Hop Hop Half marathon Race Recap

Well I did it....first time in over 18mos to run/race a half....
with 8wks of training under my belt I knew I wasn't capable of anything near my PR but I needed to get an idea of where I'm at with only 5wks to go til Eugene

My coach gave me the goal of 1:35. Considering I only ran 3 13 milers in the last year (which were all in the last 8wks), I was a tad unsure if I could run 7:15 pace for 13 miles.

I arrived at the race, met up with some Team Athena ladies, ran a quick 1.5mile warm up and headed to the start line.
First 2 miles were 7:27 and 7:24 and to tell you the truth I was feeling like THIS pace would be challenging to hang on to so the question in my mind was "how am I going to get down 15seconds faster than this?". I knew I wanted to try though so I cut my pace down as I headed into mile 3 and by mile 4 I was feeling it.
WHICH MEANT.....it's going to be a long 9 more miles...BUT I knew I could stay where I was at....I definitely couldn't go faster but I would hold where I was at as long as I could.....
Mile 3: 7:15
Mile 4: 7:10
The next few miles winded along the path along the river...no real strong wind which was nice...I could hear a girl behind me from mile 2 on that had somoene with her telling her to pass me up the hill (a little climb at mile 3) so I made sure to NOT let her pass me there. I didn't know how long I could hold her off though.

Mile 5: 7:11
Mile 6: 7:11
as we headed into mile 7 and 8 we had a good climb which really wiped my legs out and as I headed back on the turn around had my slowest mid race run...this was mile 9 when two girls from behind caught up with me.
Mile 7: 7:09
Mile 8: 7:12
(that's me below at about mile 7.5.....)

Mile 9: 7:26
the 3 of us ran together in a pack for 2 miles...they were both trying to get in under 1;35 which sounded perfect to me but I didn't know how long I could keep up the pace....I was REALLY feeling it...my legs were TIRED!
Mile 10: 7:11
Mile 11: 7:18
At Mile 11.2 EXACTLY my legs just totally fizzled. I sort of expected this to happen b/c I didn't have the mileage under my belt OR the longer runs.....the girls took off and I just couldn't keep up. At this point, my instinct was to either throw in the towell and just slow down alot or keep as little a gap as possible between them and me.
I chose the latter.
Mile 12: 7:15
I can't tell you HOW HARD I had to work to keep this pace
Mile 13: 7:18
I could see the clock and that I was already at 1:35 so I pushed as hard as I could
last .15 was 6:28 pace

I finished in 1:35:25......7:17 pace. I got 7:15 on my watch b/c it showed I ran 13.15

I met the goal my coach gave me. I stayed positive. I kept steady pace. I fought hard at the end when I could have quit.
But more than anything....this race finally gave me my DRIVE back! I feel more determined now than ever to get back into REAL training!

I only have 5wks til Eugene and my coach and I both feel that a sub 1:30 is not realistic so I'm going ot try to PR on my 1:32 and then i'll run another about 6-8wks later and hopefully be able to run my A goal then:):)


* Oh...and sort of exciting and unexpected but I signed up  my husband and I for a marathon on Sept.28.
NO goal time....just for me to get through ONE marathon HEALTHY. THAT is my goal. I just want to run 26miles with no pain and if  I can do that...THEN I'll consider running another:)

going easy on myself.....

well looks like the last time I was on here was almost 2mos ago. awesome. my new thing is being completely random, inconsistent, stressed, disorganized and chasing after my brain. I'm owning it. I will probably not blog again after this for another 2-3 mos. That is MY life right now and i'm okay with that. tired of feeling guilty for not reading or writing. had some major stuff in my life lately that has made me realize that I need to work on my priorities anyway and spend my time doing stuff that really NEEDS to be done. So, if it means I blog a few times a year, I guess that will just have to be good enough:)

I am about half way through week 6 of my training for eugene. When I think that I've been doing this 6wks I expect myself to be MUCH further along in my fitness but then i'm reminded that I have done very little the last 9mos leading up to this so i'm not stressing too much about it.
training is going well. I love my coach, Nikki, she is great.
I've been going to track every tuesday and with the exception of an upset stomach and really cruddy workout this week, I am making slow gains, but at least they are gains:)
I ran 14mile this last saturday...the longest run in almost a year and ran 44 miles total last week which was my highest mileage in 11mos.

I am trying to focus more on the direction I am going and less on where I am at this moment. I know in time I will get there. I see many of my colleagues and friends hitting BIG goals and I am inspired to just keep putting one foot infront of the other.

I am happy that I seem to have lost my obsessive nature about this running thing...mostly I think b/c I just don't want to end up injured again. I feel like i've found a healthier balance in my perspective.
I do try to get all my workouts in and do what I need to do but I am not freaking out about not being where I want to be.

I have the goal to run a sub 1:30 at Eugene BUT i know there's a good chance I won't be in shape for that by then and that is totally okay....I will find another half shortly after if I am still trying to reach that goal.
I do have a half in 2wks as a warm up race to see where i'm at....I'm thinking i'm probably in the 7:20-7:30 pace range for a half right now if I race it.

I am honestly just happy to be alive, to be running and to be making slow improvements towards my goals without overdoing it.
it's a lesson in PATIENCE for me:) seem to have had LOTS of those the last few years, huh?:):)

Even though this half in 2wks is just a tester, i'm nervous...only b/c I haven't raced a half in 17mos...that's a LONG time! kinda like getting on a bike after not riding one for years....you know you haven't forgotten how but those first few peddle strokes are still nerve racking....that's how I feel about racing a half.....just nervous...

anyway...this post was more for me to be able to reflect back later on where my mind / focus was at this time in my life/training. so there ya have it.