One of the purposes of this blog is to inform those who are interested about my training/progress of reaching my running goals. Another purpose of this blog is to tell the stories of my races that I compete in.
MY FIRST HALF!
FLEET FEET HALF MARATHON- 5/14/16
Race week was finally here and I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of race day on Saturday. Midweek I stopped by my local Fleet Feet store to pick up my race packet and grab some last minute race nutrition (Nuun Energy/Electrolyte Tablets, Gu, and Honey Stinger Waffles) As usual one of their wonderful employees talked me into buying something else that I hadn't intended purchasing. I ended up purchasing a pair of CEP compression calf sleeves in hopes that they would prevent my tendon injury to flare up during the race. They say you're never supposed to try anything new on race day but, I took a gamble and wore these the first time Saturday during my race. I won't ever run without them again! I believe that the compression sleeves played a part in my pain free run. Friday finally rolled around and my race was all I could think about. I was hydrating and carb loading like crazy in preparation for the run. My cousin/runner extraordinaire, Kyle came over to stay the night and run the race with me the next day. 5 a.m. came quickly Saturday morning and we woke up to eat breakfast and make some last minute race preparations. The temperature at the start was 52 degrees (22 degrees cooler than the day before) and a brisk 15mph North wind. We arrived to the race 20 minutes early then made our way to the starting line. Kyle ran the race with me for moral support (Thanks Kyle!) The gun went off and we were on our way! I was pumped and overwhelmed with excitement. I was trying to maintain a pace of around 9 min/mile to meet my goal of 2hr finish. Around mile 1 my RunKeeper app alerted me that we were running around 7:50 min/mile. I told Kyle and we slowed down so we would have gas in the tank for the remainder of the run. The course was taking us out of downtown Tulsa and to the riverside west trail. The first part of the course was downhill which was really nice on the legs and our times. At mile 1.5 my shoelace came untied! Kyle called me out for the rookie mistake and we were planning to pull over when we had the chance to retie. One of my goals for the race was not to stop running. So stopping to retie my shoe and lose time was something I did not want to do. Miles 3-6, were a breeze especially for only running 4 miles the month before! We were running at a 8:30 pace and on track to finish well under 2hrs! At mile 6.5 the turn around point we turned around and ran head on into the rough wind. Miles 7 and 8 were bearable but, at mile 9 the wind started to take a toll on me. My legs were feeling great but my asthma was causing me to become winded. Miles 10-12 were very long and difficult. Those hills that were nice to us earlier were now are enemies and the streets of downtown Tulsa became a giant wind tunnel. It was tough to get through mile 12 but the thought of the finish line led to small bursts of energy that was left in my tired legs. We could finally see the finish line and a couple hundred yards away, I began sprinting unaware that I actually had some gas left in the tank. Kyle and I crossed the finish line at the same time 2:12. My time was slower than I had hoped but, I completed my goal of finishing my first half and not stopping once (and I did it with a untied shoe!) I considered it a win since a month before I could barely walk without my tendons hurting. This experience proved to me that once again, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:13) Before this race I was worried, but I prayed for a pain free run and a finish and that is what I ended up with.
MY FIRST HALF!
FLEET FEET HALF MARATHON- 5/14/16
Race week was finally here and I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of race day on Saturday. Midweek I stopped by my local Fleet Feet store to pick up my race packet and grab some last minute race nutrition (Nuun Energy/Electrolyte Tablets, Gu, and Honey Stinger Waffles) As usual one of their wonderful employees talked me into buying something else that I hadn't intended purchasing. I ended up purchasing a pair of CEP compression calf sleeves in hopes that they would prevent my tendon injury to flare up during the race. They say you're never supposed to try anything new on race day but, I took a gamble and wore these the first time Saturday during my race. I won't ever run without them again! I believe that the compression sleeves played a part in my pain free run. Friday finally rolled around and my race was all I could think about. I was hydrating and carb loading like crazy in preparation for the run. My cousin/runner extraordinaire, Kyle came over to stay the night and run the race with me the next day. 5 a.m. came quickly Saturday morning and we woke up to eat breakfast and make some last minute race preparations. The temperature at the start was 52 degrees (22 degrees cooler than the day before) and a brisk 15mph North wind. We arrived to the race 20 minutes early then made our way to the starting line. Kyle ran the race with me for moral support (Thanks Kyle!) The gun went off and we were on our way! I was pumped and overwhelmed with excitement. I was trying to maintain a pace of around 9 min/mile to meet my goal of 2hr finish. Around mile 1 my RunKeeper app alerted me that we were running around 7:50 min/mile. I told Kyle and we slowed down so we would have gas in the tank for the remainder of the run. The course was taking us out of downtown Tulsa and to the riverside west trail. The first part of the course was downhill which was really nice on the legs and our times. At mile 1.5 my shoelace came untied! Kyle called me out for the rookie mistake and we were planning to pull over when we had the chance to retie. One of my goals for the race was not to stop running. So stopping to retie my shoe and lose time was something I did not want to do. Miles 3-6, were a breeze especially for only running 4 miles the month before! We were running at a 8:30 pace and on track to finish well under 2hrs! At mile 6.5 the turn around point we turned around and ran head on into the rough wind. Miles 7 and 8 were bearable but, at mile 9 the wind started to take a toll on me. My legs were feeling great but my asthma was causing me to become winded. Miles 10-12 were very long and difficult. Those hills that were nice to us earlier were now are enemies and the streets of downtown Tulsa became a giant wind tunnel. It was tough to get through mile 12 but the thought of the finish line led to small bursts of energy that was left in my tired legs. We could finally see the finish line and a couple hundred yards away, I began sprinting unaware that I actually had some gas left in the tank. Kyle and I crossed the finish line at the same time 2:12. My time was slower than I had hoped but, I completed my goal of finishing my first half and not stopping once (and I did it with a untied shoe!) I considered it a win since a month before I could barely walk without my tendons hurting. This experience proved to me that once again, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:13) Before this race I was worried, but I prayed for a pain free run and a finish and that is what I ended up with.