Before I recap the race, I have a confession... I signed up for another race at the end of April. Bringing my total number of races in 2014 to 14, including the 10K I am doing in March. It also makes me eligible for an extra medal for the California Half Series, as long as I am able to be at the final race in December. I thought at first that I may not be able to be at that final race, therefore not being eligible for the medal, however I just realized that the last race is at the end of the month and not on the same day as Santa to the Sea like I had originally thought. As soon as registration opens I will be signing up.
Another quick thought... I may or may not be thinking about not doing the Dopey Challenge next year. Many discussions to happen between now and April with Patrick as well as internally deciding the best thing to do. Part of my doubt is financial and the other is my physical abilities. This first twinge of doubt may have happened during my very difficult run today shortly after I hit my wall. More to come on this (thoughts and opinions on this topic are greatly appreciated!)
Today's race was a mixture of awesome, difficult, exciting, windy and emotional. So many emotions, so little time.
I got to the race early and stood around waiting for the marathon runners to start. It was cold this morning. Not cold cold, like what the people on the East Coast are experiencing, but Southern California cold. I stood by myself, waiting, shivering, waiting and repeating. Then I was approached by a journalist from the Ventura County Star, the local newspaper. I was asked about my running history, when and why I started, etc. Not sure if anything I said will be used but it was a great way to start the day.
The marathon started at 7, and the half marathon not far behind at 715.
The course was entirely flat and surrounded by farm land on all sides. It was a beautiful and fast run. Up until the halfway point. I realized at about mile 6 that I could get really close to PRing if I continued with the same pace. My current PR for a half marathon is 2:39:00 and when I got to the half way point today I was at an hour and twenty minutes. I was using 30:45 intervals and decided that at the half way point I would switch to 45:30 in order to have a faster second half and PR.
It was right around this point that the winds picked up and the rest of the race was done with my head down in order to prevent dust from flying in my eyes. It wasn't too far into the second half that I began having trouble catching my breath and lowering my heart rate. I was also quite dizzy. It didn't take more than a mile to realize that I would need to fall back to the 30:45 intervals if I wanted to finish upright.
Around mile 8 I hit my wall and text both my mom and Patrick to provide some words of encouragement, which helped but not quite enough to make up for the strong wind gusts that slowed me down from a consistent 12-1230 minute mile to 13-14 minute miles. It was disheartening, especially while mentally struggling. My mom ended up calling me at a great point in the race, which forced me to stop running while I talked to her. I needed that break.
I ended up having to walk mile 12-13 completely as the winds were just too strong, but I made it and ended up running the last .13 miles to cross the finish line strong. Patrick was at the finish line for me and I definitely needed to see him when I turned the corner. I finished in 2:50:01 (unofficial time) and can honestly say that I am happy with that time. It was not my best race, but it was also not my worst run and I survived it.
This wasn't an exciting race in any way for me, other than it being new and of course it being another race I have completed towards my goal. I did a lot of thinking on this run, mostly negative. A lot of doubt and a lot of questioning of my capabilities, my goals, and my future plans in regards to running. I am hoping that my next long run goes a lot more smoothly than this one.
Then again, looking back, I guess I can also look at the positive side of things and realize that I dug deep and pushed myself to the end. It would have been very easy to give in and give up. I didn't do that though. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I just kept going and I plan to keep doing that for a long time.
Total Time- 2:50:01
Total Distance- 13.13
Mile 1- 12:40
Mile 2- 12:08
Mile 3- 12:25
Mile 4- 12:33
Mile 5- 12:00
Mile 6- 11:54
Mile 7- 11:18
Mile 8- 13:08
Mile 9- 13:28
Mile 10- 14:24
Mile 11- 13:14
Mile 12- 13:46
Mile 13- 15:20
Mile 0.13- 1:39
Today's run brought me to completing over 29 miles of my 1250 mile goal. A total of 2% complete. And we're only on day 5 of the year. If I keep it up I should be at my goal in no time and that's really exciting motivation to keep me going. The more I do now, the less pressure I will have on myself to finish towards the end of the year.
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