Monday, September 5, 2011

Redemption 1/2 marathon - I did it!!!

After the Cap City 1/2 marathon in May where I hurt myself, I knew that I needed to redeem myself by completing a run

and that time came this past weekend at the Emerald City Marathon

The conditions weren't ideal....

I hadn't trained as well as I had for the Cap City in May
I had worked a wedding the night before and didn't get to bed until after midnight
it had rained during the night resulting in debris all over the course
and I only trained indoors

... I pretty much had plenty of odds against me

However, it was not going to prevent me from trying my absolute hardest at this race!

I met up with my sister and her fiance right before the race began.
It was not the most ideal running conditions
humid and warm at 7am
however when the gun sounded we started out of the gate.

I never really get my pace until the first 3-4 miles on the road
Once we split 1/4 marathon and 1/2 marathon I knew that I had to complete it
I broke down the course by one 5k
a 1/4 marathon... which was much more tough than I realized
[the 1/4 path we ran last year was COMPLETELY flat, so I assumed the same for the 1/2 - ha!]
as soon as we got on the path for the 1/2 marathon and we were a mile in there was a sign
for a steep hill
GREAT! what in the world did I sign up for and didn't know!
I realized I just needed to push through this 1/4 of a marathon
after that, we met back up with the 1/4 marathon track and I knew I only had a little over a 5k
I just kept pushing as long as I could

I owe a lot to the MIT [Marathon In Training] 10:40 pace setter who saw me start walking around mile 10.5 {i felt like i was all out of steam} she looked at me, looked at my bib and said "Lindsey, what are you doing walking, lets go"
Holy motivational! Thats all I needed and I kicked it into high gear and headed towards the finish line

At mile marker 11.5, Justin, my parents and sister were there
[I'm pretty sure I was yelling at them "Woohoo... I'm still running!" ha!]

And just as I thought I was going to run out of gas again where I could see the finish line
I looked up and saw my Goddaughter and her whole family out there to cheer me on
{which is a TOTAL surprise!}

I finally am able to say that I successfully completed a 1/2 marathon in my best time yet!
2 hours and 20 minutes!
[I'm fully aware this isn't lightening speed, however, I set out to run a race to finish it, not to be the first person to cross the finish line]
My goal in May was to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes
so I take this as an accomplishment:)

After the race

Molly's adorable sign

I am so thankful Jason and Katie came out!

I am so thankful this run went well, I re-gained my own confidence back in running.
I'm excited for my next half marathon.... because I know I can do it!

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23 comments:

Holly said...

Awesome! Congratulations! I love your goddaughter's cute sign! :)

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

woo hoo! congrats on finishing! that's an awesome time!

Megan said...

Congrats! I am running my first 1/2 in December and you are a great inspiration to me. You are looking teeny tiny in all of your pictures by the way :)

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS lady!! :)

R said...

Way to go! I'm like you, don't race to finish first just to finish. Though my goals are still WAY slower than yours. I did my first 1/2 marathon in March at 3:13:13 and this year my goal is 3hrs even. Maybe someday I'll get in that 2hr type pace.

Lindsay said...

WAY TO GO LINDS! SO proud of you! This is incredible.

Kelly said...

CONGRATULATIONS!! I bet it feels awesome to have another running accomplishment under your belt. LOVE your Goddaughter's sign! And that was SO NICE of the MIT to give you a boost of motivation! Way to go, Lindsey!

Sara said...

Awesome! Congrats - that is a great time!!! I wish I would have seen you there, but you were a lot faster than I am! Ha!

Way to go! I look forward to seeing you at the next race, for sure!! :)

Jessica said...

Congrats!!! That's a great time accomplishment!

Ashley said...

congrats!!

Jess said...

Way to go Linds!!! You are an inspiration to us all :)

Holly said...

You're amazing! Congrats on finishing another half! I need you to be my running motivator. I really want to get back into and maybe do another half in the next year. Way to go, woman!

Mrs. S said...

look at you go girl! kicking butt and takin names!

Aly @ Analyze This said...

Congrats!!

Mateya said...

Love this! You should be so proud...that time seems great to me!

I will definitely be thinking about you when I am running my 1/2 this Sunday! You will be my virtual cheerleader without even knowing it! :)

Unknown said...

Way to go!

Angie said...

Great job lady! You rock!

I really want to get back into running. I just need to make the time!

Emily said...

Congrats! I'm definitely not a runner but I'm trying to get into it...it's so hard!

A friend of mine ran the 1/2 marathon too and said the same thing about assuming it would be flat, lol.

Anna & Kirby said...

Way to go girl! That's awesome!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

That's great!! Congrats on finishing!!

Christina said...

Awesome!!
What a great achievement!
xo

Alphabet Soup Momma said...

Congrats girl! You are awesome!

Jen said...

Hi there! I noticed you were from Columbus. I am as well. I just wanted to drop a note to say hi and to say Congrats! I have attempted to train for a 5K a couple of times, but can't seem to get into it. I probably need to join a program to keep me motivated. It is awesome that you are able to run a 1/2.