Monday, April 6, 2009

Aril 5th Platte River 1/2 Marathon

So... it has been quite some time since I have sat down and wrote on this blog. Pretty much since we moved into our house, I have been in another world entirely. I was keeping up with my running, but my excitement was mostly for our first home and making it that way. SO much fun! Needless, to say, I wasn't as thrilled about the upcoming 1/2 marathon that I had signed myself up to run. But, I'm NOT a slacker. I did keep up with the training, just not the blogging. :) I only ran up to 10 miles as my longest pre-race run. However, I had ran that run about 6 times before the race. So, I was a little worried about my endurance; running 3 more miles. YIKES!

The weekend before the race, I ran 9 1/2 miles on Saturday and 7 1/2 miles on Sunday with my friend Lynn. BTW, she is my new running buddy, and I LOVE having someone to keep my accountable. We've ran a few times together, and pretty much talk the whole time, so It's a great girl time too!!! I've always been a solo runner, and enjoyed it. But there is something to be said about running with someone. A definite different kind of enjoyment, that makes those long runs a little less boring. Back to the weekend before the race; I think I overdid it a little, because the resp infection my husband had the previous 2 weeks, finally caught me off guard. I woke up Monday with a sore throat, dizzy head, and overall feeling of being "wiped out". Went to work, and luckily, I was able to leave a few hours early. So, I downed some NyQuil, and headed to sleepy land, after 6 joyful experiences in the bathroom. I will leave out the details.

I was hoping to get at least one more run in before the next weekend, but I couldn't risk holding up my recovery. As it was, I worked two 12 hour shifts the day before the run, and still had a decent cough. On top of all of this the weather was forcasted for an infamous 12" Blizzard the day before the race. Colorado is great in the Winter, but we are now making up for it in the Spring by getting all the snow we did not get in those Winter months. I was dreading this race in that I didn't want to run in 12 inches of snow with my hacking cough. Well, God was good to me!!! No snow! Plus, I got 9 1/2 hours of sleep the night before the race. I NEVER get sleep like that. I'm always too nervous. But, my body really needed it.

Race day was here, and I felt pretty good! Still had my cough, but no dizziness or fever. My legs were so rested from not having run all week, that they were almost running away from me in anticipation of the is race. I felt rested and ready. I wasn't nervous. I knew I had trained, and I just wanted to have fun. The weather was perfect. Sunny and no wind. It was a little cold, but I warmed up right away.

The first mile, I paced myself slower to warm up. I didn't know what to expect of my body after just being sick, and still seeing some of the after shocks. But by mile 2, I felt FABULOUS!!! I picked up my pace to my 10 minute miles and ran the entire rest of the race at that pace. The course was GREAT for a first timer. VERY flat with some slight inclines and declines. There was a steep hill at the end, but it was only about .3 of a mile long. I drank two sips of powerade around every 2 miles, to keep my energy. It was a GREAT run, and my sweet husband was about .3 of a mile before the finish line to greet me. He ran the rest of it taking my pictures and cheering me on! That was the best part. He seemed like he was beaming with pride, that I did as well as I did. He hugged me for a long time. I LOVED being met at the finish line by him. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful man. My actual time was 2.11:52. Right around 10 minute miles. It was GREAT, and I had so much fun.

So, I learned that it is VITAL to rest those legs the week before the race. I was forced to, because I was sick, but it was a blessing in disguise. I was not laying around all week though. I think it was great that I worked those couple days before the race. I was walking a lot at work, so I was getting in a little cross training, which kept me refreshed. My legs felt strong and ready to run on race day! I also learned that I didn't have to run longer than 10 miles before the race, which I was worried about. I had so much adrenaline from being with all the other people, that it gave me added energy. I think it was good though that I did more than one 10miler pre-race. I was used to at least running that amount. What's another 3miles? I am psyched to run another 1/2 marathon. And, I did sign up for the Chicago Marathon in October. CRAZY! Let the training continue.