Tuesday's Training Update: Half Marathon Race Report

Phew, where to begin? Last week was a roller coaster ride. Things started out well and I was generally taking it easy in regard to training. Wednesday I ran a great 4 mile tempo run at 6:45 pace (and it was 73 degrees out too). I felt good and ready to run my race. Ugh. Then Thursday came. Nick got sick sometime Wednesday night and wound up spending Thursday and Friday in bed (something he never ever does). Needless to say, what a state of nervousness I was in. I didn't want to get sick! And at the same time, I wasn't feeling stellar either. No symptoms of any kind, but I was ridiculously tired and felt winded when I walked up the stairs. Not good! I went to bed early and decided to take things as easy as possible.

Sunday morning came, I was still feeling tired (and nervous), and actually wondering how I was going pull off a half marathon. I dragged myself out of bed, said my goodbyes to Nick and Kaylee, and was off to Boston around 6:15 am.

Just before 8:00 am the announcer bellowed "perfect day for running folks, sunny 65 degrees and 87% humidity!" This made me chuckle a little. 65 degrees is nice, but 87% humidity just might kill me. Bang! Ooh, time to run. I clocked a 7 minute first mile. Probably a little too fast. Crossed the second mile at 13 minutes. Obviously, I didn't run a 6 minute 2nd mile meaning the mile marker must be wrong. The rest of the mile markers seemed off too. I had absolutely no idea how I was running, so I decided to poll people. (This is where Nick tells me I'm sooo odd sometimes.) I began asking people around me (the ones not wearing headphones anyway) what they were hoping to run for a time. It didn't help much though. The responses where all over the map. Obviously they had no idea what they were running either. All I could do was hang in there and wait for the clock at the finish line. By mile 10, I was feeling the humidity and telling myself there was only a 5K left.

Then I saw it and it was beautiful, the finish! But it was also a half mile away! As I got close enough to see the clock, it read 1:33:something! Holy cannoli, I'm going to break 1:34! Then I crossed the line, felt nausous, started having legs cramps, choked down some water and banana, walked a mile back to where I was parked, and drove my sorry (yet ecstatic) butt home.

Throughout the day Nick kept saying I'm sorry you don't feel well now. But I told him that physical discomfort is so worth it when you exceed your own expectations. He just smiled and shook his head.

My official chip time was 1:33:43. Yay!

So it seems I wasn't the only one having a big running day. While I was running in Boston, my parents were running a half marathon in Hyannis. My mom met her goal time by breaking 2:05, and my dad finished just a couple minutes behind her. Both did great. My father has been fighting calf injuries and hadn't actually run the weeks prior to the race, and my mother is a newbie runner having just started around this time last year!

Turns out a high school friend ran the same race as me and she did great too. Go Christine! And finally, my bestest running buddy from high school, who has promised to run BayState with me, was running a marathon in Vermont. Yay, Nadine! Wow, that's crazy! Congratulations everyone!

Here's where I share last weeks training:
Monday: 60 minute bike
Tuesday: 4 mile run at 8:24 pace
Wednesday: 4 mile tempo run at 6:45 pace
Thursday: 30 minute bike
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 13.1 race at 7:09 pace