Middle TN Half Marathon!

Okay so I mentioned in an earlier post how I wanted to come close to my former half marathon time. Well I thought I was still 19 and hadn't had a baby. Well news flash to me! I am 25 and have a 15 month old and hadn't run since October 2011.

My first half marathon was back in October 2011 and the first 8 miles were down Provo Canyon. So killer on your quads but great for time. I came in at 2:15. I thought I could get that time again. I will be prepared this time and I have a new drive to keep running. Well your body is not the same after having a baby. Its still capable of doing that but I need to keep running even during breaks.

We are planning on expanding our family, but my goal is to keep a running base through out my next pregnancy (whenever that happens).

So the race!! It was actually a really nice day. It was in the 60's the whole run which was nice. We wish it would have been a little cooler because the second half of the race is out in the open and so the sun is blaring down on you. But overall it was good weather.

You have to take a pre-race selfie!

My mom, sisters, and I all have curly long hair! So tradition is to do race day braids! :) Keeps your hair under control and makes you look good! Oh yeah! My brother Clint was running the race as well but he was with a different pace group so he missed out on our selfie!

Our plan was for mom and I to run together for the first half so she could help me pace myself and not get hurt. I am working on learning to pace myself. I am getting better, but its hard to do because I am competitive and stubborn!! 

This was right at the start! Oh another tradition is that we wear matching tops. So my mom and I got new purple tanks to wear! Thank you Carrie Underwood for your CALIA tank! It was comfortable and not too hot. 

We also had the best looking cheer squad! Especially that little one! I mean look at him!

We got to see them at mile 3 which my mom and I were doing really good! We were running decent time intervals. One was 10 minutes long! I was doing an average pace of about 12 minutes per mile. One house had their garden hose tied to the top of a pole next to their mailbox. The hose was set to mist so you can run through it! That felt so good!! 

By mile 6 my mom's IT band on her right knee started bugging her. So she told me to keep running while she was walking. I was worried about her but I knew that she would be seeing my dad at mile 6 and that he could help her more than I could. My average pace around 6 miles was 11 minutes per mile.

It was harder around this time to keep me going a good pace where I felt like I was giving it my all while also keeping it slow enough to be able to make it to the end. I decided to focus on my breathing. This is my best way to keeping my pace. I count my breaths. I would breath in for 3 steps and breath out for 3 steps. This helps keep the side stitches away. It keeps my breathing even and matching the speed of my pace. If I don't count then I tend to breath faster than my pace will allow. My sister who ran cross country and track in high school taught me that when you can have a casual conversation without running out of breath that is when you are conditioned well and in shape for that pace. This is for distance runners. When you are sprinting the breathing technique is different. 

So focusing on my breathing I make it to mile 9. Where the best cheer squad is waiting!

I like this picture because my calves look dang good if you zoom in! This was the hardest part for me! This was where I was struggling emotionally. With Tina not being there to race with us, it hit me at this point. We were missing a sister who was supposed to be there! Right when I was about to break down and cry, my husband came up behind me while I was walking and took my hand. He just asked me how I was doing and walked with me for about a quarter of a mile. 

That moment it hit me! We are never alone! Heavenly Father is always watching over us! When we think we are at our breaking point, there is always light and and someone to lift you up. This time it was my cute husband! 

The next time I saw someone was at the end of the race. At one point we ran past the Fire Department and they also had a hose spraying to run through! Don't worry it wasn't on full power ;)

At mile 12 I didn't know if I had anything left to give! But as I would walk my legs hurt more than if I would run, but I didn't feel like I had enough energy to run for that long. So I walked for what I needed and ran for what I could. I made a goal to run the last .2 miles! So that's what I did! I ran at a pace I could handle! Everyone is cheering and encouraging you to keep moving! I pushed! At the very end I say my husband, son, and dad I was able to find more strength! I sprinted across the finish line! I came in at 2:40:50. I was so proud of myself! I got my medal and my cold, wet washcloth and cold water, and I headed to find my crew! 

As we were waiting for my mom to finish I laid on the grass and just was trying to relax and breath without puking. I found out that my younger brother who hasn't run except for 3 miles this whole time decided at mile 6 to join my mom to help her and stay with her if she couldn't finish. He ran with her until the last .1 miles...in chacos....He has some major blisters from that, but because of Parker my mom was able to finish and keep her mind from going into a downward spiral not having Tina there with her. 

The finisher selfie

Recovery! Best recovery drink EVER! (Will do a whole post of recovery drinks and why I love chocolate milk!)

After braids curls! 

One thing that helped me this half marathon was fueling and hydrating during the race. I kept a hand held water bottle with me for the whole race. In the pocket of it I kept my GUs. I made sure to drink water at every water station. At some of the stations they had gatorade. I only drank gatorade at one but that was because I had my GUs which help with sodium and glucose levels. My handheld water bottle never ran out. I had one GU every 45 minutes. At the beginning I almost didn't eat my GU because I was feeling good. But I knew that I should keep my energy levels up early on so I don't burn out early and then have to play catch up! 

There will be more posts about hydration and fueling in the future! 

Here are my time splits! 

Comment questions or topics you want to know about!!