Catch up (never published from 2015, whoops)

It has been a while since the Tobacco Road Half Marathon. I have done a couple races since then and just never wrote about them. So here is a catch up post.

In April, I ran the RunnerDude’s Trust. Believe. Conquer! 25K; which was put on by a local running event company,Trivium Racing, and my running coach from RunnerDude's Fitness. It was a great race because so many of my running group friends were running it. 

The course consisted of  two loops that were pretty hilly. It being two loops was actually nice because not only were there a lot of people that I knew running it, but there were a bunch of people volunteering to help and spectate as well. No matter where you were on the course, you ended up running into somebody you knew. Plus you got to see everyone twice so you knew where to look for people the second time around.  It was very motivating.

The course was pretty tough with a lot of rolling hills. The day was cool with bursts of  relentlessness strong wind, that always seemed to be the worst when going up some of the worst hills.

Going into the race I did not have any expectations. I knew I wanted to get under 2 hours 30 minutes. I had trained for this race but had raced hard at the Tobacco Road Half Marathon two weekends before. So I had no idea what my performance would be like.

 I started off with Brittany, Laura, Will, and Bobby. I started off hoping to hold a pace below 9 minute miles for the entire race. We started the race off at a pretty good pace. Eventually Brittany, Laura, and Bobby took off. All of a sudden they started getting further and further ahead. At first I thought I was slowing down , but realized they were speeding up. All the power to them, but I knew I needed to pace myself. Especially since I was still on the first loop. I ended up finding a good pace next to Will. We ended up running the whole race together. It was really nice to have the company. We barley talked, but just having his presence was nice and helped me keep a faster pace then I probably would have kept if I was by myself. 

I forgot to mention that my other goal for this race was to beat Bobby. Bobby is a great guy with a funny sense of humor. We like to banter back and forth.  He's always giving me a hard time and he's faster than me even with walk breaks. During past races I have tried to keep up with him, only to have him blow out a fast pace. Then he takes walking break,s and when I almost catch him he starts running again and ends up beating me. So I joked that my only goal for this race was to beat Bobby. 

When Bobby took off with Laura and Brittany, Will predicted that Bobby would lose his wheels around mile 12. Sure enough around the 12 mile maker we saw Bobby up ahead walking up the hill and going to the porta potty. We ended up passing him there and were able to maintain our lead on him. So I reached my goal of beating Bobby and he never hears the end of it ;)

A little while after passing Bobby we picked up Brittney. Her stomach had started bothering her so she had lost Laura and our other friend Brandon. So I finished with Brittany and Will. The last 3 miles were the worst. It was all I could do to keep going. But with Brittany and Will by my side, we fought through it putting one foot in front of the other over and over again until the end. Just when you think you are at the end they made us go around back into the parking lot where we originally started. I finished in 2:22:30 with an average pace of 9:10 per mile. My half marathon split would have been a sub 2 hour half, which made me really happy. We had really slowed up those last hilly 3 miles. I was very satisfied with the race and my performance.

Overall it was a wonderful race. It was very well put together. There were a couple issues with not all the cops being there because of their misunderstanding that it was on Easter weekend, even though it had been set up over 6 months in advanced. Other than that the race was amazing. The volunteers were outstanding, especially since I knew almost every one of them. 

Our friend Brandon had probably ran the smartest race, running it as a progression. He had been behind us for a good distance and then speed up past. Eventually he had caught up with Laura. At the very end Laura turned it on and ended up beating Brandon. We still like to give Brandon a hard time about it. Laura is sneaky though and is a lot more talented than I think she realizes. The girl has speed and is really good at kicking it into another gear at the end of a run or race. She is my hero :)

Laura ended up placing second in our age group (30-34). I got excited because I ended up winning 3rd. We got an Easter baskets since it was Easter weekend. The basket had a chocolate bunny and some candy, plus a $10 gift certificate to Dicks Sporting Goods. My friend Saundretta had watched watched Hannah  for me while I ran so they were there for the rewards ceremony.  As soon as I received  my basket, Hannah grabbed the chocolate bunny and ate almost the whole thing before I fully comprehended what she was doing. Little booger.

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I also did the Tar Heel 10 Miler in April. It was a pretty race. It had a lot of hills and was really crowded. They really need a better corral system because it was a mess. Not to mention it was so crowed at the start of the race that it was hard to move let alone get into a comfortable pace. Luckily I had no time expectations for the race and was just looking to run by feel.

A unique thing about this race is that near the end there is this horrendous hill you have to climb. So the event coordinators make it a separate challenge, "Laurel Hill Challenge". 

The race describes it as follows:

"Get ready for the Laurel Hill Challenge! Laurel Hill Road passes through one of the most exclusive and beautiful neighborhoods in Chapel Hill, but it has a reputation for being one of the most challenging roads to run up. Over the course of approximately one mile, runners will climb just over 200 vertical feet. Runners will cross a timing mat at the bottom and top of Laurel Hill Road. A separate split will be included in your final results."

It was a beast of a hill and knowing you would be timed on it made it so I ran the whole thing. I'm pretty sure I would have walked some of it otherwise. Only problem is that once you reach the top of it there is another hill. Good lord I was mad. haha.

I finished the race feeling pretty exhausted. It was a great race. I'm not sure I would do it again unless I had some friends my pace that wanted to run it with me. 

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In May, I ran Race 13.1 Greensboro. My goal had been to get a course PR. Last year I was going for my first sub 2 hour half and had missed it by 29 seconds. 

Everything went well up until mile 10. I was running with Brittany and Laura. The day was humid and got worse by the minute. The course consists of a ridiculous amount of rolling hills. It reminds me of a rollarcoaster. Last year we had been lucky and got a nice cool day. Not this year!  

At mile 10 the  humidity and heat started to get to me. I just wasn't feeling it . The relentless hills, heat, and and humidity were working against me. Plus I think we started out too fast for the course. Luckily Brittany and Laura helped get me through it. I had lost them for a while but they ended up waiting for me and telling me they wanted to finish together. The elements were getting to them too. 

At that point we were still set to get a sub 2 hour half. Then we came across the hill of hell, and I just did not care about my time anymore. We walked up that evil hill and talked each other to the finish line. At the top of the last hill our friend Duncan met up with us. He is super speedy and finished over a half hour before us. He helped run us in. He was laughing because usually we are all talkative and  we were dead silent. He asked us if this was the part of the race where we were not talking, hehe. Umm, yeah!

Laura and Brittany still finished a bit ahead of me. I was just a hot mess and could not get my legs to move. 

Hey you win some you lose some. I was just happy I finished the race with some of the best running friends a girl could ask for.

Will I ever do this one again... I don't know. This time of year is so hard with the weather.  Maybe I will sign up on race day next year if it is another cool day ;)

That puts me at 9 Half Marathons!

OBX Marathon Weekend Recap

After months of training, the big weekend was upon me. My husband and I were making it a mini vacation with our 2.5 year old daughter, Hannah. We left for the Outer Banks on Friday. Crossing the bridge into the Outer Banks, we were greeted by the beautiful, huge, red moon coming over the water. I also noticed the Washington-Baum Bridge I would be running over at mile 23 of the marathon, gulp.

Colington Cafe (Picture from their website)

We went out to eat at Colington Café. It looked like an old B&B on the inside, only with all the rooms converted into dining rooms with many tables. The décor at first seemed a little old lady to me with lots of old looking flower patterns and old fashion hats and baskets. However, as the night went on the décor started to grow on me.

My favorite part was that they sat us in our own room, so we didn't have to worry about Hannah embarrassing us. Normally she does very well in restaurants. But of course she is a toddler, and at almost three, she is really beginning to test her boundaries. She likes to yell no on occasion and can talk really loud... The food was delicious!

We then went to the hotel. We were pretty tired, but Hannah was all wound up from sleeping in the car for almost four and a half hours. We tried having her in a bed by herself, but she kept jumping on it. I tried to sleep with her, and she kept kicking me when she would toss and turn over and over again. I had it when she head butted me. The rest of the night was a blur, so let’s just say I did not get much sleep that night.

Tim & Sally's 10K

The next morning I got up early to go see some of my fellow RUNegades / RunnerDude Fitness friends run the 10K and 5K. It was Tim’s first 10K, so I was excited to see him run it. I enjoyed getting to be a spectator of the race. It actually got me a little emotional as I started thinking about what it would be like to cross the finish line of the marathon.

Tim did awesome on his first 10K. I was really happy I got to be there for him. I know how awesome it is to have people you know supporting you in a crowd full of strangers. His wife Sally ran by his side the whole race. It was really sweet. Tim ended up beating his time goal by 5 minutes!!!

After the race we hung around a bit. Tim and Sally told me about their race and gave me some pointers, since some of the 10K course ran on the marathon course. Our friends David and Rachael showed up soon after that. David was running the 5K. Both Sally and David were doing challenges where you run two different races and complete them both to get a third bonus medal. It was very neat. To participate, I would have had to run the 10K and the Marathon. Not thinking that was a smart decision for my first Marathon, I opted to just stick to the main attraction. David ran the 5K and the Half Marathon. Sally ran the 10K and the Half Marathon.

I missed David's 5K as I needed to get back to the hotel to Jeremy and Hannah. I got his finishers results via text though. He had done a fantastic run and had earned himself a new 5K PR. So far this race weekend was going great!

When I got back to the hotel, Jeremy was in the shower and Hannah was still sleeping away at 9:45 am. Not surprising, the girl was tired from all her overnight shenanigans.

We hurried up and had breakfast, then rushed back for Hannah's diaper dash race. Upon getting out of the car Jeremy threw his back out. Not a very good sign for the rest of the weekend, but he was a trooper and proceeded to head to Hannah’s race.

We had told Hannah all about the diaper dash the week before, and she had been excited. This morning she was having none of it. As soon as they said "go" she just sat there staring off into space. When I prompted her to go, she firmly sat down. I tried to get her to stand up, but of course she was planted. Finally I picked her up and crossed the finish line, laughing, and grateful that this race had been free. As we were going back to our car, Hannah started saying she wanted to run in the race. Oh toddlers!

Diaper Dash

We went back to the hotel. Hannah and I enjoyed some time on the beach, while Jeremy took a nap to hopefully help with his back. Hannah loved walking in the sand and finding sea shells. It was very relaxing. I loved getting some alone time with my bean.

The beach right outside our hotel room

Wild Horse Adventure Tours

We spent the rest of the day on a Wild Horse Adventure Tour in a hummer. We got to see the Wild Horses, which was really neat. It was a great way to spend the rest of the day.

We enjoyed the tour. The 13 passenger hummer was very comfortable. The ride back was pretty cold though, due to it being open, but they provided blankets and I had brought a hat and blanket for Hannah. So we survived.

It was pretty neat riding on the open beach and then pulling into random areas looking for the horses. The horses traveled in small herds of 2 to 4, that we saw. They were funny because they would wait for each other. Hannah really seemed to enjoy it. I would definitely recommend Wild Horse Adventure Tours.      

The morning of the marathon, I woke and got ready just like any other race. Everything felt kind of like a dream. I was more worried about what I ate and how I felt. Luckily everything felt great.                            

Am I really doing this?!!!

We drove to the course start in Kitty Hawk, NC. I was happy that we got there with plenty of time to spare so I could just focus on the race. We took a few pictures by the start banner, and I made my way into my corral. The corrals were not very defined. They just had signs for A-D. The elites were placed in the A corral. I was assigned to corral D because when I had signed up I had projected my time to be 5 hours. I literally had no idea how long it would take me.

This year the event organizers had added pacers for the first time. I had trained for 4:30 and then had my plan adjusted to 4:15. I had been having an internal battle about what pacer I was going to use. The decision was made for me when they ended up not having a 4:15 pacer.

When I got in the corral, I could not locate the 4:30 pacer and by the time I did there were a good 500 people ahead of me to get there. Knowing from past experience in half marathons I knew that the beginning of the race is the most congested, and that I should be able to catch up to them without a problem once things thinned out.

The journey begins

I met two other ladies in the corral who were also running their first marathons. It was nice to be around other newbies dealing with the nerves. Then before I knew it, it was time to GO.

When I hit the starting chip mat I took a deep breath and thought to myself "here we go, we are really going to do this". I spotted Jeremy and Hannah up ahead. Luckily I was on the same side of the road as them, so I was able to wave to them and blow kisses to Hannah.

I felt really good and just kept reminding myself to run a smart race. I knew I needed to hold back and not start too fast. I wanted to have enough in the tank to finish the race feeling good and strong. So I just started listening to the conversations around me and enjoying the beautiful fall trees. I eventually found myself clustered up to the 4:30 pacer. The group was pretty large, and was pretty congested, so I decided to go ahead of them. From then on I just focused on effort and running my forever pace.

One of the funny things I saw was a pastor standing outside her church dressed in her robes along with some other men dressed in robes. As we passed, she said she was praying for our health and that we would get a PR. Then I heard one of the men with her ask what a PR was, and she told them it was a personal record. It was definitely entertaining and made me smile. Not something you see everyday out running.

I would not say any of the race was a blur. I was pretty aware of everything the whole time. I focused on making it a really good, positive experience. I got a lot of joy interacting with spectators. I high fived kids with signs saying "free high fives". I hit signs that said "hit for energy". I said good morning to just about anyone I made eye contact with. I also thanked volunteers. Most of all I kept a smile on my face. Why do something like this if you are not going to have fun?!

Going into the marathon I had been worried that I would get lonely as I had done all my really long runs with friends. The funny thing is that I never felt lonely. I didn't even listen to music. I brought headphones just in case, but never took them out. I found an inner peace that kept me company throughout the race. I focused on the scenery and the perfect weather conditions. I found all the positive aspects of the journey and just lived in the moment.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Around mile 9, I was surprised to see Jeremy and Hannah. It was right after I had passed the Wright Brothers National Memorial. It was so good to see them. I ran over and gave them a hug and kiss. I laughed when Jeremy said "keep going", as if I was wasting precious time coming over to see them. I smiled about it for quite awhile.

Around mile 10, we entered the Nags Head Woods Nature Preserve portion. I found this section to be somewhat challenging but the beauty of the trail kept me focused and happy. Most of it was on a hard packed dirt road, however, there were loose rocks everywhere. I was careful not to roll my ankle or fall on any of the rocks. I smiled when I thought of my "I Run 4 Buddy" Ava, telling me not to fall in a video she had sent me.

Then we came upon an awesome water stop that was handing out orange slices and banana bread. I helped myself to both. They really hit the spot. The woods portion ended on a single track trail. I actually really enjoyed this section. It felt like pillows after being on the rocky road. It was also rolling hills, which I enjoyed. A lot of runners were struggling through the woods portions and were complaining about the rocks and the hills. I actually really enjoyed this section. I liked the change of scenery and terrain. The trails were lined by beautiful live oaks splashed in beautiful autumn colors. I truly felt like this was an adventurous journey of different lands.

As we came out of the woods a volunteer would say "Congratulations, you made it out of the woods". I thought it was cute.

I hit the halfway marker, and evaluated how I felt at that point. I was still feeling good and had found my groove. I thought to myself that I had just started a half marathon now. My own mind game.

Around mile 14, we turned onto a road that was lined with the biggest crowd yet. I was a little overwhelmed, until I noticed some amazing familiar faces. There Jeremy stood smiling with Hannah telling me I was doing an amazing job. Such an energy booster. I had figured I would only see them at the start and finish. I was really happy to have seen them two times in the middle of the course as well.

The rest of the run leading up to the Washington-Baum Bridge went well. I made sure to fuel and hydrate. The only time I walked the whole time was through some of the water stops to make sure I ate and drank properly.

When I hit mile 20, it felt surreal. I had ran 20 miles twice in training, but this time by far, I felt the best about those 20 miles. I knew every step after this was a distance PR. I had been really worried about these last 6.2 miles in the days leading up to the race. Yet, as I was actually staring them down, I felt a sense of determination and fire. I would do this!

Washington-Baum Bridge
(Pictures from Marathon Website)

Soon I saw the ominous Washington-Baum Bridge in the horizon. I had wondered how I would feel at the bridge when I would think about the upcoming race. I had wondered if going up the bridge would feel terrible at mile 23. I actually found myself excited to see the bridge. I knew I would finish this marathon at this point, no matter what. The bridge was a landmark. I yelled out "yeah the bridge". Runners around me looked at me like I was crazy, haha.

Running over the bridge was breath taking. The day was perfect, and it was hardly windy at all. I found myself passing lots of runners, as I ran up the bridge while many were walking up it. I actually found the bridge to not be that bad. I think it helped to train in hilly Greensboro. When I reached the top, I did a little fist pump for the cameraman. And then welcomed the downhill portion.

Reaching the top of the bridge

The last 3.1 miles did seem to take the longest, but I still felt really good. At this point many runners around me were struggling. There were some stretching out tight legs, and some that were walking. We passed the big inflatable crab. I got really excited when we passed a bagpiper. It was so cool. I got chills.

The last mile was by far the hardest. I could feel my left calf starting to cramp up a bit. It was on the edge. I was so happy to know I just had one mile and I would be done. The crowd started telling us the finish line was just around the corner. I laughed and told the runner near me that they better not be lying. She laughed and said "Right!". I looked down at my Garmin and knew it was true.

I turned that corner to a roaring crowd cheering for all the runners. Then I started to hear my name. I looked around and spotted Sally and Tim. Then Rachael and David. David ran out behind me and ran for a bit cheering. It was so awesome. I missed seeing Jeremy and Hannah, but Jeremy said I had almost looked at them. I was so overwhelmed with what I was about to accomplish.

I crossed the finish line as a marathoner. I thought I would cry, but instead I just had a stupid grin  that I could not get off my face.

I met up with everyone, and it was awesome. I really was happy to have so many familiar faces at the finish. I loved hearing that both Sally and David had ran great races as well. They both got PRs and earned their bonus challenge medals.

Rachael, David, Me, Sally, & Tim

The marathon seriously could not have gone better. I am still in shock. I ran a smart race. I never hit a wall, and I remained positive the whole time. The weather was absolutely perfect. The Outer Banks was beautiful. The event coordinators run an amazing race. There were ample water / fuel stops. There were lots of energetic spectators. I highly recommend this marathon, so much so that I think I want to do it again next year.

I really believe I did so well because I followed my training plan from Thad at RunnerDude's Fitness. It is so valuable to train well, and to have a coach that is so supportive and helpful. Thanks Thad!

I also could not have done it without my husband Jeremy. He was super supportive, and made it possible for me to get in all my training runs. He spent many hours watching Hannah, and for that I am truly grateful.

I am lucky to have so many supportive friends and family; who blew me away with all their well wishes on Facebook. I feel so very blessed and loved. Seriously, I still can't get over it. I spent the whole trip home reading messages from all of you.

A special thank you to my "I Run 4" buddy Ava. I thought about you a lot during the race, and am so lucky to be paired with such an amazing little girl. You were worth the 3 month waiting list. My shoe charms were my lucky charms.

Last I'd like to thank all my awesome running buddies who ran with me at various times during my training. I could not have done it without your help getting me out there, and helping me get it done. Especially my friends Brittany, Laura, Melanie, and Cara who got me through the really long runs. You ladies rock!

I cannot believe I ran and finished a marathon! 

Here are all the stats:

Official Results

Garmin Splits on Strava

New Distance PR!

What's next.... Maybe the Charleston Half in January. I'm thinking I need a new Half Marathon PR.

Sub 2 Hour Half Marathon!

I started this blog last year while I was training for my first half marathon. I thought it would be fun to document my journey. Little did I know that I would fall in love with running in the process.

When I set out to complete my first half marathon, I had no intentions of ever doing one again. As I neared the end of my training, I had the itch to do the Raleigh Rock n'Roll Half. Once I completed my first half marathon race, I set the goal of doing Raleigh in under two hours. To accomplish this I would have to shave almost 7 minutes off my time.

You can read about my Raleigh Rock n'Roll Half race. I did not get a sub 2 hour. I still PR'd at 2:04. Then I tried again at the Race 13.1 Greensboro. This time I came up short by 29 seconds!!!

Jeez, this was turning out to be harder than I thought.

Yesterday I completed my 4th Half Marathon and FINALLY got a sub 2 hour! 

Here is my recap.

I traveled to Fayetteville, NC to run the Race 13.1 Fayettville. I had been warned that it is super hot and humid there. I was excited that it was supposed to be a flat and fast course.

I met up with some of my running buddies and we had an awesome girls night out. We stayed in a hotel from Saturday until Sunday. The race was on Sunday and the hotel was less than a mile from the start line, which worked out great.

The crew before the race.

Weather according to Garmin

Luckily the temperature was in the high 70's on race day and it was cloudy. The humidity was the worst part by far. We were already sweating before we even started. The course had no shade, so the cloudy day was a necessity. I'm not sure I would have been able to complete the race if it had been clear and sunny. There is nothing worse than running on the road with no shade with hot humid temps. Plus I sunburn really easy...

The vast majority of the course took place on the All-American Expressway. That was my first time racing on a highway, so that was interesting. Although, I would also add it was very boring. Not to mention the event staff failed to remove a poor dead dog from the shoulder. They should have at least covered it, as we had to pass it twice. I almost cried, it was so sad. 

I'm in the blue shirt and white hat

I had decided to run with the 2 hour pacer to try and go for my sub 2. He was a nice guy with a lot of energy. As time went by I felt like he was running a little fast and around mile 5 I fell a little behind. My goal was just to keep him in my sight, so if at any point I felt really good, I could catch back up to the group. 

I definitely would not say I felt great during this race. The humidity sucked, and the course was boring, with lots of terrible gradual inclines. Sometimes, I hate those more than hills. It's funny to even look at the elevation map because the course felt a lot hillier. I also did not like the fact that I could see for miles ahead of me, which made the distance more daunting.

Elevation Course Map

I don't think I have ever drank so much water and Gatorade during a race. I could not replenish fast enough. Everything was sweating right out of me. I managed to catch back up to the 2 hour pacer around mile 8 and noticed they were walking through the water stations. So I decided to follow their lead. I even had time to refill my water bottles by doing this. Normally I just roll on right by them because I carry my own water and Gatorade.

Around mile 9 to 10 my wheels started falling off. I just wanted to be done. I can't really say what exactly was going on, as nothing was bothering me. I was just tired and my shoes were starting to get wet from my sweat, which I cannot stand. This is also when I saw the dead dog and right near that an ambulance and fire truck were taking care of an injured runner. There was also a yucky long incline up over an overpass that was concrete. My legs really felt the impact of the concrete.

I again fell behind the pacer and had just decided this was not my day. So I plodded along just hoping to finish soon. I walked through the last water station kinda sulking about missing my goal again. When I came across the mile 11 marker, and looked at my Garmin to realize I could still get in under 2 hours! I was so excited. I willed myself to go faster. I forced my legs to move even though they felt like bricks.

Around mile 12, I caught up to a runner that was running with a full sized American Flag. His friends started lagging behind him and he was trying to get them to go. I ran up beside him and said I'd run in with him. So we killed that last mile. It was such a welcomed way to end the race. He brought in a lot of crowd support which really helped me finish stronger than I felt.

I was excited to see that I crossed the finish line in 1:58:36. My chip time was 1:58:09. Finally!!!

Honestly, it is still a little surreal. It was a strange race. It was not terrible but it was not great either. It definitely was not a race where I felt like I had it. If anything I felt the opposite. I'm so glad I pushed through all those thoughts to finally do it.

Official Results

My Garmin came up short on distance but it was a USATF Certified Course so I'll take it :)

Splits according to my Garmin

I have 2 more half marathons and a ten miler race left before my full in November. Those will all be training run races leading up to the full, so I'm glad I was able to PR this race. Now I can just focus on marathon training.

Upcoming Half Marathon #3

I feel both nervous and excited at the moment. I have my 3rd half marathon race coming up on Sunday. I've driven the course and it will be challenging. It reminds me of a roller coaster going up and down. Thank goodness the forecast is looking good temperature-wise. Although now they are calling for a chance of some rain. I'd take rain over the heat any day. Mother nature will do what she wants though and I'll just have to deal with whatever she decides to give us.

I don't feel as ready for this one as I did my last. I definitely have not ran as much since the Raleigh Rock N' Roll Half. Plus I'm lacking the speed work that I had been doing with my RunnerDude's Fitness training group. So I am a little worried about that. I'm trying to just be positive and put my all into it. I think I'm planning to run with the 2 hour pacer and just see what happens. I feel like I was so close at my last race and a big reason I was able to still PR on such a tough course was because I ran with the pacer most of the race. It is really easy to slow down when doing a lot of hills. I'll just have to see how I feel.

I am really excited that the race is local. It really takes away a lot of stress. I don't have to get up ridiculously early. I know where to go and there will be lots of parking. I can also sleep in my own bed the night before and prepare however I want to in the comfort of my own home. Part of the course is on the Greenway near my house that I run all the time so that is also fun.

So will this be the race I sub 2 hours? I really don't know. I'm just going to go with how I feel and see where it takes me. I'm proud of myself no matter what happens. I think it is always important to celebrate the accomplishment of just finishing 13.1 miles. How many people can say they have ran that far?

Wish me luck :)

I did it! 13.1 Miles

I woke up on Saturday feeling excited and a little nervous. I was more worried about the cold as it was around 28-30 degrees when I woke up. The week prior had been a gorgeous 60 degrees. So I had not trained in colder weather and I was nervous about what I should wear.

I ended up wearing:

• C9 by Champion® Women's Compression Tights from Target
• C9 by Champion® Women's Premium Skort from Target
• My Kudzu Green Sport Tek T-Shirt from work
• Oiselle Running Women's Solid Arm Warmers from Amazon
• My green light weight jacket with the thumb holes
• My Brooks Ghost 6 from my local Running Store Off n' Running
• Armpocket
• Ultimate Direction Access Waist Pack

I thought I'd end up shedding the jacket but it was just too cold and I ended up being very comfortable with it on.

The week before the race I started becoming very nervous about the hills. I had trained on some hills but I was not sure I had done enough. Luckily they ended up not being so bad. I tried to not focus on them and instead would pick runners near me that I wanted to pass. It became a fun game and with every runner I passed the more confident I became and the faster the miles went by.

Greensboro Half Marathon Elevation Map

Race Map

My goal going into the race was to finish in 2 hours 15 minutes. Which would be a pace of  about 10 minutes 18 seconds per mile. Which was very reasonable from my training and gave some extra time for the hills.

I ended up finishing in 2 hours 6 minutes and 43 seconds! I was super proud of that finish. I did have a secret dream of doing it in 2 hours but hey this was my first and you always have to have goals. Plus the hills definitley were a factor. Although I will say I did a pretty good job of keeping a consistent pace even with the hills.

According MapMyRun my race splits were:

Distance	Pace
1 Mile	09:37 min/mi
2 Mile	09:38 min/mi
3 Mile	09:42 min/mi
4 Mile	09:50 min/mi
5 Mile	09:24 min/mi
6 Mile	09:12 min/mi
7 Mile	09:31 min/mi
8 Mile	09:16 min/mi
9 Mile	09:29 min/mi
10 Mile	09:43 min/mi
11 Mile	09:44 min/mi
12 Mile	09:47 min/mi
13 Mile	09:37 min/mi
13.3 Mile	08:20 min/mi

One of my favorite parts of the race was having my family there to cheer me on. My In-laws were visiting and came a day early so they could make the race. That meant a lot to me. My husband and daughter were of course there. I saw them at the start, around mile 6 and at the finish. Most of the pictures were taken by my husband.

I was also surprised at the finish line by my boss and his daughter. I veered over and gave him a high five right before crossing the finish line. It felt awesome to have all the support.

A highlight for me was around mile 7. I was running along when all of a sudden I was passed by the winner of the marathon who was followed by a cop car. For him it was around mile 20. It was so cool seeing him fly by doing twice the distance I was doing. The marathoners started 45 minutes before the half marathoners. He won the race doing the 26.2 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds! It was amazing to watch the elite runners. Eight Marathoners finished in under 3 hours.

The winner of the half marathon finished it in 1 hour 12 minutes.

I have to say it was a pretty perfect experience. All my training paid off as I had no problems completing the distance. I felt great the whole time. I was able to beat my original goal. I had a great cheering team. The weather was cold but ended up being a nice temperature for racing once I got going. The event had a lot of wonderful volunteers. I'm so glad I committed to doing this.

Here were my finial results:
Finish percentile is top 41%
Age group percentile is top 37%

What's next? I'm thinking the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Half Marathon with a goal of 2 hours :)

Last Long Run

Well I did it. I finished my last long run in training for my first half marathon. It felt great! I set out to do 10 miles and around 5 miles decided to make it 12. I just felt really good and the day was a beautiful crisp fall day. The leaves are finally starting to change in North Carolina so the view was great. There were a lot of other runners on the trail. I ran near two ladies that ran the same distance as me which was cool. I wonder if they are running next weeks race too.

12 miles is the farthest I have ever ran and this was my second time doing it. I've read about a lot of people training to 10 miles and having the last 3 miles on race day be really hard for them. So I definitely wanted to get as close to 13.1 as I could while training. I think more for the mental aspect than the physical.

Yesterday's long run was a confidence booster. I ran around my goal pace and even impressed myself. I think I'm as ready as I will ever be.

After my run I decided to drive the half marathon course. I'm glad that I did because there are some nasty hills on the course and I'm glad to see where they are. I think it would be mentally hard not to know what to expect. Especially since a lot of the hills are in the beginning. I think I'd start to wonder if the whole course is like that. Luckily I drove it and know that it is not.

Last night my husband wanted to drive the course so he could scope out the best places to cheer me on. Which I found very sweet. While we were driving it he told me he was very proud of me and he can't believe how long 13.1 miles is. He joked that he was tired just driving the course, haha. He told me which hills he thought would be hard.

I'm really excited but starting to get nervous. I'm trying not to think of the hills and how they are going to affect my run. I just need to trust my training and go into the race with a positive "can do" attitude.

"I Can and  I WILL!"

Virtual Marathon: Running 26.2 miles in 31 Days!

This month I participated in the Joggermom Cancer Run Virtual Marathon. In October you have to run 26.2 miles in as many days as it takes you. Normally I would have thought that it would be hard to run 26.2 miles in a month, but with my half marathon training I finished it in a week :)

I had a great time! 

Marathon Breakdown:
10/01/2013 - 5.21 Miles in 49:56 (9:35 pace)
10/03/2013 - 6.18 Miles in 58:03 (9:24 pace)
10/05/2013 - 3.27 Miles in 32:14 (9:52 pace) <-- Women's Only 5K
10/06/2013 - 12.01 Miles in 2:05:30 (10:27 pace)

TOTAL: 26.7 miles in 4:27:43 (about a 10 minute mile pace)

Two of these runs were firsts for me.

1. It was the first time I ran a race pushing my daughter in her jogger. 
2. I did a 12 mile run, which is my longest run to date. It is the highest mileage I will run before my half.

Women's Only 5K, 1st time racing with my jogger :)

12 mile run! Longest run so far.

Today I am 3 miles away from completing my second marathon in October.

10 Days until my first half marathon! Yikes!!!!