Happy Monday! This Saturday I ran a 25K for my birthday. I had decided way back in November that I wanted to do this race. My foot issues made training a little challenging but I decided to try anyway!
So my longest run leading up to Saturday had been a 6 mile run the weekend before. Let me just offer up this little piece of advice-don't do this! I was hoping that I would have some endurance left from my marathon and it would carry me to the end of the 15 miles. And it worked for the most part but it didn't really make for an enjoyable race! Looking back I probably should have skipped this race but I was determined to do it for some reason.
I woke up super early Saturday morning. One of the things that made me want to do this race was that it had race day packet pick up. I'm trying to do 14 half marathons in 2014 so if I can save on a hotel room for a race then I'm in! I knew I could get up early Saturday morning and make the 2 hour drive to Tulsa. I got there in plenty of time and I finally decided once I got there to go with my shorts and tank top with arm warmers. It was cold at the start but by the finish it was supposed to warm up into the mid 50s. I hate being hot when I run so I much rather be cold in the beginning!
So remember when I gave y'all my marathon recap and I talked about how from the first mile of the race I knew it was going to be a good one? Well this race would be the exact opposite! From the first step I knew it was going to be a challenge. My legs just felt super heavy and I just wasn't feeling it. I had hydrated well all week and made sure to eat really well so I know my nutrition wasn't the problem. I really think I just wasn't ready to do such a long race. There's a reason we train for things like half marathons and marathons! :) My foot started being obnoxious during the first mile. I have no idea why because it hadn't hurt in several weeks! I would stop along the course and try to stretch and make it feel better but nothing was really making a big difference. If there had been an aid station at mile 2, I probably would have quit and just called it a day! But there wasn't an aid station in sight so I just kept limping along. I'm pretty sure my form was all kinds of special at this point!
The course was along the Arkansas River and it was pretty and all, but for some reason I just wasn't a fan! I was just kind of bored. You can only look at the river for so long and try to distract yourself. It was cool that we ran the same route that I did for my marathon for a while! I looked up and saw the Route 66 sign at one point and remember thinking to myself that it was incredibly annoying that 15 miles was proving to be more of a challenge than 26 miles.
I was not a big fan of when we got to run by the waste water treatment facility. That was interesting! We did get to run along side railroad tracks so I made sure to take plenty of pictures of those for Colton!
For the first half of the race I was pretty alone. There were several groups in front of me and several groups behind but I was pretty much just running along by myself. It was probably a good thing because I wasn't in the greatest of moods. My foot would not quit hurting and I was just hoping that I would be able to finish. I think another thing about the course is that I'm just not a fan of being able to see how far I am from the finish. When we finally reached the bridge to cross back over the river I remember looking up and seeing downtown Tulsa way off in the distance. I couldn't believe that I still had to run that far! I do much better when I can't see how far is left. I love running in neighborhoods and having people sitting outside and cheering you on and this course didn't have that. It was nice that we ran along the trails for the entire time so we didn't have to worry about car traffic. I guess I just need more entertainment! :)
So finally I could hear the finish line and I have never been so glad to be done with a race! I knew my foot was messed up and I was just happy I had been able to struggle through the 15 miles and finish my birthday run. I think the moral of the story is that I should have trained better and since I couldn't because I had to take three weeks off for an injury, I probably should have skipped the race! I was super proud of myself and I started thinking back to how different this birthday was than my past ones. Just four years ago there is no way I could have ran a tenth of a mile and even this time last year I hadn't ran my first half marathon yet. I've come a long way in a year! It's a great feeling to know that you are in better shape at 35 than you were at 25!
One half marathon (plus some extra miles) down and 13 more to go!
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