At the beginning of the year I decided this was the year to run a half marathon again. It's easy to say that when you have 8 or 9 months before race day!
About three months ago Kevin and I started looking at half marathons and talking about which one we'd like to do. He runs the Spanish Fork half every year (which is partly sponsored by Xango) so I decided that would be a good one to join him in. Easy to get a babysitter, no traveling required. Then some time went by without much thought concerning half marathons. One morning I was out on a run on our gorgeous trail and a thought came to mind "Oh, I better start training if I'm going to run that half." As soon as I got home I looked at the calendar--7 weeks away. What?! Holy smokes, where did the time go? I looked up a training schedule and found one I liked that was a 12 week plan. I just jumped right in on week five and did a small adjustment (I wasn't sure I was really ready to run 8 miles that weekend!) and continued to stick to that plan. And it actually worked out great!
I did my long runs on Fridays. Kev often works from home on Friday and even if he doesn't, he just goes to the warehouse which is close. So I didn't have to get up extra early as I started adding on mileage. Plus, the training schedule has the day after your long run as a cross training day. I love the cycle class at the gym on Saturday mornings so it was perfect!
I'll pat myself on the back here (well, this whole post is a pat on my own back :) but there were many a mornings I didn't want to get up to go on my run. But I did it and I stuck with it. Of course, once I was out there I was so grateful. I can't say enough how much I love our river trail. I'll require I nearby trail in every future house I live in!!
So a couple weeks ago Kevin came to me with bad news. Xango has a convention in Vegas every year. That he has to go to. He'd be gone 5 days. Including race day. WHAT?! NO!!! Should we pick a different race? No. I had been training and I was ready to just do it. Sad.
I asked my dad if he could come to my house the morning of the race to watch my boys. He said he may be gone for work but if he was in town he would come over. I called him yesterday morning to make sure he was okay with it still and he told me that he and my mom were actually going on a mini vacation so he wasn't going to be around. Bummer. No, actually I was super happy for them to be getting away to do something fun! I made a phone call to Deborah and asked if I could just drop my boys off with her nice and early and she agreed. Yeah!
Last night we all went to bed too late. Ry and Asher were invited to Gabe's birthday party (in Murray) so after school we went up to visit with Kacy and her babes (so sweet!!) and then I took them to the party (late--oops!) Since we were so late to the party we skipped dinner. The boys loved the donuts and ice cream and I'm sure would have been fine going to bed with nothing else, but after the party I decided to stop and get some food. We went to Zupas (yummy!!) and then drove the hour home. On the way home I explained to them what was going to happen in the morning, telling them they could sleep on the couch after I dropped them off with Deborah. I also told them to fall asleep in the car since it was so late. I heard Ry say to Asher "Do you want me to sing you a song?" which was followed by a few rounds of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'...I sure do love being a mommy :)
Race Day...
Tyce woke up during the night (he's been doing that a lot lately) so I was up with him for about a half hour. Asher woke up at 5:30am wanting to sleep in my room. I was tempted to just get up right then but I like my sleep too much. So I went back to bed for another 20 minutes :) After getting ready and eating my toast with peanut butter (one of my favorites!) I started getting the boys in the car. I had told them I would just carry them to the car but Ry told me it was okay if I woke him up. As I was picking him up he woke up bright eyed and hopped out of bed. He asked if it was time to get up and said he could walk to the car. So I got Asher, then Tyce. When I came back with Tyce, Rylan had buckled Asher in a seat and covered him up with a blanket and nuzzled his Tigger right up with him. That boy can be so dang sweet!
I quickly dropped them off with Deborah (whose kids were still sleeping) and headed to the library (the start and finish line location). I saw Brett Gallacher (who I've seen quite often on the trail) and talked with him until race time. Jessica McShinsky was there helping out so she came over to say 'hi' and cheer us on. I realized I'd never had to worry about car keys before. Brett offered to carry my key in his fanny pack--awesome! They announced the race would start in 5 minutes so we all gathered at the starting line. With a simple "On your mark, get set, GO!" we were off. I started my garmin and thought how glad I was to finally be doing this!
About a half mile in I checked my pace. My watch wasn't working--drats! The time was going but not the pace or distance. I pushed some buttons and then powered off and back on. Okay, we were back--whew! I was bummed it didn't start from the beginning but soooo glad I had checked it early on!
The race was going well. I found a group of ladies (about 15-20 years my senior) and liked their pace so I stuck with them. I just cruised along enjoying the cool morning. Since the course starts and ends at the same place, the course makes a big loop. At about mile 5 or 6 the super speedy runners were passing us on the opposite side of the road on their way to the finish line. Wowzers! This was also where my group of ladies started walking at the aid station so I passed them up and found a new group to follow. Mile 8 and 9 I had a terrible side ache. I could still run through it but it slowed me down. Last week I was supposed to run 12 miles but I was feeling lousy and I slept in (gotta get home to get Ry off to school now) so I only ran 9 miles. When I saw the 10 mile marker I was so happy! My side ache had gone away so I picked up the pace a bit. My knees were starting to hurt but I ignored the pain and pushed on. From my last half I knew to not stop at the last aid station. I ran right through and kept my mind on the finish line. I heard a runner right behind me and pretty soon another runner (who had already finished) ran towards us and joined her friend (the person behind me). She encouraged her on and then they passed me. It was one of the ladies I followed at the beginning of the race! I stayed close by and eavesdropped because the friend was giving such encouraging words. This is when I found out this lady was 56, and by golly, if I'm still running at 56 I'll be incredibly proud of myself! I tried to keep up with them and as they picked up their pace I tried to pick up mine. I fell a bit behind but as I rounded the corner and saw the finish line I knew I could push it just a little longer.
I couldn't see the time on the clock, and since my watch didn't start correctly from the beginning, I wasn't sure what my time was. I thought the clock read 2:06 so I was feeling happy that I'd beat 2:10. Kev and I ran our last half in 2:07 and I would have liked to beat that but I already told myself that 2:10 was my goal. (I am pretty competitive with myself so inside I really, really wanted to beat that 2:07.) Then as I got closer (I really do have good eyesight so there must have been a glare :) I saw the clock change to 2:05. No way!! I think I may have even laughed out loud since I was so pleased! And then the best thing happened. I saw Jessica stick her head out and heard her cheering my on. "You did it! You beat your time!!!" and full of emotion I crossed the finish line at 2:05:30. I was thrilled!
I grabbed a couple cups of water and got to talk to Jessica and Brett for a bit (he had his best time and I later heard them announce his name as third place in his category!!!)
I waited around hoping to win a prize and saw Tami's good friend Kim who had run with her husband. We chatted and congratulated each other while keeping our fingers crossed for a prize. We didn't win anything so we tried to bask in the goodness of running 13.1 miles :)
I went to pick up my boys and as soon as I walked in, Tyce started crawling to me and crying. Oh, that little boy is so cute :) Deborah said she couldn't get him to eat anything (it doesn't help that the yogurt I sent over was moldy!) We gathered up our stuff and left our mess, said our thank you's and good bye's and went home. Tyce ate and ate and ate, Ry and Asher had a snack and I got a nice shower. I put Tyce down for a nap and was tempted to nap myself but I knew it would be best to keep moving. I cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the house. The boys were watching a show so I sat down to read my book and briefly snooze. We kinda just relaxed the entire day! I told the boys I'd take them out to eat after they cleaned up their toys. Ha! I was actually taking myself out to eat for a job well done :) Ry chose Winger's. I think for the popcorn cause neither of them ate their dinner. We made a quick stop at Macey's before going home and straight to bed. Well, I stayed up and watched a movie and talked to Kev.
Ahhhh, so glad to have had a good run!
1 comment:
I totally agree how running with your spouse helps you in so many ways ;). Aren't half marathons fun? I can't wait to do my next one. well the one in Nov I hope to just survive. I am soo proud of you.
Post a Comment