Truth be told, after some encouragement from a friend and a few Moscow mules, I signed up for three half marathons and a duathlon on New Year's Eve. Now that these events are over, I can admit that I did not train sufficiently for the half marathon distance. My longest training run was eight miles, and not surprisingly the suffer fest started around mile nine during every single race. I never struggled with my cardiovascular fitness; however, my screaming hamstrings, quadricep and calf muscles communicated my poor conditioning quite vociferously.
I undertrained. That is on me. I missed too many run workouts especially the long ones that were crucial to building endurance. I pushed my physical limits this year, and these half marathons changed my mindset. Mentally, a 5K and 10K seem easier, and I'm more determined to achieve a faster pace and compete at a reasonable body weight.
2014-15 Half Marathon Results
10/31/15 Team Ortho Monster Dash 2:49:23 chip finish/12:56 per mile
8/28/2015 Team Ortho Women Rock 2:49:10 chip finish/12:55 per mile
5/31/2015 Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon 2:48:59 chip finish/12:54 per mile
10/25/2014 Team Ortho Monster Dash 2:42:10 chip finish/12:23 per mile
Monster Dash Half Marathon 2015 - Erika, Angela and Ironman Theresa |
Bang! We were off. At mile two, I wondered how I missed the first mile marker. Hmm... maybe there wasn't a marker at mile one. At any rate, I was glad it was mile two otherwise that was the slowest mile of my life. My friend Erika was having a great race, and we ran next to each other off and on. I really don't like to run with other people because I either feel like I am working too hard to keep up or not hard enough. Although I am finding that Erika is a good running partner because we are close in pace and give each other the freedom to separate.
By mile six, I began to question why I run. I was not having cardio issues, but my legs were starting to hurt. I thought about my training schedule and how I skipped runs, and by mile eight I promised myself I would trust Coach Jeremy and truly commit myself to the personalized training plan he writes for me every week from now on. By mile ten, I fell into run/walk mode. I began with three minutes of running and one minute of walking.
Erika veered off minutes prior and crossed the finish line for her ten miler and hit a PR. She deserves it after fighting injuries during the past couple seasons. Dang it! I should have signed up for ten not 13.1. What was I thinking? Why didn't I train harder? Should I quit? That's stupid. I can just walk the last three miles. It's a 5K. I can do a 5K.
At mile 11, I cursed all the hyperextensions and hamstring curls I did that week during training for WABDL Worlds in November. At least my legs were now numb and the burn had subsided. By the time I hit mile 12, I wondered if my trainer Jason, who agreed to do Muncie 70.3 in July with me, would unfriend me after all the running and biking ahead of us. A half marathon is hard! How am I ever going to build up to a full marathon? Do I even want to do a marathon? I hit the lap button on my Garmin so I could get an accurate time for the last 1.1 miles and picked up the pace. I crossed the finish line just :13 seconds longer than the Women Rock Half Marathon I did in August. I may be the slowest runner on the planet, but at least I'm consistent.
So, yeah... I made it. I am not happy or satisfied with my performance. Honestly, it pretty much sucked. Theresa and Erika were waiting for me at the finish line. Both agreed my stride looked great. I love them for always being so supportive! I am still mad at myself for not training harder, worried about the half marathon of Ironman 70.3 Muncie next July and frustrated with my stalled weight loss.
I need to somehow turn this seemingly impossible journey to POSSIBLE.
I need to somehow turn this seemingly impossible journey to POSSIBLE.