One race down, one to go! Today went really well. I appreciate all of your prayers and emails/texts of encouragement!
WEATHER: When we left our house this morning, at 6 a.m., it wasn't raining. That quickly changed as we were leaving Salem. I was not excited about the rain and became concerned about how it would affect my time, of course :). But the rain was gone by Brooks and it stayed dry the rest of the day. Honestly, I don't think the weather could've been better. It wasn't too hot or sunny and there was no wind. I really can't complain. I prefer cooler temps, because I heat up really quickly.
COURSE: The course was semi-hilly, I would say. Keep in mind, though, that I keep my weekly running routes as flat as possible. There were a couple of spots where there was incline, but it was pretty gradual. Crossing the overpass was my biggest challenge (thought I lost a lung about then). There was a gravel road section that I was nervous about, but it wasn't loose gravel, so it ended up being a smoother section than I had anticipated.
PACE: The first mile was frustrating and slow, as some of you might have experienced yourself, in other races. I had a running buddy for the first three miles (Dwayne, the husband of my good bud, Julie), so we took turns bullying our way past all of the walkers (there were 4,300? people there, so it was impossible for all of the walkers to get behind the runners...it took some patience to get beyond the congestion). The second half, I ran alone, and had my sights on a quick, little brunette that I wanted to pass. She slowly pulled away from me, but then I was able to maintain the gap for the last two miles. In between the two of us was a girl wearing black & orange shorts that I was sure I could catch (the details of her shorts are important, since you can see her in my photo below :). I did catch her approximately ten meters before the finish line. Yeah!
GOALS: So I'd finally settled on these two goals. 1) my "realistic" goal: 9 minute miles and 2) my "competitive" goal: 8:30 minute miles.
STATS: My time- 52:54; Pace- 8:31; Place in my age division- 7/89; Place overall- 123/747; Place out of all females- 40/525. I was very pleased with my time. I told Mike that I've had runs where I've felt really strong and runs where I've felt really fatigued. This run was probably in the middle. I wouldn't say I felt strong, but I felt good and was thankful that I had the energy to push myself a little bit. I'm most excited about where I placed in my age & the female divisions.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: When we got back to Salem, we stopped by Mike's parents house real quick. Right when we got out of the car, my FIL says "What the Helvetia is going on?". We couldn't stop laughing and still get a good laugh every time we talk about it. So random and hilarious! Dick is such a funny guy.
Looking lovely as I finish....gross. But notice black/orange shorts girl behind me. Oh yah! I caught her :-)
Me & Julie post-race. Julie ran the half marathon and met her goal as well. I wouldn't have made it through my training without her. She's suffered through a lot of my long runs with me.
This picture is the group that Julie came with...Dwayne, Julie (talking to me on the phone), Nicole, Jennifer & Jacque. I just thought I would include this photo so you guys could see the cool stadium that we got to run through at the end of our race. It was huge!
Link to the professional photos that were taken of me at the race:
1 comment:
That is awesome you are getting into the 1/2 marathon and marathon scene! I used to work for Portland Running company and helped many a times put this race on. I ran portland marathon in 2007 and I am training for the NYC 1/2 marathon and hopefully a fall marathon maybe philadelphia. Doesn't it feel great to accomplish something like this?
By the way thanks soooooo much for your encouraging words on my blog. God is good and working out the details, in the mean time I just wait and watch them unfold. God bless!
Post a Comment