Yoga Pants Life

Whew! I made it through another half marathon. I still feel like I have an endorphin high. Even though training fell apart and I’m not where I want to be, I really needed the boost. My last few half marathons were awful and I feel like this was my redemption race.

Packet pick-up – PS I cannot remember the last time we got rain in May. 

The days leading up to the race were stressful. Between working a few hours at my side hustle/job and dealing with a stove/oven delivery fiasco, my poor, sweet Baxter had a seizure Friday evening (and another after the race Saturday.) I had a hard time relaxing Friday night, but I managed to get about 4-5 hours of sleep, which is approximately 4-5 hours more than the last half I ran.

 

New stove, who dis?

Things that went ‘right’

• I crossed the finish line, with plenty of time to spare
• I got a new PR for this course (I’ve done it twice before, and could never break 3 hours.)
• My fueling during the race was on-point and I could feel it kick in for the middle miles
• I never got down on myself during the race – once I got past ‘corkscrew hill’ at mile 7, I knew I would finish and I knew it would be less than 3 hours.
• While I didn’t PR, and I was slower than I wanted, for the first time in a long time, I saw my potential. I am confident that with a little work, I can easily get down to a sub 2:20 finish in the next few months. Yes, 2:54:00 down to 2:20:00 is a HUGE drop in a short time, but this was a super hilly and tough course and I wasn’t having the best day. I ran a 2:38:00 on a not as hilly course a few years ago and I walked the last 4 miles because I injured myself from under-training. I know I’m more than capable of hitting 2:20:00, it’s just a matter of when.
• My middle miles were awesome. I normally start feeling down during the middle miles and I just remember feeling happy and strong.
• I had fun
• The race left me wanting more. I can’t wait to sign up for a few more this summer. I always want to sign up for another after I finish one, but the last few have been more about signing up for races ASAP so that I could ‘erase’ my last experience. This time? I want to sign up for more because I want to sign up for more. I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone – not even myself.

Corkscrew hill, beautiful and evil at the same time

Things that could have gone better

• I, uh, could not, um, you know, ‘go’ before the race (or during, for that matter) so my stomach was less than pleased. Running 13.1 miles with stuff sloshing around is not fun. It’s hard to say what the cause was, but I suspect I did not drink enough water the day before
• I felt really heavy and slow the first few miles – it was almost like running in quicksand
• I felt super pukey (technical term!) at the end because it was getting warm and my body had enough
• My math was a bit off and I thought I was going to finish in 2:45:00, not 2:54:00
• I walked more than expected for mile 11 – I wish I had pushed myself harder
• I dropped the ball on training, but thankfully the early weeks of consistent training and my rally at the end made this doable.

#home

So, what now?

I’m running the San Diego Rock n’ Roll half in three weeks. I’m also planning on signing up for the Camarillo Half Marathon in August.  I hope to sign up for the Shoreline Half Marathon in July, but it may conflict with a side job, so I’m not too sure about that one yet. If I can’t run that one, I’ll find something else.  All I know is that the more races I do between now and October, the more confident I’ll be when it’s time to run 26.2.

One last thing – I just saw my race photos and it’s super-clear that I need to lose some weight. I’m trying not to dwell on it and I’m not sure how to approach this, but I really need to get this under control, especially with everything I have coming up. I’m legit at a point where I may need to go ‘old skool healthy living blog’ and start posting my daily meals and workouts. UGH! It sounds dreadful, but maybe it will help.