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Feat of Fortitude - Half Marathon


(Sorry for the delay. Having my parents here, then Karl gone, kids starting school, and training for Vegas does not leave much time or energy for anything but eating and sleeping.)


Let's see. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Half Marathon seems so long ago. I need to dig around in my memory. Ok. Here we go:

After a nice pre-race pasta dinner Friday night, I got up early and jumped on the trainer. (Remember the kids were with my parents? So the pasta dinner was our date. Nice!) Coaches plan called for 40 minutes on the bike before the run. I happily obliged. We all know how much I love running off the bike. (No sarcasm here.)

Cruise to the race downtown. Lock up bikes. Good-luck hug. Warm-up. Ready to go! Wow! Running races are so simple. I love it.

The race itself was pretty uneventful which is usually a good thing. I started out as the 4th girl, passed #3 after one block, and stayed in 3rd for the rest of the race. I never saw the fast girls and I never looked back. I did not really care about my place but towards the end I decided to put up a little fight for 3rd place if I had to. Luckily I did not need to.


I love trail running! If this had been a road race I would have been much more hesitant about signing up. Road races seem so much harder on my body and especially on my mind. This run was a blast! After a few solid weeks of training I forget how good I can feel when tapered. It is amazing! My legs did not feel like cement blocks. It was great.

The plan was to run comfortably hard. Keep things under control. Push myself but avoid any sort of pain. (Who wants to be in the pain cave two days in a row? Not me!)

I think I was pretty successful at sticking to the plan. Looking back I should've probably gone a little easier but - like I said - it is hard when you feel tapered and good. I was feeling a little more tired after the race than I would've liked to and started to get a little nervous about Sunday's race. But then I decided to trust my body and focus on recovery.

Karl had an amazing race placing 4th in a very competitive field. We are talking Olympic trial qualifiers (Mike Smith) and professional ultra runners (Ian Torrence). He ran a 1:23 on a hilly dirt trail. That is a 6:20 pace. That just blows my mind! Congrats, Karl!


Not much socializing for me. I went straight home. Jumped back on the bike for another 30 -minute spin. Food... Ice bath... Hot tub... Shower... Ice bath... Legs up... Compression socks... More food... Nap... Wow. That's the life, isn't it?

Unfortunately, it somewhat went downhill from there. I needed to drive out to Lake Mary for packet pick-up and did not bring enough food or water. I also dropped Karl off with my parents and the boys who were camping out there. Everything took longer than expected and it was hot! After some grocery shopping I finally got home and was way too hungry. Not good.

I did not quite make it to bed in time either since packing for a Half Iron is slightly more involved than packing for a Half Marathon. I did have a very nice chat with HT though. I usually just communicate with Coach M but HT is usually the one to call before and after a race. I was hesitant to pick up the phone because all I wanted to do was go to bed, and I remember thinking: What could he possibly say that would make me feel better? But I am so glad I did because HT gives pep talks like no one else! Thank you, Coach!


** All pictures are courtesy of Bret Sarnquist.




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