Half-Marathon

Yesterday I ran my third half-marathon. The morning started off cool, in the 30's, and was expected to get into the 50's~ perfect running weather! The run was at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the first year for this run, so it was small. There were just over 2,000 runners and some of those were running the 5k that started right after the half. The course started on the infield of the track, covered most of the surrounding property and ended with a lap around the track. How many people will be able to say they ran a lap around Texas Motor Speedway?

I started off strong.  I felt great. The first few miles were painless. I wanted to finish under 2 hours. Our pace was right under a 9 minute mile. That would give us some wiggle room at the end. After mile 3 I started counting down the miles~ only 10 to go.

Nine, still feeling good.

Eight, right on track.

Seven, my hip was starting to tighten, but nothing unbearable.

Six, I never saw that marker.

Five, we headed back to the area surrounding the track. I was breathing a little harder, but I was still feeling okay.

Four, started to realize just how much farther we had to go.

Three, only a 5k left. I can do this.

Two, I'm dying. Why do I do this to myself? This is stupid. You can do it. I want to walk. No, I won't allow myself to give up. I'm never going to do this again. I am strong. I hurt. Keep going. Then I saw Drew. Around mile 10 I told myself that I had to keep going because Drew would be waiting. I didn't know where I would see him, but I knew i would see him somewhere.

One, back on the track. Oh my goodness, this is the biggest track I have EVER seen. I heard the announcer say someone going across the finish line finished in 1 hour, 47 minutes. I knew I would have to maintain a decent pace if I was going to finish under 2 hours. At this point, it felt like I was going so slow. My legs were so heavy. My hips were tight and burning. I was sweating and breathing so hard. This is when I had to MAKE myself keep moving. I had to will my body not to stop. The embankment didn't help my right hip any. Because of it, my right side didn't extend as far as my left side did with each step. That was so uncomfortable. Pain had set in and I knew it was staying until the end.

Finally, I saw the finish line, but it still seemed so far away. When I dream about finishing a race I always sprint across the line. I had nothing left in my tank. There would be no sprinting. I was doing good to keep moving forward. Bryson was on the  side of the track yelling for me to keep running. He ran several yards along side me, also. I crossed the  finish line in 1 hour 59 minutes. I made it under 2 hours. Just barely, but I did it! I love it when Drew and the kids come to my races. Just seeing their smiling faces at the end makes all the pain worth it.

Afterward, we walked around a little, found something to eat and drink and just tried to keep moving a little bit. Once I was home I took a shower and sat down. I didn't get up much the rest of the day. I had a horrible headache and felt feverish. This happens occasionally and I don't know why. I had a headache all day and evening and woke up with it this morning. I think it is finally gone. I guess putting that much stress on your body can do that to you. I feel better now. I am going to take it easy with my workouts this week and jump right back into training next week. We will run another half in 6 weeks.
Hopefully, we can beat our time on that one!

Jackson ran the 5k. He placed 5th in his age group. I didn't get to run with him, so we are going to do one together soon. I am proud of him and his enthusiasm for running!