Marathon Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2016 will be forever remembered.  One - my daughter got up extra early to harass me while I prepped for my run.  Two- when I got home from run I was greeted with a beautify Stargazer Lilly (smells amazing) and a homemade card from my kids.  Three- I had a major PR at my 2nd 1/2 marathon.

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.