Monday, November 4, 2013

Half Marathon blues...

Ryan and I ran a half marathon this past weekend.
This one I thought would be easy, even though I didn't train for this one like I have in the past, but it was a net down hill, like 1500 ft down hill, so I thought piece of cake?!
Oh I was so wrong on many levels. This down hill isn't as gracious as the Top of Utah Half. It is an extreme down hill. Which worked in my favor in the beginning. I had the fastest 5K split ever, Fastest 10k split ever. Even the fastest 10 miler ever. 
What I didn't anticipate were the up hills intermixed. Boy did that take a toll on the body. By mile 8 I was hurting some from all that down hill. I started loosing some steam, but still was on pace to run my fastest half. Mile 11 I had the first girl pass me. Boy did that bring my confidence down. And thus I slowed down some more. Mile 12 there was a pretty significant up hill and I think it's the first time I've hit a mental block in a half in a long time. One more girl passed me and I had serious thoughts of walking?! Wha?? That hasn't happened to me since my second half marathon, in my first year of running...
No worries I overcame, and finished strong, just a little too late... 1:38:07 About 55 seconds slower than my PR. Who cares right?! I didn't think I would care at all, but I was bummed. I think I was more bummed though at my mental game than anything. And boy was I sore afterwards! Holy cow! Down hill races are not nice on the body!
Ryan rocked it! He hadn't raced a pure half marathon (non TRI related) since his first one in Alaska a few years back. He flew! 1:28 and some change, and came in 4th overall!
He is always claiming he's not a runner, but with a time like that, and his weekly mileage 25-30 a week, I think he can claim the runners club!

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