FINISHED!!!

I feel like I can officially call myself a runner..haha - I survived! Wasn't exactly the day I planned..but I learned a lot and will be better prepared my second time around.  First thing I learned... PACE!!!  I learned at mile 4 - where I crashed!  And never fully recovered. 

Mile 1 - 4 (8:50, 9:22, 9:20, 9:40)

I decided ahead of time that I would take my chomps at mile 4 - so that they would start working around mile 5.  However, I don't think anything could have saved me from myself.  I started getting too caught up in the pacer and cursed myself for later on in the race. Those dang signs just screwed with me.  I felt really good these first four miles - I kept trying to slow myself down but I just couldn't.  I started walking to eat my chomps and lost Julia - thinking I would catch up with her eventually...

Mile 5- 8 (9:51, 10:39, 10:16, 10:49)

These were actually the worst miles of the whole race.  The worst miles in terms of attitude.  I was done.  I was freaking exhausted, freaking hot - and I was disappointed in myself as I watched my dream 2:05 pacer fade into the distance.  At mile 7.25 - I was at 1:08 and felt like I could still take control and make a 2:10 race if I could just get my crap together.  I kept trying to start running again and get back in a groove but I was so hot and tired and burnt out.  It was so frustrating.  Also during this time my calf started to cramp up.  It hurt so bad - but I knew I could run through the pain.  It's the only part on my body that is sore today.

Mile 9 - 13.1(11:39, 11:19, 12:11, 11:59, 11:58, 1:16)

As you can tell..I never got my crap together.  I started doing a walk/run about mile 9 and never recovered enough to just keep running.  Remember how I told you I had a tickle in my throat on Thursday...well I believe I'm really starting to get sick now.  My throat was soooo dry - and I kept trying to clear my throat and I couldn't.  All this gunk was in there and after I finished I started talking - and I was hoarse.  I also drank too much water I think.  Even though I had cotton mouth, I started getting stomach cramps during this time which I think was cause I drank too much water.  My step dad brought me a water bottle around mile 10.25 that I walked to drink over half of it..stopped to kiss my boys and then started back on my way.  I looked at my garmin and it said 1:38 - which meant if I could suck it up for the final 3 miles - I could get a 2:10 race -  I kept trying but I couldn't do it.  I kept wimping out.  I probably walked 1/3 of the last three miles...I tried so hard.  And I couldn't pace myself.  Every time I looked at my watch while running I was going 9:30 or less...which was great for my time - but totally sucked since I was already exhausted.

Mile 4 - after losing Julia

I walked to my family about mile 10.5 ( I was dying!)

Mile 11 - not sure where everyone is...I have the song in my head "All by myself" when I see this picture.  I swear there was always someone passing me!

Running to the finish with Paden in tow!

Look at that pretty medal!

How I felt!

All in all it was a great race - I was disappointed in myself for having to walk so much - but I finished...finished in the time I wanted to and I learned a lot.  Some things I will do different for Utah Valley.

1. PACE - First I'll work on speed work for the next 5 weeks so that I have actually ran my ideal race pace prior to the race...for longer than 3 miles!  I'm not sure why in my head I thought I could hold a 9:00 pace for three miles twice, two weeks before my race, and hold it for the race. Dumb ideas.  I trained almost entirely at a 10:00 pace and that's what I should have ran for this race. 
2. DON'T LISTEN TO MUSIC EARLY ON - I made the mistake of putting my headphones in at the very beginning -so I didn't get to enjoy talking to Julia and letting the miles fly by - and by the time I wanted to talk to her - I was so exhausted...then she was gone!  Next time around I will not put in my headphones at all if possible - talking helps in training and I don't know why I didn't do it during my race!
3.  RUN 13.1 MILES BEFORE - I know that most training programs do not have you running more than 10 - which was mine - but I think I would have been better equipped at the end if I had ran that mileage before - or longer.  I'm going to try and run 15 miles within these 5 weeks - as a long run in order to feel confident in completed my next half.
4. RUN 3-4 TIMES A WEEK- I made the mistake of cross-training two times a week and then only running 2-3 times...and most of my runs were under 2 miles the last few weeks.  I don't think this help build the strength I needed to complete the half strong like I wanted to.
5. RACING WEIGHT - I truly believe that my recent weight gain totally effected me in little ways - not a ton, but it definitely helped.  I ate like crap the week before - between my son's birthday, cinco de mayo - and my in laws coming into town, I was doomed.  So I actually gained some weight I was trying to lose back...raced at 133...so I'm going to try and make an effort to race at 10 lbs less in Utah Valley.  I know that I've said it a million times that I was going to lose weight but I'm just going to try...if not at least get down to 128...even 5 lbs is better than nothing.  On that note - Chloe - when are we going to yogurtland??
5. ENJOY MY SELF AND SCREW THE NUMBERS - I seriously mess with my own head with the pacers - I should have just ran at my own pace - at a slower pace that makes me enjoy running instead of getting caught up in the numbers.  If I had ran all 13.1 miles without stopping and completed it in 2:40 - I would have been so happy with myself - instead I pushed myself too hard too fast - didn't enjoy most of the race because I kept seeing my number fade into the distance - and had to walk a lot. 

I wanted to use Provo mostly as a training run and for that - it did it's purpose.  I learned that I have a lot to learn about running and if I want to keep improving I have to put in the time, the effort, and the work to get better.  It's not just going to magically happen.

And I want to give a shout-out to all the amazing runners out there!  Julia - ran her first post injury race in 2:07 - FREAKING AMAZING!  Rachelle got 3rd in her age group, and my neighbor (that I ran with once...and knew she was slowing down for me but didn't realize how much she was slowing down) - ran her first half marathon and took 3rd in our age group!  I'm around all these amazing runners and can only dream to be as fast of them one day...but for now I need to just be me and listen to my own body and what I am capable of right now.