Volunteered and ran the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half Marathon this weekend. and it was LOVELY!
I swear, I don't know why I even run 5K's. I suck at them horribly, and all they do it make me feel like crap! Seriously...I can't think of a 5k other than the one where I ran a PR that I felt good about it afterwards. I should stop running them all together. Longer distances are SO much better for my attitude about running.
Anyway...I had a freaking blast yesterday.
Up at 3:30am to get ready and get to the German Club to help with packet pick up, chip timing pick up and day of race registrations. It was a mad house starting at about 5am!
7am, hitched a ride with Derek over to the park with no time to spare for the start. Not ideal as I like to hit the potty as close to the start as possible, but we were running through the woods which means there is a potty anywhere I look along the course.
The weather was a DREAM! It was in the high 60's, low 70's when the start gun went off. Any runner is thrilled about those temps, but a slow as sh*t runner is even happier!
Ran the first mile with Stephanie, then her speedy little self took off for the rest of the race!
I took off the trail to pee :-)
Fell into a comfortable groove for the first 5-7 miles and felt pretty good. Then there was the 1 or so mile long section on trails (the other 12 miles were on paved bike trails). This was where I felt GREAT!!! I'm sure I was barely above walking speed, but man did I feel like I was flying! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE trail running. There is just something about jumping and bobbing and weaving over roots and rocks that makes you feel like an antelope flying through the woods. LOVE IT!!! I even passed a whole mess of people (disclaimer...I am pretty sure they were people who had never run on trails before so they weren't slow..they were just intimidated by the rough terrain and therefore walking or joggin VERY slow). Who cares though...I passed people!!! That doesn't happen often so I am going to bask in its glory!
My GREAT, and FAST feeling lasted until about mile 9. Not too bad. Then the hip issue I have been battling started to flare up. My right hip was super tight and I just couldn't get a good and wide stride. I walked the hills I encountered, and jogged the flat and downhill. It actually started to feel better when I ran.
I SO wanted to run better than my worst time. I wasn't expecting any PR or anything. It was my first 1/2 marathon since November, and in warmer temperatures...but I wanted to fall squarely between my best and worst.
At mile 12, Pauly rode past me on the lead bike...it was great to see him, but you know what seeing him meant? It meant that the lead MARATHONER...yeah, the guy running TWICE as far as me...was FINISHING! AHEAD OF ME!!! I know those guys are crazy fast, but it is a little disheartening when a guy runs a marathon faster than you run a half marathon.
Just have to remember, it takes me twice the effort :-)
After I finished, Paul was still biking the course to help people out if they needed it, so I got changed and helped give out medals at the finish. It was really good for me to see all the folks finishing the full marathon in the time I expect to finish mine in October. The top finishers in the race have a packed finish line. Everyone is still there, so the cheering section is huge and loud. By the time the 5+ hour crowd is coming in, very few fspectators are left. Everyone is packing up and heading out. Being one of those people at the back of the pack, I know that running twice as long is HARD. Those folks at the back deserve the cheering section as much if not more than the front pack...but they often don't get it. I loved being at the finish line for "my people". The slow people who have accomplished something HUGE!!! Putting a medal around their head, and giving them a "great job" just felt right!!!
1/2 marathon finish time 2:39 (not squarely between best and worst...but not slower than my worst, so I will take it)
(Oh...and I got an official email from the Steamtown Marathon today that apparently is supposed to prepare scare the sh*t out of you about the down hills in the first half and the uphills in the last 6 miles. Bunch of testimonials from previous runners about just how miserable it is. I guess I better start sprinting down the giant hill in my neighborhood to prepare my knees and quads for the torture in October! Really looking foward to the UPHILL miles of 20-26. On the upside...the last .2 is downhill. Gee, thanks Scranton for throwing me a bone!)
My finishers medal
Our office where we display our hardware! Pauly runs a LOT of marathons. 6 awards up there are Hsin-Hua's, and 4 are mine...the rest are Pauly's. (My newest is all the way to the right, and I will be adding about 12 before the New Year!)
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