Another running adventure

Last weekend I finished my second half marathon. It was a blast. This time I was on my own. Thankfully a friend had lent me his Garmin for a month so I kind of had an idea of what my pace was and could keep an eye on my pacing for the race. The race was through Kirkland which is pretty familiar to me as I grew up in the area. Funny thing is when you are running you actually notice different things than when rushing by in a car.

As we awaited the start I got to chat with a couple of people in the starting corral. One guy had run many races and the woman next to me was running her first. It was fun to share stories of training and just talk running.

As for the race it went good. About 2 miles in when started up a long hill. I knew that around mile 3.5 my sister's running group would be manning a water stop so it was great to see them ahead as I crested the hill and knew that part was behind me. Also I was able to get rid of my long sleeve shirt and give it to my sister as I ran by. Nothing like cheers from people who know you to keep you pressing forward. Later in the course a little before mile 6 there was my mom hanging out and waiting for me to pass. It was funny because I recognized her long before she figured out I was coming. Then as I passed her we turned a corner and began the long descent down to the waterfront. I think this was the hardest part for me. Funny thing is this section of the race passed right by my old neighborhood so that was fun.

About halfway down the hill my knee definitely was saying "what are you doing to me?". But knowing that pain is part of the process I kept pushing forward. About mile 10 along the section near the water my knee definitely was screaming so a little walking and stretching and then I was bound and determined to pick it up and finish. I had looked at the race route but was wanting to stay a little ignorant of where all the hills would be in the course. I don't know if that was a good idea or not but definitely when you are in the last mile every little hill was a hurdle. But all the training Nina had me do paid off as I was able to pass quite a few people on those last hills.

Then right as I was coming into the last quarter mile I saw my sister walking along the course towards the finish line. Yay! Heidi ran with me in the last bit and cheered me on which helped give me a little extra push and pace as I crossed the finish line. Ahh victory! I finished 15 minutes faster than my previous time so I was really excited about that. I will still never win the race but I will hopefully keep having fun competing against myself.

After the race we all headed home for a Mother's Day brunch. The gift to Mom an entry into the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll half marathon. That's right all the women in the family will compete in the race. Melissa, Heidi and mom will all be doing the half and I will be trying for my first full.