The night before I wasn't feeling well- I had come down with a cold a few days before and I didn't sleep well. As I drove to the race site I wondered what I was doing. What possessed me to pay money to do this again? After I got to the race I met up with my new friend Jessica- we met on a Facebook user group for triathletes. She happens to live in the same area and we have a mutual friend so it was a fun way to meet.
We both talked about our goals for the race- mine being a 12:30 average for the race. Last time I ran this course I finished in 2 hours and 45 minutes. So that pace would still be an improvement. We got to the start line- it was chilly but humid- but I kept my gear to a minimum. I was glad because soon after I started running it was warm.
I worked my plan of run 5 minutes walk 1 minute. I was keeping a pretty good clip during my run and was causing right along - until right before mile 1 when I needed to pee. Like now. Thankfully there was a bathroom stop shortly after mile 1 but I had to wait in line behind 3 other people and this cost me 2-3 minutes. But after I was done I took off and kept up my pace.
We turned around shortly after mile 5 to head back and it started to rain. A lot. And I was wearing a white shirt. Oh well - it was a women's run. I plodded along at my faster than planned pace and around mile 10 started pacing with a girl who liked my hat. We ran together and passed each other back and forth the remainder of the race.
I felt great but around mile 11 I started to get a little stiff and stopped walking some of my walk breaks. (It was less painful that way). But I managed to keep my pace down and I really wanted to finish strong. I kept pushing and crossed the finish line at just under 2 hours and 33 minutes. Adjusting for my actual start time my final time was 2 hours, 32 minutes, and 16 seconds. Damn that bathroom stop! I could have been under 2 hours I think!!!
Anyway- that is a solid 16 minute improvement over my October race time - I'll take that. My pace goal 12:30 but I averaged 11:37- pretty damn good if I do say so myself.
I was much more prepared and had a better foundation for this race. I have more work to do before June 12th but now I am confident I can finish under 3 hours after a long bike ride. I can't believe how close this really is.
