Rungirl 13.1 race recap

Ahhh, rungirl. This was my second half marathon. My first was a spur of the moment, fly by the seat of my pants kind of race. I didn't know if I could run 13.1 miles. I was in good shape (thanks to Orange County Fitness)  but long distance running was not yet in my bag of tricks. Pull ups and burpees, yes. Running so long you rub your armpit skin off? Not yet. I made it, but it left me longing to feel like I had raced it.
I toed the line of this race after running consistently for a year, averaging about 25-30 miles a week. During my 'training' for the half, I upped my easy run mileage to six miles and my long runs to 10, 11, 12 and 13 miles. I still basically ran 5k specific workouts, but I got up to about 35 miles a week. I felt much more prepared for this run. However, I still lacked the experience to know how hard to push, or when to really try to push the pace.
This was the perfect run to gain that experience. The start was in a park and the course brought you out to a lovely wooded, winding road. There were rolling hills, but they were imperceptible. The downhills, on the other hand, were noticeable-and I loved them.
It was a two loop course and on both significant downhills I took the coasting opportunity to eat the fruit snacks I had stashed in my sports bra. The cool thing about this race being a two loop course is that you get a scenic stretch outside the park, and then inside the park (which covers about 3 miles)  you have constant support from spectators. This made the run go by quickly. It was a wet 39 degrees outside and that helped make it easier to keep the pace brisk. Like I said, I am unfamiliar with the nuances of racing this distance, so I kept it cool and comfortable but made sure my legs were turning over at a decent clip. I ran back and forth with some younger girls for a while, but lost them at one of the aid stations when they stopped to drink. I concentrated on enjoying myself and marveled at how easily that came. The quiet woods, the cold air, and the unspoken camaraderie laced with competition  among the women created the perfect atmosphere in which to experience those rare moments in running where you feel alive, present, strong, and free. There were uncertain times when I choked on water and cursed my broken iphone but the bulk of this race was spent in a happy cruise.  Before I knew it, we were on the second loop heading back into the park for the last 3 miles of the race. I picked up the pace slightly. There was a girl who passed me around mile 5 who I wanted to reel in. I knew she was motivated to do well because she looked at her watch like every 30 seconds. I began to let go of the tight grip I had on my pace.
Sadly, I have an iphone that is literally held together with KT tape and one Angry Birds bandaid. As soon as the race started I somehow hit repeat for songs as I tried to pull up my carefully planned playlist. So I was stuck listening to one song on repeat unless I wanted to fight with my frozen hand to slap the correct areas of the cracked screen in order to get a different repeated song. To add insult to injury, it was so cold outside that my frozen hand didn't register on the screen as belonging to a live human being until every 4th or 5th slap. After one particularly bad fight with my phone somewhere out on the wooded road, I gave up and listened to 'Work Bitch' by Britney Spears for the last 4 miles of the race. I know. It actually helped, though. There is one part that reminds me of running fast on a track and it felt great every four minutes when it would come back on.
So, as Britney chanted to me that I would have to work for the hot body I was craving, I ran the last 3 miles almost as I would a 5k. My style anyway; a careful, swift trot. I passed my husband, preened for him as he took pics, and with about half a mile to go I finally felt done. My body must have sensed an approaching finish line because my nose began to run uncontrollably and I'm pretty sure I was grunting. I got within sprinting distance of the girl I was chasing and in the process passed about 4 women. I never passed the faster girl, but I approached the clock and saw 1:50 and sprinted to beat the changing minute. Final official time: 1:50. 35th overall out of 832 and 8th in my age group. I didn't run as fast as I possibly could have, but I got a little more comfortable with the distance and closer to doing it next time. I started my Nike Plus watch a little late and it still had the course at 13.20 miles and my half marathon time at 1:48. While that time would have had me jumping for joy, I am ok with waiting for the next half to secure it officially.

After the race I wanted badly to meet up with friends and hang out in the festive atmosphere, but my sweat soaked tank top quickly had me shaking uncontrollably. I ended up hightailing it to the heated car.
All in all, this was a well run race that I will certainly do again. It provided the experience I need to tackle my next half more aggressively and taught me that 13.1 miles isn't a bad racing distance. It's actually pretty pleasant when you coast along at my pace. My goal is to make the next one suck from mile 8 onward and hopefully end up with a satisfying pr. I will post training info here when I begin my first-ever-real-deal-by-the-book training program for the Gusher Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k in March 2014 <3
                                     

This photo is called 'WTF are my kids?! As I notice my husband-who has our kids-is alone taking pics

I think this is the first race I smiled through <3 

                 

cruise

heading for the home stretch

I immediately lost my official photo booth pic

Negative splits! (kind of)

Why I'm born again and RunGirl 13.1

I am starting this fresh new blog because the past year has brought so many changes and shifts in my life's direction that I felt it was necessary to start over.
In the last year and a half I have become a runner. In August of 2012 I joined Orange County Fitness bootcamp. It was (then) predominantly female, in a parking lot, and hard as hell. It still is. But the founder, Kim Faulkner, was/is so encouraging and supportive and bad ass that I quickly resolved to be as dedicated as she and the other women in my class were.
This was my catalyst.
It started with getting in shape and evolved into a desire to run fast. Suddenly, my free time is spent racing and long running for fun instead of seeking out the coolest places to catch a buzz with my husband in an attempt to reclaim a bit of the young and free feelings of our early courtship. The satisfaction and space I have found during my solo and group runs is so deep that I feel like the 2011 me has shed her alcohol and fried food soaked skin and become a different form of person.  This year has also seen life long relationships run their course and dissipate into a wisp of decades old memories. While that is not a negative thing- it happens-it's a marked change in the cast of characters in my life.

Spiritually, I am as studious as ever. That means sporadically but with unfaltering enthusiasm. I chip away at my understanding of my origins and my destiny each week at mass (well, mostly each week), at CCD teaching my preschoolers the basics ( we are on the same level most of the time), and every Thursday with a woman named Lamore who studies the bible with me from the perspective of a Jehovah's Witness. We've been at it about a year and a half, maybe two. I love her.

This is why I feel compelled to approach this blog from the angle of a person who has been born again. I'm still me, but I can't relate to the entries from my old blog as quickly as I used to be able to...So here is a new space I am dedicating to all things running and living. I will recap the races I've done, document the training I do, and chronicle everything of interest in between. I'm still learning how to train and race and I know I take a ton of advice from other online sources. My hope is that eventually I can offer some reassurance to nervous first time racers or interesting training tips to someone learning how to get into a training routine.

On my agenda this weekend is the RunGirl half marathon and relay race. It will be my second half marathon. I ran my first half marathon, the Gusher Marathon, half marathon, and 5k, last March. It was my second race ever. I had run my first race ever, the Mardi Gras 5k, the month before. I was underprepared, had only ever run as far as 7 miles once, and was both terrified and way too confident. I figured it would just feel the way six miles feels. Twice. Mercifully, my husband agreed to run it by my side and he paced me to finish comfortably in 1:57.
Since then I've been doing long runs regularly every week. I ran through the hot sweltering Southeast Texas summer and became familiar with how 10 milers feel. Nevertheless, I am very nervous. I will be running alone, I won't have my pacer, and I'm not sure how it feels to actually push a pace in a racing environment of so many miles. However, in order to race future half marathons and perform at my best, I need the experience of another 13.1 under my belt. I know I sound like a giant baby. I have runner friends who pop up on my Facebook newsfeed with updates about half marathons regularly. I know it's generally viewed as a totally doable distance. I'm just too much of a newbie and a control freak to relax into the experience and just let it flow. However, I am going to pretend that is what I'm doing.
I must now go eat and rest vigorously. Here's to feeling the most alive, as often as possible.

All the Time