It's a great feeling to exceed ones own expectations and today I did just that! When signing up for this event: Rock n' Roll Savannah Half Marathon-- I registered with a time of 1:40:00 thinking if I got anywhere near that I would be happy. As time went on, my confidence in making that time dwindled. It's extremely difficult to train for any running event, let alone a half marathon when you live on a boat that's more times than not- at sea where boats belong. No treadmill.
I signed up, along with my sister, her fiancée and my father less than two months out from the race in September. Unfortunately, my Dad left for business in Iceland this morning so was unable to compete but the rest of us woke at 5am to head downtown before the major traffic hit and roads essentially closed down.
Now, it's been awhile since I've ran a race competitively... The last being a 4 mile mud run back in April that I hardly consider to be on the same competitive front as the run I just achieved. Training for most half or full marathoners is quite regimented as one could imagine: running six -seven days a week with long runs smacked somewhere in the mix of things, as well as swimming, cross training and tapering thrown into the mix. My training, having been on the ocean for so long and playing catchup with friends and family upon returning to the United States was a wee bit different.
5 weeks of running after a seemingly sporadic run here and there when on land in Europe for the previous 4 months seems hardly enough to be prepared for a run of this caliber. Some of you may be thinking that 13.1 miles isn't all that tough or long even, but having been an 800M runner all my life, it may as well have been an ultra marathon in my eyes.
So, 5 weeks. Averaging 4-5 runs per week. Most runs being in the 25-45 minute range with 2, yes... 2 runs just over the distance of 1hr.
For those of you that know me and my running habits, I don't normally mark distance and If I don't feel like running, I won't. And I like to eat what i like to eat.
It's an interesting thing running competitively for the better part of your life and then basically falling completely off the wagon with no regards as to proper training, eating or rest methods. But hey, to each is their own.
Back to the race:
After a 20 minute run yesterday, a good nights sleep and a mile or so jog this morning, I checked my bag into the provided gear check and entered my corral (number 2) about 30 minutes before the race to stretch and finish my warm up. The race officially started at 8am with my corral going off just one minute after. The first 5k felt quite amazing, and short even, a good sign as I then successfully completed my longest competitive race ever the next Kilometer.
At the ten mile mark, my legs started to really feel like bricks. But since they, as well as, the tons of supporters and bands throughout the course had brought me that far, I knew I'd finish. Besides, I may be out of the competitive running circuit but my competitive edge is far from gone.
About a mile later, I completed my longest run ever in the history of runs. This was the same time I started to feel like I might throw up... To avoid embarrassment and a messy outfit, I thankfully held this in and the feeling eventually subsided. :)
I crossed the line two miles later with a clocked time of 1:39:02... Converting to a chip time of 1:38:01. Two minutes under my goal time! Woot woot.
I am so proud of my Sister and Mark for also being finishers today. And so thankful for my kiwi for making me go out and run with him even when I didn't want to.
Another Half Marathon on the horizon? Perhaps a full..? Baaah! So impressed with all the marathoners today. I don't know how they do it....
Until next time!!
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