1st vs. 2nd Half Marathon

Ever since I ran my second half marathon on Sunday I have been thinking about the physical and mental differences I experienced with each one. Here's a comparison of the two half Marathons (HM).

1. 1st HM- I physically and mentally felt like I had accomplished this big feat and pushed my body to its limit. (I also felt this way after I ran my first 10k)
2nd HM- It was challenging but also felt like just another long run

2. 1st HM- As soon as I crossed the finish line I was in pain and every step hurt like crazy. The day after, I could barely walk and every muscle in my body hurt. 
2nd HM- I felt my legs starting to tighten up when I stopped moving but they were fine after I was able to stretch.

3. 1st HM- After the race I was famished and everything tasted amazing. All day I couldn't get enough food (lucky for me it was Thanksgiving).
2nd HM- I only ate what I knew I needed to refuel. Even at lunch time I forced myself to eat something simply because I knew I needed it, not because I was hungry. 


4. 1st HM- I rode the high from this race for weeks, but also had no interest in running anymore after I was done. It took me several months to find my love for running again.
2nd HM- The high from this race only lasted for the first day but I still have my love for running and am already planning my next half and possibly a full??

**The only lasting soreness I had from this last HM was in my deltoids and after looking at my pictures, I can see why. I really need to work on my running form and stop punching myself in the face.**

AthHalf Half Marathon Recap part 2

That's my Dad in the red jacket taking pictures

As I talked about in part 1 of my half marathon recap, it was very crowded at the start line and it didn't let up once our timing started after we crossed the line. I was able to start jogging but definitely not going very fast. I started trying to weave through the other runners as much as I could but I wanted to stay on the left side because that was were my Dad was going to be taking pictures. Unfortunately, there were so many people my Dad didn't see me so I missed photo op #1. 
Since we were basically running around the block, my Dad was able to walk up the street and get some more pictures of us passing. I again tried to stay on the left side so he would see me, while still weaving through as many people as possible. Here is the one pic my Dad was able to snap before I zoomed by.

After I knew the photo ops were done, I started concentrating on keeping a comfortable pace while getting free of most of the crowd. I was feeling really good and keeping an awesome pace of around 8:35 and then after I hit mile 2 my legs just wanted to quit, they felt so tired and I began to question my fueling plan and whether I would be able to finish the race. I told myself to just keep going until mile 3.5, refuel, and then reassess how I was feeling. So I pushed through and got my peanut butter gu followed by some water at mile 4. 

I began to feel better and then we hit a nice long downhill that felt like it lasted for over a mile. This was when the euphoria hit and I felt like I had the biggest smile on my face. I was enjoying every minute of the downhill and felt like I could run forever. Then we got to mile 5 and the uphills started, just a few at first and one big one I powered up but then it felt like we just kept hitting more and more uphills and I started feeling sluggish again. We crossed the timing line at the 10k mark and I realized I had just ran my fastest ever 10k at 54:39. This gave me a nice push when I needed it and I knew I was still on target to meet my goal of finishing under 2 hours. 

Crossing the bridge over Sanford Stadium

At around mile 7 I started recognizing some landmarks from my college days, and realized we were heading towards the apartment building I lived in my junior and senior years. Unfortunately, we had to climb a couple of big hills to get there. By the time we made it to where my apartment was, we were headed down a nice hill. I totally missed the complex as I was concentrating on getting some water at mile 8 and trying not to focus on the pain that was radiating from my right ankle and up the back of my calf.

Heading up the first of the last 3 hills

The course then brought us to the east side of the UGA campus, which has changed so much in the last 9 years. The parking lots I remember are now dorms, but it was nice to be able to run down some of the same roads I walked down all those years ago and see the many changes and that some things are still the same. I refueled again at mile 9.5 and followed it with some water at mile 10. At this point I was ready to be done but I was really enjoying seeing the campus again. 

As I was nearing mile 12 I passed what used to be my dorm my sophomore year and sadly it no longer existed. A new building was going up in its place, this made me a bit sad but that quickly passed as I zoomed down the hill and headed towards the stadium and what would be the final leg of the half marathon. 

I pushed through the last 3 hills and finally headed downhill towards the entrance to Sanford Stadium. This was the part of the race I had waited all morning for! Actually I had been waiting months for this part of the race and it was so much better than I thought it would be. Running a lap around the hedges, being on the jumbotron, not once, but twice...So amazing and the perfect way to end a race. 







After leaving the stadium, it was just that final tenth of mile left and I was making great time. I was even kicking myself for not pushing harder and getting an even better time. So my goals were to set a PR (my first half marathon time was 2 hours 5 minutes and 37 seconds) and to finish under 2 hours. Here are my results:

So there is my recap for the race course. Overall, it was a great course, some of the hills tried to kill my spirit but I made it and I am stronger for it! Stay tuned for part 3 where I will review the finish line set up, post race food, and the race aftermath.   

The hills of Athens

Mile splits

AthHalf Half Marathon Recap part 1

The alarm went off at 5:15 and I got up easily, still not feeling anxious but also not feeling excited either. After dealing with the foot problems that have not completely gone away and some not so stellar training runs I wasn't feeling very positive about my chances at a PR and I was just ready to get it over with. I got dressed and got everything together and went downstairs to meet my Dad for breakfast. 

The hotel provided a fairly common continental breakfast and I decided on a mini bagel with some jelly (sadly there was no peanut butter) and a blueberry muffin. I made sure I drank plenty of water and mentally prepared myself for the cold I was about to step out into. 

After breakfast we left the hotel to head to the start line. We managed to find parking within a block of the start line and I begrudgingly took off my sweatshirt. I had a quick motivational chat with my husband (he is so encouraging) and climbed out into the cold. I immediately started pumping my arms and jogging in place to try and get the blood flowing so I wouldn't freeze before the race started. It actually was not that bad out as long as we stayed near the buildings and out of the wind. 

We headed over to the start line and staked out a warm spot to hang until closer to race time. I decided I should try to empty my bladder before the race and headed over to the port-a-potties. I made it halfway across the street when I saw the line and decided I would never get through it before the race started and I didn't have to really go so I went back and started my warmup. My Dad was nice enough to lend me his jacket because my arms were freezing and I enjoyed the warmth until they announced it was time to head to the start line. 

There was supposed to be close to 3,000 runners and they told us to line up according to our bib numbers (hello I was 1007 and now I'm 2955!) because they were assigned according to estimated finishing time. Of course no one really stuck to this and I managed to squeeze my way into the middle of the pack but a bit far behind the 2 hour pace group. 

As we were packed in like cattle, I was reminded why I dislike running in races with more than 500 people. It was complete chaos (at least to me) and I only heard the last line of the National Anthem and none of what the announcer was saying. I didn't even hear the gunshot and only knew we had started when I began to see people heading up the hill in front of us. 

One nice thing about being packed in like sardines is you are no longer cold but it makes for a very frustrating start to the race. As we slowly started walking to the start line, I hoped that I would be able to start running once I crossed the line and my time started. I was really starting to fear that this slow start would blow my entire race plan. Stayed tuned for part 2 of my recap to find out how the race went along with a few pictures of the course.

Why Small Races Rock!

Even after the bad run yesterday and the continuing pain in my foot, I decided to try and run the 5k this morning and just see what happened. The bonus to running in this race was that my parents decided to walk in the 5k and join in on all the fitness fun of the race. All morning both my ankle and the bottom of my foot were bothering me and I was hoping the pain would go away once the race started and I was high on endorphins. 

So at 8am we were off and there was no pain, I ran one of the best 5ks of my racing career finishing in 25:38 (my second fastest 5k time) and was the 2nd overall female. 

After I finished, I grabbed a water and headed back out on the course to find my parents. I took some pictures and rooted them on to the finish. 



 







My Dad rocked his first 5k and finished in 54:22 and my Mom pushed through some soreness and finished in 56:11. I was so proud of them both for getting out there and moving and I hope this encourages them to keep it up. 






To make it even better, both of them managed to place in their age groups and got some bling to add to the wall. 








I am using red and now black in honor of college football Saturday and my Alma mater....GO DAWGS!!!!!!

8k recap and my randomness

Here is the bridge we had to run to and then over that wonderful hill and back again, I really enjoyed the challenge

This was the preview of the hill as we were driving in today

As I wrote yesterday, I set out knowing that no matter what I would get a PR in the race today but of course I still had a finishing time in mind. I wanted to finish in about 45 minutes or average a 9:00 min/mile pace. My first mile was 8:00 minutes exactly and as I always do I started out a bit too fast so the rest of my miles were a bit slower but nothing over a 9:00 minute pace.  Following is just a snippet of the randomness that keeps me going through these races:

• All the walkers are messing with my momentum
• Random butterflies hitting me in the face
• Then later on I played a game with the butterflies since they wanted to fly along beside me: they were encouraging me to keep my pace up, flying along and then attacking if i slowed down. 
• Old dude drafting off of me, hacking and spitting all over my back. 
• I should have worn sunscreen, the sun is burning through my skin and into my soul. 
• My  encouragement halfway through was passing the hubby (later on he said I crushed his time and his spirit ha ha.)
• I'm really tired of this downhill.
• This last mile is going to be the death of me, straight flat with the 100 degree sun beating down. 
• I'm celebrating national talk like a pirate a few days late as sweat drips in my eye and I walk to the bathroom with one eye squenched and say arrgggh to my husband. 

In the end, as I neared the finish line I saw that I could definitely make it under 43:00 minutes but knew that if I picked it up I could finish in under 42:30, and what did I do? 


42:29!!! This awesome time also got me first place in my age group and a new trophy for the shelf. Though I don't set out to run for the bling, just to challenge myself, a little sparkly makes the race that much better.

Don't you just love the bling?

This is me trying to look as tired as I felt...I swear I am not bald...just can't stand having sweaty hair in my face so I pin it all back ballerina style.