Third Time's the Charm

Okay folks.  I promise -- this is the last half marathon I'll be recapping for the season!  I'm fully aware that the details of each race become less and less interesting for those who could care less about running.  :)   But for the record's sake, this was my best race ever!! And not just because I hit a PR.

 That's me -- right smack in the middle.

After running the Boom Shakalaka last month, I decided it would be really fun to run one more race this fall before taking a break for a while.  My sister-in-law, Kristin, was already signed up to run a half in their little town with a couple friends from her ward, and I thought it would be really fun to join them.  So I signed myself up and kept up my training.  The kids love an excuse to visit the cousins, anyway, but this trip was made even funner due to the fact that Ethan and Grace were planning on joining Hannah and Josh in running the 5K that weekend as well. 

 Waiting for the racers to finish.

I have to say, that as excited as I was for my own race, I was almost MORE excited for Ethan and Grace to run in their first real race with their cousins.  Their race started after ours and finished a long time before us, but the pictures Scott took managed to capture the spirit of the action for me.  And from all accounts, they had a BLAST!  Ethan, Grace, and Hannah stayed together the whole time {other than the end, when Ethan broke free to sprint to the finish line}, and Grace was excited to tell me that they ran the whole time without even stopping!  I guess that 5K Training Club has been doing its job.  :)  

 Finishers!

As for my race, I discovered that I am capable of much more than I realize.  Once again, I find myself thinking of running as a metaphor for life.  When I signed up to run the race with Kristin and company, I knew they were planning on aiming for a certain pace.  Because I was a fourth wheel, and they had been training together for the last few months, I figured it would be pretty presumptuous of me -- not to mention a little rude -- to jump in at the last minute and try and push the pace the whole time even though I was pretty sure I could run it a little bit faster.  As I've been running the last month, and trying to increase my speed, I've thought a lot about the trade-offs that would come with either option.  I could try and run it my fastest -- which would mean I'd be on my own for the bulk of the race -- or I could stick with the group and have company and friends to chat with.  This was a really big toss up for me!  Running with friends and having it be a social experience is part of the magic and fun of racing, for me!  So, in the end, even though I did a lot of speed work on the treadmill over the last few weeks, I decided that I would rather stick with company for the course of the race than strike out for a faster time on my own.

What ended up happening, however, was the best of both worlds!  After sticking together for the first 12 miles at roughly a 10:30 minute pace, I looked at my watch and realized that I had a slight chance to finish close to 2:15, which was a goal I had been looking at beforehand as being a very doable time for me.  With Kristin shooing me on to go and get my PR, I took off at the 12 mile mark and raced the last mile and almost a quarter.  Here is where all that treadmill work came in handy.  I ran that last bit with an 8:35 pace!!  ME.  The non-runner, who two years ago ran her first half marathon averaging 12 minute miles.  If you had told me then that I was capable of running that fast now, I don't think I would have believed it.  But I am capable.  As I was finishing up the race on Saturday and looked at my watch and saw that 8:35, I was worried for a second that I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace.  But knowing that I had done that speed {and faster}in practice and for longer stretches than a mile, gave me the confidence and mental strength I needed to finish that race strong.  And finish strong I did!  I didn't quite make the 2:15, but I was close.  According to my watch, I finished in 2:16.50 {although the official race results say 2:16.44}. I think what this experience goes to show is that A.) Preparation is paramount, B.) Hard work pays off, and C.) You never really know what you're capable of until you give it your all. 

All in all, it was awesome.  And as crazy as it sounds, I can't wait to do one again.  Perhaps I have finally become a "runner."   Because mere hours after finishing Saturday's race, I was already talking to Kristin about the strategies I was planning on using while training for and running my NEXT half marathon.  But have no fear -- you won't be reading about the next one for a while.   :)  My knee is bothering me enough at this point that I still think it's time to take a break for a bit.  But sooner or later, I plan on breaking that 2 hour barrier in a race!

 Not everyone was as happy about being at there.  Hahaha.  Let's just say that Friday night was a LATE night for the kiddos, and Saturday morning dawned bright and EARLY.  

 Hahahahaha.

 Me and Kristin

 The girly bugs after the race.

As awesome as the morning was, the day ended even better!  Attending the Women's Meeting of General Conference with some of my favorite little women was a treasure.  I was so grateful to be there and hear such inspiring and uplifting messages.  I can't wait for next weekend as well -- the countdown for Conference is on!!  :)

Technically the meeting was for girls and women 8 & up, but Sophie just didn't want to miss out.  So we snuck her in with us.  :)