I honestly don't know where to start with this race report. I think saying that
I'm very, very, very happy with how I did is one way to go about it.
My total time was 1:46:23 with an average pace of 8:07. That's not a PR, I know, but the course was so hilly that the word hilly doesn't really apply. It felt "mountainous". While a few miles in the middle of the race teased you with some intense downhills, by the end of the race you found yourself climbing more often than descending, and the hills were HILLS, not inclines.
Because the course was so hard (and because I couldn't train for the three weeks before the race due to injury), I was literally blown away with how well I did.
How I placed brought my spirits up even more. I was
4th out of 74 girls in my age group. That's in the 25-29 age group where chicks are strong and competitive. I'm very happy with that.
Today, the day after the half, I feel beat up. As if I just finished a whole marathon. As if someone ripped the muscles off my bones and put them back on without attaching them properly - I try to flex them, I try to tell them what to do, but they don't listen and just scream pain.
That, my friends, is EXACTLY what you get for going into a long distance race with a weak base (stupid injury!). But I'm glad my injury healed in time and I still got to participate.
This race gave me a lot of confidence. I didn't make any excuses, showed up, and
got the job done. And, since Houston marathon is flat, flat, flat, I'm so qualifying. It's not even funny! (But feel free to laugh and jump up and down!)
My total time was 1:46:23 with an average pace of 8:07. That's not a PR, I know, but the course was so hilly that the word hilly doesn't really apply. It felt "mountainous". While a few miles in the middle of the race teased you with some intense downhills, by the end of the race you found yourself climbing more often than descending, and the hills were HILLS, not inclines.
Because the course was so hard (and because I couldn't train for the three weeks before the race due to injury), I was literally blown away with how well I did.
How I placed brought my spirits up even more. I was 4th out of 74 girls in my age group. That's in the 25-29 age group where chicks are strong and competitive. I'm very happy with that.
Today, the day after the half, I feel beat up. As if I just finished a whole marathon. As if someone ripped the muscles off my bones and put them back on without attaching them properly - I try to flex them, I try to tell them what to do, but they don't listen and just scream pain. That, my friends, is EXACTLY what you get for going into a long distance race with a weak base (stupid injury!). But I'm glad my injury healed in time and I still got to participate.
This race gave me a lot of confidence. I didn't make any excuses, showed up, and got the job done. And, since Houston marathon is flat, flat, flat, I'm so qualifying. It's not even funny! (But feel free to laugh and jump up and down!)