To say that my spring/summer race schedule was a little hectic, would be an understatement...3 half marathons, a half Ironman, 2 ULTRA Relays, and Hood-To-Coast. That, on-top of my already crazy busy schedule, has resulted in me feeling like the Energizer Bunny, whose batteries are running out! BUT, with all of that being said, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run a phenomenal local half marathon and support good friends. My preparation going into the race was far from ideal. I have not followed any sort of half marathon training plan since the Eugene Marathon, and have followed no training plan at all since my half Ironman; the race was 2 weeks after Ragnar Colorado, and I had kiddos over race weekend, which is not ideal for resting! I didn't allow any of this to prevent me from wholeheartedly pursuing my goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon. Perfect course, beautiful weather, my favorite running buddies by my side, and my first {individual} race as part of the Oiselle Team...it was the day!
Race day Inspiration:
We arrived at the start of the race, and Houston, we had a problem...I hadn't, and couldn't, go to the bathroom. Sorry for the TMI, but I always go to the bathroom before a race and cleanse out the system...but not this time. I warned Mandy and Sarah that I was probably going to have to stop at some point....about 1.5 miles into the race, guess what!? I had to go! I knew there were restrooms at mile 2, so I ran ahead to use the restrooms. Bathroom stop...success, and on we went. But no sooner than we reached mile 4, I had to go again. At this point I was not feeling all that great. Thankfully we came across more restrooms right around mile 5...I'll spare you details but I wasn't feeling good, and now I was starting to worry that I was sick {there was a bug that had been going around}. This bathroom stop took a little longer than the first one, and I feel so blessed that Mandy and Sarah slowed down so I could catch up. In terms of running, I felt so strong, and I was still ahead of pace for sub-2 hours. Three more miles go by, and you guessed it, I had to go to the bathroom...AGAIN! And you know how after you go to the bathroom when you're having issues, sometimes you feel like you immediately need to go again!? Mile 8 was HORRIBLE...as I seriously thought I was going to have to pull off and go to the bathroom in the bushes! I was not feeling well at all.
This was the {mental} turning point of the race...do I just say today is not the day to go sub-2 and take it easy to the finish OR do I dig deep and push to the finish...I went with the latter. The mental aspect of racing has been a huge obstacle for me recently, and I feel like I overcame such a big hurdle out on the course that day. At mile 9, I mentally broke down the remainder of the race into 2x2miles, in which I would increase my pace, bringing it in strong to the finish. At this point Sarah, Mandy and I had separated, and it was just me, myself and I to the finish. I turned the corner to the last mile of the race and KNEW I was going to do it, but had no room to spare in terms of my time. I felt strong, in terms of running, and made the final turn to the finish with the biggest, but perhaps ugliest smile...as I had just ran a sub-2 hour marathon, but it was pretty sh&*y! {pun intended}.
1:59.13
I am beyond thankful to have two of the most amazing, encouraging and supportive training partners, who I also get to call FRIENDS!!! I have NO pictures from the race {can you believe it!?}, but these were taken just a week or two later, ha!
More than accomplishing a goal, this race was about digging deep, running a mentally strong race, and believing in myself!
