2015 Legs for Literacy recap - 2nd Half Marathon

 October 24th/15 - Host the BLT 5k Run/Walk at 9am.

12:30pm - Get in the car with T and drive to Moncton to run the 1/2 Marathon on October 25th.  Yes...I'm the crazy person who is race director one day and race participant the next.  There were quite a few of us going.  My friend Susan, Heather (Girl Goes Running) was coming to cheer as her husband ran the full, and Samantha was going for under 4 in the marathon.  We were all staying in the same hotel and it would be my first race that I had ever travelled to!

Let me say this right up front....I had NOT trained for this 1/2 marathon.  I did a 13k run for Rum Runners the end of September, I fit a 16km run in 3 weeks ago, and then one 5 and 6k.  That's it.  Talk about not prepared!  Oh well...let's see what happens. 

7:40am - The journey from hotel room to start line....hop in the elevator...down 5 flights...bam...right at the start line.

The route was flat...completely flat.  It was a mix of pavement and trail.  My plan A was to hit under 2 hours (a 9 minute PB), plan B was to just get a PB.  The weather was overcast, 10 degrees or so, and a bit windy.

IT bands were ready to go

 I set out at a reasonable pace....I lost T within the first kilometer as she is way faster than me.  Because my goal was under 2 hours, I knew that I needed to hit approximately 5:43 for each kilometer.  I'd done it in my 16km training run, so I knew it was doable.  As I ran, I was feeling great.  I wasn't breathing heavy and my legs felt great!  I tend to break the 1/2 up into 4 5k races...then the last kilometer is bacon.  At about the 10k mark, something really cool happened.  You see that river behind me in the pic below?  Well this river is known as the tidal bore...it comes in really fast...almost like a surf.  Well at the 10k mark, the timing was perfect and we runners got to witness the tidal bore as it rolled in.  It was pretty cool!! The kilometers ticked away and I felt great at 17km when Heather snapped this pic:

And then it happened....I hit the wall.  I'd heard about marathoners hitting the wall, I envisioned what it would feel like...but have never hit it myself....until today. I knew it was only 3km left...but at 18km I just couldn't do it.  I stopped to walk...thinking if I just walked, it would get better.  It didn't.  I tried....I really did....but I ended up walking way too much.  T passed me and I told her I was dying. 

With 1 kilometer left, I told myself to just do it....again I tried...and then I saw T running towards me.  She had come back...and she wasn't letting me give up.  I yelled at her to shut up, I told her I couldn't run...I had to walk....and she said NOPE!  The head wind was horrible that last kilometer but I did what T told me and I finished.  Those finish photos are NOT going to look pretty when they arrive!!
Heather found me at the end and asked why I was unhappy....I hadn't reached my Plan A goal...yes it was a 4 minute PB but not the one I was hoping for.


I've always wanted a blanket...LOL

I found T and we grabbed a selfie...I have no idea how we are smiling!!!!

And finally....when I got home, I looked at my garmin splits. 

Really not hard to see where the wheels came off.  Damn
that wall!!

So....what did I learn?  #1) Training really does help...who would have thunk it? #2) Don't give up...you can finish...despite what your body tells you.  Run...walk....crawl...but you can finish!  #3) I ran my first half to prove I could...I ran my second half to prove that the first was not a fluke...will I run a third?  I just might do that so that I can prove that I can get under 2 hours.  I had it today....I had it....and I'm mad at myself for giving up during that 17-18km when I could have hit that Plan A!!  When you hit that wall...the mental game comes into play BIG time....I really need to work on that!!!  My friends all reminded me that it was a 4 minute PB for me....4 minutes....and I need to celebrate that!!!  In the mean time, I have another 1/2 marathon medal to add to my wall!