finally fell asleep..woke up at 2 and 4 and then up at 6:30....
got dressed, put on some eyeliner and mascara so I wouldnt' scare anyone away.....hmmm...actually that might be a good race tactic though, right? scare off the fast girls so i can get ahead?;).
Met Amanda and Raina at Starbucks and hopped in their car!
Raina, is even MORE gorgeous in Person than her photos! first thing I notice...is her beautiful smile and then her KILLER Legs! oh man...what I would do for Raina OR Amandas muscular legs.
The 3 of us blabbed and blabbed......Amanda Cackled ( it is contagious!...when she laughs it's like happy music coming out of her soul and the sun starts shining all around you! lol) and we had a great time talking about Marathon plans etc while we Drove out to beautiful Estacada!
We arrived and picked up our bibs....then we stood around, ate some gels for breakfast, got on a bus....got off a bus, sat in the car, got out of the car, got BACK on the bus lol..and then headed to the start line:)
once at the start line we headed down to the Port-a-potties and then did a nice 1.5 mile warm up:) After that, we did some strides.....
I got back to the start line and couldn't find Amanda OR Raina...When the announcer said 2min til start and Raina came jogging up, I was relieved...but STILL NO AMANDA??? I was sorta freaking out...
THEN as the announcer is counting down 10, 9, 8, 7 , 6...WHO comes SPRINTING up the hill to the start but AMANDA?!! lol...what the crap girl?
Apparently she was going pee! ha ha ha...anyway...poor girl was bookin' it to get there...not the best way to start her race!!! what a trooper...she turned right around on GO!! and took off again:)
Okay...on to MY RACE:
First mile felt great...there is some gradual downhill and my first mile was like 6:55.......
when I saw this....I knew I had 2 choices:
1. slow down and try to Pull back
2. trust that maybe I could do better than I thought. take a risk. if I can only hold this pace for 3 miles then I could still run the last 3 at 7:15's and hit a 7:00 average...
so I went with Option 2.
I held onto that pace and just kept going....
I was waiting to hit the wall and at about mile 5 when I had to climb that 1/4 mile long hill, I WANTED to walk...but then I remembered JENN saying "you will do great...even if you DO walk that Dam hill, but you Won't!" and I didn't want to have to tell her I did, so I pressed on!
AFter the hill, the last mile and a half or so is flat to the finish.
I had passed this girl at mile 4 who I had my eye on and she suddenly came up on me.....I THOUGHT the finish was around the corner and started my Kick and passed her again..........oops...when I got around the corner I realized I still had a half mile to go and for a split second I almost stopped..my legs jolted and then I realized there was no way in Hell i was stopping now! I did slow considerabley for a bit as I had just used my last bit of energy!:( she passed me again and I couldn't catch her. I hear Amanda Yelling at me and it encouraged me to just keep going even though my body was yelling at me to stop running...
AS I came up to the home stretch I was in PAIN.....My face was all scrunched up and I was giving it all I had left. I saw my husband and daughters and the CAMERA......lol....decided to SMILE and glad I did, I look so much nicer running with a smile on my face instead of a grimace. :D
I rounded the corner with about 50 feet to go...saw 42:4X as I approached the finish and sprinted....I wanted to get in under 43.... and I did it!!!
Final time: 42:54
Garmin said 6.26 (pace of 6:51)
Race results: 6:55 pace for 6.24 miles.
6th female overall
2nd in my AG
**EDIT**:
I forgot to add my splits. I was SO happy that I somehow still ran my 2nd half faster than my first half...or atleast miles 4,5,6 was faster than 1,2,3. so I acheived my goal!!
Mile 1: 6:55
Mile 2: 6:48
Mile 3: 6:54
(20:36)
Mile 4: 6:43
Mile 5: 7:06 (had the hill)
Mile 6: 6:45
(20:33!!) Only by a few seconds but negative nonetheless!!
last quarter: 6:49 pace.
Thoughts:
I NEVER thought I would come within 24 seconds of my PR from back in February when I was Training for a 10K! (42:30).
I am not sure HOW I ran that with only 8wks of base building after 2.5 mos off, but I am feeling excited for the future. I think I can break 40min by this time next year. I think the gradual down hill obviously helped but even with that, I never expected to run sub 7min miles. I am starting to think that the 8wks off was a great REST for my legs!
Last week I didn't think I would be able to come close to my 1:32:18 half marathon time from spring on Oct 29th this year, but now my perspective has changed and I think I just might be able to break 1:32, or at least come close, with another 5wks of base to go:)
I feel so blessed to run with Amanda and Raina today. To be surrounded by women who are humble, kind and from the goodness of their hearts can be truly happy for others achievements. Amanda kept telling me how proud she was of me and I knew that she really meant it. It is hard to find women in sports who can truly be happy for others and I love them both. It was a GREAT day and a GREAT Celebration of my 8wk road back.
8wks ago, I could HARDLY run THREE MILES! .....7wks ago, FIVE MILES WAS extremely difficult..... but 8wks later, I am strong and getting stronger every day.
To anyone out there who is working hard to come back from an injury or just working toward a goal, don't give up. You will get there. keep at it, and don't ..what ever you do, doubt yourself.
Overall, my heart is full and I am feeling like a blessed woman.
Raina, Amanda and I before the race...
You will have to click on this to see my "hurting" face...couldn't catch darn 444 again....actually I had stopped trying...just wanted to be done:)
Grimace.
Smile. Do I prove my point?
so blessed to have a husband who is an amazing photographer...
this is my favorite picture...This was my "CELEBRATION RUN" for the last 8wks of running since my injury...and I was truly content with my life in this moment and
thankful to GOD for my legs!!!
aaaaand....back to grimace. ha ha...
Beautiful Raina!! did I mention she was 2nd female? uh yeah. rockstar!
Amazing Amanda, myself and Raina. what wonderful women AND Athletes!
My adorable husband. xx