Present

As I mentioned in my first post about the Historic Half, I was a little nervous about hitting my goal of a sub-2 hour time. A week out, I had my doubts and seriously considered pulling out of the race.

I hadn’t read my latest issue of Runner’s World so I decided to crack it open and try to find some inspiration.

I got to an article by Jonathan Beverly called “Today I Get to Run”. Beverly described a time when he was injured and unable to run. Up until that point, he had always taken his running very seriously and as a result, for granted. Once running was taken away from him, albeit temporarily, he realized what a gift it is to be able to run. Now, he is just thankful for each and every day his is able to run.

This was exactly what I needed. I decided that rather than being nervous about whether or not I would achieve my goal, I would look at the Historic Half as just another day in which I get to run. There is a quote in Kung Fu Panda where Oogway tells Po: “There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” Ok so maybe this wasn’t where this line originated but it still resonates with me. Each day a is a gift and running is like an extra special bonus. So what if I didn’t PR or break two hours in the half? I would still be out and running!

Taking the pressure of PRing off myself and just being grateful for the opportunity to run allowed me to relax. In the end, I was able to pull off a PR and I’m convinced it was because I adopted a mentality of gratitude.

Now I look at every day I get to run as a present and it has made running that much more enjoyable for me.

Marine Corps Historic Half Recap

On January 1st this year, I gave myself 2 New Years’ goals: do 5 strict pull ups and run a sub-2 hour half marathon.

I had already signed up for the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg, Virginia so I decided to try my sub-2 hour attempt at that race.

My previous half PR was 2:10:01 (9:55/mile pace). In order to run a half in 1:59:59 or less, I would need to get my pace down to 9:09/mile or faster. I decided to use the Women’s Running plan that incorporated speed workouts and laid out specific paces for me to hit in order to get to a sub-2 hour half marathon time. I really enjoyed this plan and managed to stick to it for the most part (there were a few days that life had other plans for me that did not include running).

The Historic Half is mostly a downhill race. However, right around mile 10.5 runners arrive at Hospital Hill. This is a half mile segment that has a 100 foot climb in elevation. I was pretty nervous about this part of the race. Last time I ran up an incline of that magnitude, I ended up getting plantar fasciitis. Also, our area of Virginia is absolutely flat. I think pancakes have more elevation than we do here. So in order to prepare my body for this portion of the race, I did a lot of leg work at CrossFit and worked with a trainer to simulate running up hills.

Race day weekend arrived and I was feeling a little nervous about running a sub-2 time. The night before, I had some tightness/soreness in my left hip, which I knew would only get worse during the race. But I woke up on race morning and it wasn’t feeling so bad. I decided to trust in my training and if I didn’t achieve my goal, I could always sign up for another race later in the year.

The gun went off and I started out strong. There was a lot of downhill at the beginning of the race. My friend Lauren had told me that I should keep an even effort throughout the race, which means keeping up the work on the downhill. I kept repeating the mantra of “even effort” through my head through the first 10 miles. I was feeling pretty good and my Garmin was telling me that I was well under my goal pace and averaging about an 8:20 mile pace. I was feeling great at this pace and I like I could do anything!

As I turned the corner at mile 10, I prepared myself for what I knew was coming: Hospital Hill. I kept repeating “even effort”. When I saw the hill, it actually looked less intimidating then I thought it would be. I am a firm believer that a body in motion stays in motion so I was determined not to walk the hill.I reminded myself that this was the Marine Corps half marathon – this hill was nothing compared to what Marines goes through! With all these thoughts going through my head, before I knew it, I had made it to the top!

I knew I hadn’t kept up my 9:09 pace while I was running up Hospital Hill. So once I reached the top, I had to refocus myself on getting back to my pre-hill pace. This was a little difficult, as I was pretty tired by this point. But I kept thinking “even effort, even effort, even effort”. I dug deep for the last 2 miles and got back on goal pace.

I hit the last quarter mile straight away to the finish line, dug down and pushed to the end. A race official was calling out that I was on track to finish at a 1:55 gun time. I was pretty tired but hearing that gave me a little boost and I pushed myself for one last surge. I crossed the finish line with a net time of 1:54:40.

I love this photo of me because I think it perfectly captures the disbelief that I had come in 5 minutes over my goal time.

After I received my medal from the Marines, I headed to the beer tent. It may have been cheep beer, but that was the best tasting beer I have ever had.

I felt so great after the Historic Half that I’ve already signed up for another half in November and few shorter races in between, including a beer mile later this month. I’m just hoping this summer isn’t too humid!