a half marathon isn't easy.
But my A goal was to better my current PR of 1:56:38, and at the rate I have been feeling lately, I would be lucky if I got close to that time.
Post Race: I took it pretty easy this week, taking Friday off for rest as my legs were already complaining (nothing new there) and I wanted to be as fresh as I possibly could but still feel almost as if this half marathon was the final 13.1 miles of a marathon.
I woke up at 3:15 AM to eat a Cinnamon Raisin English muffin with some Peanut Butter (Touch of Honey) and drank some water, then I laid back on the couch to sleep until 5 AM. I think I actually slept from 4:15 to 5 AM, I got up and got dressed and had some coffee. Went to the bathroom, put my hair up then messed around a bit before going out and starting the Tahoe to warm up. Hubby came out of the bedroom and wished me luck, then went back to bed lol.
I parked at the YMCA, just a quarter of a mile or so away from the start/finish but I knew I would be able to drive out of there without hitting any of the course. A bunch of people were already there, it was 43 degrees but I chose to wear my dri-fit nike tee, capris and gloves and sunglasses. Luckily we could go into the YMCA building and hang out and use the restrooms while staying warm.
The start: I lined up around the 2:00:00 pace group, but I had my eye on the 1:50:00 group. From the moment we started, I questioned my goals because both calves, both hamstrings and my glutes were tight and sore, they weren't happy at all. I told myself to just please get under 2 hours but I even questioned that at this point.
Mile 1 - 8:51
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 8:45
5k split - 27:12
Things were easing up a little at this point, though I was hoping and praying my shins wouldn't act up. I have a huge bruise on my right shin, not sure where it came from but last Saturday's run on bricks and stones hurt like hell, I feared I had shin splints.
Not potty breaks yet, a good sign. I had lost sight of the 1:50:00 group but I was still ahead of the 2:00:00 group so that was good.
Mile 4 - 8:41
Mile 5 - 8:30
Mile 6 - 8:36
10k split - 53:47
Still no potty breaks! And my body was easing up some, I was passing people and people were passing me. At this point we had reached the greenway, luckily the crowd had thinned out some so I wasn't slowed down or bottlenecked. There is quite a bit of hills on this way, but they didn't seem to be giving me any difficulties. I just wanted to focus and stay on pace, stay under a 9 minute pace no matter what.
Mile 7 - 8:31
Mile 8 - 8:38
Mile 9 - 8:48
15k split - 1:20:26
I am pretty sure that both the 10k split and the 15k split are record PRs for me, I think I knocked a minute off my 10k PR and 4 minutes off my 15k PR. Still no potty breaks, but I was definitely feeling exhausted and tired but I knew I just had to keep going to the end. I knew at this point that as long as I kept running I was going to get a sub 2 hour at least, but math isn't my strong suit and it damn sure isn't when I am running so I had no idea what my finish time would be. It was only 43 degrees but at this point the sun beating down on me was becoming unbearable.
Mile 10 - 8:33
Mile 11 - 8:22
Mile 12 - 8:44
Mile 13 - 8:37
Mile 13.1 - 7:23
My official time was 1:53:12 with an average pace of 8:39 min/mile, my old PR was 1:56:38.
Overall: 400 out of 1,975
Gender: 132 out of 1,191
Division: F 25-29 : 25 out of 148
Even in the heat of my first marathon training, I managed to PR during this half marathon by 3 minutes and 26 seconds. I am tired, I am extremely sore and I still have a 5k to run tonight.... I am pretty sure I'll be taking it easy tonight. Tomorrow and Monday are going to be rest/recovery days for sure. Once there are pics posted I will edit this RR.
At this point I don't even want to think about the marathon I've got to run in 4 weeks lol....
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