Greetings and salutations everyone!Well, yesterday was the BIG day...the day of the Augusta Half Marathon. I was a bit worried the week prior to the race as I had come down with some sort of bug that gave me headaches, nausea, achiness, and both head and chest congestion. Rather than try to train through it, I decided that the previous 4 months of training had been good enough. I had run 10+ miles the 2 Sundays prior, and the best thing I could do was just rest. I felt ridiculously guilty doing that, though. You always tend to think that if you can just do one more workout, one more run, do one more of 'something,' and you'll be just that little bit more prepared.
I was up right around 5:00 a.m., wanting to make sure my body had sufficient time to work through my morning oatmeal before an 8:00 a.m. start time. I met my sisters at 6:30, so we could travel over together, and we arrived about 35 minutes prior to race time. Just enough time to do some stretching, hit the port-o-let one last time, drink a bit of water, ditch some extra clothes, and warm up the muscles a bit. We weren't there too long before the 1000+ runners lined up and we were off!
My oldest sister and I stayed together most of the race, but once she crossed the starting banner, my other sister wouldn't be seen for another 13.1 miles (she finished in 2:05!!!). I felt pretty good for the first 10 miles, walking up 2 particularly steep sections of hills, but maintaining just under a 10 minute/mile pace until I hit mile 10. That's when I really started to feel tired. I had to nurse myself through the final 3 miles, and my pace dropped to 11:15-11:40 minutes/mile. That said, I finished in 2:18. I'm happy. I'm also proud of myself for setting the goal, pushing through the training, and finishing in a decent time.
So, now it's over. I got a cool running shirt and medal...what next? At first I thought that I was glad I don't have to train anymore and that I would start a new home fitness program (Les Mills Pump) as my primary workout. But then I started to think...and sometimes my brain makes quick decisions when I start to think about goals and such. I'm already fit. I know what I would do differently if I ran another half marathon. Why not run another?
I'm contemplating another half on April 1st. Another five weeks of training...I'll let you know my decision soon.
Big Sister #2 chiming in! I want to say that Nancy's decision to do this event prompted Big Sister #1 and myself to join in. If you've ever comtemplated setting this big of a goal, it's worthwhile having a team do it with you! That way you feel "obligated" cause I'm telling you, Little Sister would have caught some crap had she backed out, and I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!
ReplyDeleteAs I entered the last three miles, I kept thinking of my friend and "coach" Michelle who ran with me and prepped me for this day. The last three miles were the hardest. But the desire to get this over had more say in the matter than giving up!
I'm confident that as you read in the blog, you'll see that Nancy is thrilled with her time. None of us thought we'd do better than a 10 minute mile - but the majority of our miles were well under that!
Regarding another half marathon - go for it! I challenge any of you reading this to call her and tell her you'll be there too! She may not wait on you during the run, but she'll be waiting for you at the finish! AND like she says - you'll get a cool medal and nice T-shirt!
Big sister #1 concurs fully. Thanks to Nancy, we had our fitness goal "pump started" and we came out winners!!! Thinking of joining Nancy in Columbia......but these darn teenage kids keep me busy (and on the run). We shall see....Way to go Nancy
ReplyDeleteCan I just say that my 2 big sisters are ROCK STARS!! And yes, Little Sister knew that once the two big sisters were on board, there was NO WAY to back out. My thanks to both of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's official...I just signed up for the Palmetto Half Marathon on April 14th.
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