Monday, January 26, 2009

3M Half Marathon Race Report: The Hi's & Low's


Two words: PERSONAL RECORD!!!!!
That sounds kinda stupid to say, given the fact I've only done (now) 2 half-marathons, but it is a personal record, nontheless. WOOHOO!
Here are my hi's & low's from the race yesterday:
I think I'll start with the low's first - to get them out of the way...
1) It was FREEZING! Literally freezing at the start line. 31* to be exact. I had worn tights under my running shorts becauseI really didn't want my legs to be frozen while running, but after a short warm-up before the race, I realize I could shed the tights & be just fine. My legs were fine waiting at the start & then, of course, once I started running they were warm.
2) I had gastro-intestinal distress almost immediately after starting. It sucked so bad. I kept cramping & feeling the need to go to the bathroom. It wasn't until just after mile 7, that the cramps became overwhelming & I then had to stop to go. Man! Was I pissed about that. But, I went & did feel better momentarily. Just when I thought I would be home-free, though, the cramps came back again & I ended up stopping AGAIN just before mile 10. GRRRRR! I knew I needed to throw the hammer down after that to make up for my lost time with my potty stops. And, I did.
3) My sports bra scraped my chest during the run & caused a lovely little open wound that feels craptastic today. :o( Note to self: do NOT wear that bra on a long run again.

Now - for the HI's!!!
1) I got good rest the night before - which, is sometimes an issue for me before races. I tend to think too much about the race before going to sleep & then wake frequently through the night. Not this time, though. My sleep was great & uninterrupted.
2) I rode to the race with Mary Jo & Laura & we had fun talking in the car on the way.
3) I had a great playlist on my iPod and had exactly 2 hours worth of music to motivate me to finish under 2 hours so that I didn't run out of tunes.
4) I ran with Governor Rick Perry for about a 1/4 mile & got a picture of him with my phone while we were running together. My picture came out blurry, though. He does run with an entourage.
5) My legs & heart felt great while running. My hip got slightly sore after the half way mark, but it didn't hurt bad enough to keep my mind on it.
6) I hit my 4 mile mark in 34 minutes & then the 10 mile mark at 1 hour 26 minutes (which, my 10 mile time at the San Antonio 1/2 marathon was 1 hour 33 minutes). I was so psyched when I say those mile markers!
7) The downhill nature of this race felt great - I felt fast!
8) I got a burst of energy when I saw the 10 mile mark & knew the end was near!!
9) I had energy left to sprint to the finish line & finished the race in 1 hour, 52 minutes and 44 seconds.
10) My overall run pace was 8:36/mile (!!!!!!!!!!) For me, this is AWESOME!!!

And, no, I don't want to even think about what my pace would have been if I didn't have stomach issues & didn't have to stop TWICE to go to the bathroom. >:o(

Anyway, overall, it was a great race for me. I am so glad I did it!

NOW.....BRING ON THE MARATHON!!!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Tomorrow is going to be a BIG day!

After exactly 12 weeks of living in an apartment....we are finally getting to move back into our house!!
YIPPEEEE!!!!!!
So, tomorrow our carpet is going in & our POD is being delivered to our driveway.
I have been cleaning at the house all this week, getting prepped & ready to get the boxes out of the POD so I can put our stuff back in place.
One nice thing about having a flood that destroys the inside of your house, (and wipes out a lot of your personal belongings, and puts you into an apartment for 3 months....) is that once you get your salvaged personal belongings back, you can PURGE what your don't want, can't use, or haven't seen or touched in years!
I think this is really the perfect way to start out 2009. A good cleansing & purging never hurt anyone.
I am thankful that God has seen us through all this. And, I am proud of our family for weathering this storm. It has been rocky at times, but it is these things in life that make us stronger & ultimately bond us more closely to one another.
Next Christmas we can look back & smile & say...."remember when our house flooded & we had to move out for 3 months?"