Cook Forest 1/2 Marathon

 Today was my third 1/2 marathon.  I will be honest...I did not want to go.  My family wasn't going to be able to be there so my "mom guilt" set in.  I just didn't want to be away from them for six hours on an off day.  My hubby lovingly pushed me out the door and I'm so glad he did.  It was my best race ever!  I had no idea where I was going and ended up being parked about half a mile from the registration and starting line.  Thankfully I was there about 50 minutes early because I had to walk down to register, walk back to my van, wait for the bathroom (twice!), and then back to the starting line.  The race began about 10 minutes late which was stressing me out some...especially since there was no cell phone service and no way to let Nate know that I would be behind schedule!  I began at the front of the pack of runners...I don't trust the electronic timers and even though I know that I will be passed I want my time to be accurate.  Leading up to the race I had planned to run 9:30 miles and hopefully in the end finish under 2:05:00.  My first mile was much faster than I had wanted...8:51...and tried to slow myself down.   With each mile that passed I kept thinking "I'm going too fast...I'm not going to make it until the end", but just kept running.  I was feeling good and figured that if in the last miles I had to slow down I would have atleast tried been running as hard as I could.  At the turn-around (it was an out and back course) my time was 1:00:04!   When  I saw that I started to believe that I might really be able to finish under what my goal was.  I began to pass runners who had passed me on the way out.  I was worried that they would pass me again later, but I was feeling good and wanted to keep pushing myself.  I started seeing things that looked familiar and I knew I was getting back to the beginning.  When I saw the timing van and saw that I was still under the two hour mark I ran as hard as I could to the finish.  My finishing time was 1:59:30...a 9:08mile/min...for 13.1 miles!!!  I still cannot believe that I ran that hard, that fast, that far...and really it didn't feel that bad!   I was still sad when I finished and Nate and my babies weren't there.  Having them at the end is always the best part of any race that I do so it was hard not seeing them.  I headed back on the course to retrieve my long sleeve shirt...something I will never do again...the additional 1.25 miles was not worth it!  I am so happy with how I did, but look forward to a few months of "easier" running through the spring and summer.

 

Mile 1- 8:51    Mile 5- 9:15     Mile 9- 9:24 

Mile 2- 9:09    Mile 6- 9:03     Mile 10- 9:02   

Mile 3- 9:10    Mile 7- 9:07     Mile 11- 9:10    Mile 13- 8:50
Mile 4- 9:23    Mile 8- 9:11     Mile 12- 9:12    Mile .1- 7:42

Total time: 1:59:30     Total distance:  13.1   Avg pace:  9:08

Race #       Place     Class Place   
  273       286/488       13/33         

Halfway Time     Final Time       Pace
     1:00:04              1:59:30          9:08