Sunday, December 12, 2010

36 Seconds

Shun The Sun 2010
This is my "Shun The Sun 2010" Half-Marathon.

I was super excited when I crossed the finish line. As Mike put it, I beat my goal time with 36 seconds to spare!

I wanted to beat 2 hours. Well, let me back up, I wanted to beat my time from my last half-marathon in January. That was London's Run. My time was 2:07:32. This was a 9:45 pace. But, word was the race was mapped a little short. So I was probably around a 10-minute mile considering the course was short.

My friend Maddy suggested we do Shun The Sun and work on our speed. She found a training schedule to help you beat 2 hours. Although, she didn't really need it, she is already super fast and was well under 2 hours in January.

And we did it!!! My time was 1:59:24. It felt so good!

The race went really well. The course is all flat and paved most of the way. I drove up w/ my friends Maddy, Meredith, and Casey. Meredith and Casey did so awesome, this was their first half.

Maddy and I stayed together for the first 4 miles. Then, she took off.

At mile 7, I was feeling great! I think the Olive Garden pasta I ate the night before paid off. They had a clock at mile 7 & I knew I needed to step up my pace. I turned on my i-pod and off I went. I felt like I was cruising. The endorphins must have kicked in. I felt like I could run forever. I was passing people. It was invigorating.

Then came mile 10. I started to feel tired, but I knew mentally I could do 13 at my pace if I kept pushing. Mile 11 - 12 was the worst, it seemed to take forever. I think I went a little too fast because I couldn't sprint towards the finish. But, when I saw the clock, I knew I would beat my time and that was all I cared about.

I look forward to doing another one. I want to beat my time again. I get crazy ideas that I want to run a full marathon whenever I am at mile 8 in a run. But, then when mile 11 comes on, I realize it might be too much of a challenge!!

I have to say I feel like I am addicted to running. I am amazed at what my new "norm" feels like. The human body has such an amazing ability to adapt. But, I still can't decide if where I'm at is healthy or not????? I feel like I need 2 six-mile runs during the week and a long run on Saturday to feel good. It is like my body craves it. I know I say this all the time, but I think if I drank alcohol I would be an alcoholic based on how addicted to the endorphins I am.

Mike teases me because I am burning through running shoes like crazy.......Am I turning crazy??? I still love the feeling nonetheless.

3 comments:

Nick and Erica Hart said...

Way to go sis! Yeah I do think you are addicted to running...but better addicted to that than alcohol I would have to say. :) Just don't start feeling guilty if you miss a run. I am so proud of you with your time...you are amazing!

Maddy said...

Wow -- I didn't realze you had cut so much time off of your time from London's Run. WAY TO GO! I'm so glad you are my running buddy. And you know there is no way I would rather start my Saturday than on a long run with you. You are the best!!!

The Reading Armadillo said...

You are my hero and inspiration!