Laugh and a Half Marathon - 1:43:33 - June 2014 - PR

Remember when I said I had NO idea what to expect out of this race?  And I wasn't feeling confident AT ALL.  You know how sometimes when you just relax, move any expectations, and just get out there, things end up working out.  I think back to last year how badly I wanted to PR this race, and how angry and frustrated I was when I didn't.  I think about this Saturday and how incredibly happy I felt because I was relaxed the entire time.  I had no pressure on myself, no high expectations, nothing.  Just get out there and run a race, and that was what I did!

Waking up in your own bed in your town for a race is the best ever.  I look forward to this race every year because the community support is wonderful, and it's just so easy to get up, run, and go home!  I got up around 5:15 to start waking myself up and stretching.  I had a MASSIVE bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and a few bites of a Clif bar.  (I've been cereal-free all during and since my 24-Day Challenge, so this was a huge treat!  Cheerios have always been my go-to race and long run breakfast!)

Standard Advocare procedure, took my O2 Gold about an hour before the race, and drank my Spark/Arginine Extreme combo on the way to the starting line.  We met at a friend's house and walked up to the starting line at the high school.

I decided I was feeling confident, so I lined up towards the front...

5K, 10K, and Half Marathon all started at once.  Last year it was kind of a cluster, but this year the start seemed much smoother.  They didn't have pace markers, but they made more of a point to tell people to line up by pace.  Last year I did some serious bobbing and weaving and passing...

My mom came down and stopped along the route to take pics.  I like to wave in all of my pics.  I knew I was relaxed when I was talking to people in the first mile, and even a few miles after.  Again, a nice thing about a hometown race, you know who you are running with!  It was fun to chat it up a little.  This guy joked with me after the race about passing him!

More smiles, more waves.

I normally look like death while running, here I look alive.  Thanks to a friend for taking this pic!  I don't remember much of what went through my head during this race.  I do remember telling myself this is going fast, enjoy it!  It's funny how when you run 3+ hours in marathon training, a half marathon seems to fly by!

Here are my splits.  I ran a fairly consistent race, and dominated the last three miles!  My last mile was my fastest, and I'm very proud of that!  I'm typically a positive splitter all the way!  I was wiped out at the finish, but I do question now if I could have pushed it a little harder.  The thing is, I ran how I ran, I enjoyed it and smiled, and oh hey, I PR'ed!

1:43:33 was my official time, and it was good enough for 11th female overall, and second in my age division.

Someone asked her if she just had a baby, and she said no.  Just for the record.

I would be lying through my teeth if I said in the back of my mind I wasn't HOPING for a PR in this race and to make the podium in the age bracket for the third year in a row (out of three).  I definitely thought about both of these things, and deep down inside probably would have been disappointed if I didn't get either, BUT on the flip side that wasn't my goal at the beginning of the race.  Even during the race, I didn't look at my overall time on my watch, I didn't look at the women ahead of me, I just ran. 

It's taken me three years of running to finally get where I am.  I've learned SO MUCH.  I've made mistakes.  I've had highs.  I've had lows.  I've been proud of myself, and I've been disappointed in myself.  I'm competitive by nature, but the thing about running is you are only in competition with YOU!  If you start the race bound and determined that you have to beat yourself, it's probably not going to happen.  If you start the race focused on each moment and each mile, and smile along the way, you'll likely find the greatest reward at the finish line.  Not every race will be a PR, that's why the ones that are are so sweet.  There will always be someone faster, always be one winner, but you've won every time you laced up your shoes when you run with a smile on your face.

Thoughts before a half marathon

Tomorrow is my first half marathon of 2014.  I’ve obviously ran 13.1 countless times already this year, but never in the official sense.  Crazy.

Thoughts….

It’s supposed to be crazy windy tomorrow.  22MPH to be exact.  FAIL.

I don’t find carb loading necessary for a half anymore, which makes me kind of sad.

I don’t have a rockin’ playlist, as a matter of fact I don’t know that I even have a charged iPod…

I sort of had my mind on a PR until a couple of days ago.  My goal now is just don’t PW (personal worst)

I’m wearing my 26.2 headband to tell everyone that I ran a marathon and that’s why I might start sucking during this race.  #justification

My calves are really tight, and I’ve been rocking some Pro Compression sleeves and KT Tape at work.  And people have been asking what I did to my ankle.  It’s my Achilles, and it’s fine, thanks for asking.

You should really just get over it... and workouts lately

This past week started off with a HIGH... we set our wedding date!  May 23, 2015!!  I felt so relieved and so excited!  So that was Monday.  Monday morning I ran and the humidity was pretty rough.  I hit CXWORX for some core work at noon, and rounded out the day lifting legs quick after work.  Good day, right?!

Tuesday, June 3, 2104 will forever be called D Day from now on in my book.  I know the real one was Friday and what not... but this day was doom, dent, depression day.

$13,000 worth of damage, but my sticker is still in tact!

Really, I know it's just a car, and I know it will be fixed.  (One whole month from now)  But seriously?!  I have never owned this new or nice of a vehicle.  I guess that's why!  I was planning to work out Tuesday evening, but clearly that didn't happen.  I left work early to get home and make sure I didn't have hail pouring through the windows.  I didn't, but I do have quite a bit of siding and gutter damage.

Wednesday rolled around and I couldn't get my sad butt out of bed.  I waited until after work to run and it was AWFUL.  It was about 76 degrees and HUMID!  I was convinced I was having a heat stroke and stopped after 5 miles at 8:06 avg.  I might have taken the miles a little fast out of frustration over LIFE.

Thursday - CXWORX and some cross training.  Uneventful.

Friday - 3 miles in the morning because I finally got out of bed.  CXWORX at noon and Body Pump after work.  For some reason totally exhausting my legs sounded fun.

Until Saturday.... 7 miles at 8:28 average pace.  My legs were really sore, but it was nice and cool outside and actually windy again for a change.  The wind felt like air conditioning!  Much better than the humidity.

This week was rough all around.  I started cramping up this week, which is unusual for me.  I had calf cramps a couple nights during the week, and a HORRIBLE foot cramp during Body Pump (embarrassing).  I already take potassium but I picked up a magnesium supplement as well.

This upcoming week is taper week for the Laugh and a Half marathon on Saturday!  Crazy that it's finally my first official 13.1 of the year!  I'm excited to run, but also to take some time off of running once the race is over.  Mentally, I am feeling the need for a break.

National Running Day!

Happy National Running Day!  Hope everyone gets a few miles in!  I run to push myself to goals I never thought would ever be possible to reach.  I never thought I'd run a marathon, let alone in the goal time I set for myself.  Running has changed my life in so many positive ways!  Every day should be National Running Day in my opinion!

I'll be running this evening because I slept in this morning... oops.

I'll be running off the stress and sadness of this:

My beautiful new car got smacked with baseball sized hail yesterday.  I know it could be worse, but I still shed some tears.

At least I still have the back window, which is more than some people have!

Workout Recap 5/26 - 6/1

I’m getting back into the normal workout swing finally.  I went a little too hard out of the gate on strength training post-marathon and found myself dealing with some runner’s knee.  I took a few days off of squats, lunges, and really anything strength related, slapped on some KT Tape, and did lots of foam rolling.  My knee does just fine now with running, but I have a few twinges here and there during squats and lunges.  

Monday was Memorial Day, so I had the day off work.  I ran 7 miles in the humidity quick that morning.

Tuesday – Cross training on the elliptical.  Nothing exciting.

Wednesday – My 25^th birthday started off with 7 wonderful miles and I went to CXWORX at noon.  

Thursday – 5 miles, really slow and easy.

Friday – CXWORX and Body Pump.  My first Body Pump class in over 2 weeks, and my first full class since sometime before the marathon.  I was shaking like a leaf, and pretty sore on Saturday morning.

Saturday – the hardest 10 miles of my entire life.  It was really hot and humid already at 7:30AM when I started.  I stopped three times, one time at the Y for some more water.  I ended up walking the last quarter mile home.  I NEVER have to walk to finish a run, this was just that hard.  I’m sure my legs hated me from pump the night before…

Sunday – REST

I have a full week of half marathon training ahead and then the following week I plan to implement the taper.  Do I really need to taper for a half marathon at this point?  No… but I think I’m going to use it as an excuse to take a little cut back!