I was very excited!
Esther, Me, and Lynn before the race--still in the warm hotel.
Jimmy, Me, Kelly, Lynn, and Esther--outside before the race. It was COLD! About 34 degrees.
It was the perfect day for a race. It was cold when we began, but it slowly warmed up. I never got hot, but I did take off my gloves about halfway through. It was foggy, and the scenery going across the dam really was pretty. I enjoyed this race.
Jimmy in the middle of the race
Jimmy asked me after the race when did I know that I would make my goal. I honestly told him that I had a good feeling from the beginning. Every time I checked my pace, I was a little bit faster than I had planned on being. I felt good, so I kept up the pace. I walked a short distance at 7 water stops, just enough to drink some water and catch my breath.
At one point I suddenly felt tired. I looked down at my watch, and I was at mile 7.4. I told myself it was too early to feel fatigued, and just talked myself into feeling good again! Running really is a mental sport! I had a mind battle again on the 1.5 mile long bridge, a caged bridge that went back over the dam. This was toward the end of the race, and while it was completely flat, I felt increasingly closed-in with every step. Then I made the mistake of looking down. Way down! I didn't look in that direction again!
After coming off the bridge, I think there were about 2 miles left. I began looking for Jimmy. I was tired, the course had gotten hilly, and I needed his encouragement. The plan was for him to turn around after he finished and run the course backwards until he found me. I think we met up at mile 12, and it was not a step too soon! I was so happy to see him! He talked and encouraged me the last mile, and was rejoicing with me because we knew that I would finish in under 2 hours!
Finally, I was done! Hooray!
Jimmy had a spectacular race. He also set a personal record: 1 hour, 38 minutes! I am so proud of him. He is currently training for the St. Jude Marathon on December 4, so before and after our race Saturday he ran a total of 6 additional miles so he would have logged a 19 mile run for the day.
We hung around for the awards ceremony to see Esther receive her 1st place Master's Award. She is so fast! She finished in 1 hour, 40 minutes. Kelly and Lynn both had good race times too, and Lynn set a personal record as well.
Well, I am done with fast running for the time being. Maybe for always! I still would like to run a 10K in under 55 minutes. That is my 3rd and final running goal. Since the next 10K for me is not until May, I do not plan on running fast for quite a long time. I am running the St. Jude Half on December 4th, and another half marathon in January, so I am still going to run long runs each week--but at a sloooooowwwwww pace. I am so sore! I am having an extremely hard time going down stairs. I tried to run a couple of miles this afternoon, but it was so painful. I was hobbling, and now my legs hurt more than ever. I am going to try again Wednesday, and Lynn and I are running a long run (10 miles I think) on Friday. I hope I am recovered by then.
It was a super fun weekend. A night alone with just Jimmy, a good run, and sharing the last mile with my sweet husband.
Congratulations! now, give those muscles a break. :)
ReplyDelete~linda
So sweet! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on reaching such an impressive goal! Your husband must be a really great guy to come back and run the last part with you after he finished his own race!
ReplyDeleteSamantha