Last week was RACE WEEK! I’ll start with the good news: I crushed the race.  I finished the Bakers Dozen Half Marathon in 1:59:21.  I’m thrilled to be a sub-2 hour half marathoner.  I went into my training not sure of what my pace or goal time was.  But as my training progressed and my paces got consistently faster, I knew a sub 2 was possible.  Even better, this weekend’s race was a 6+ minute PR for me (my previous best half time was 2:06:14)!

The not-so-great news: I didn’t walk away feeling like I ran a smart race.  In an effort to conserve energy I started slowly, but looking back at my splits I realize I was a little TOO conservative.  I basically ran for my life in the second half of the race, which I’m looking at positively because it proved to me I CAN run faster, but next time I want to approach the race with a better strategy.

My splits were:

Mile 1: 9:43 min/mile
Mile 2: 9:15 min/mile
Mile 3: 9:06 min/mile
Mile 4: 9:20 min/mile
Mile 5: 9:45 min/mile
Mile 6: 9:43 min/mile
Mile 7: 9:07 min/mile
Mile 8: 9:00 min/mile
Mile 9: 8:55 min/mile
Mile 10: 9:04 min/mile
Mile 11: 8:45 min/mile
Mile 12: 8:07 min/mile
Mile 13: 8:03 min/mile
Mile 13.1: 7:39 min/mile

Can we talk about miles 11-13.1?? I am blown away! And so psyched — I pushed myself and found what I’m REALLY capable of!

Other not-so-great news: I did face some tummy troubles mid race which was a challenge and had to make a potty stop at mile 6.  Unfortunately, even with the stop still I  battled continued discomfort for the remainder of the race which was less than ideal.  But again, I’m taking this negative and looking at it positively because if I can finish 1:59:21 with tummy troubles and a potty stop, just think of what I can do under more ideal circumstances.  Also, the tummy troubles didn’t stop me from taking home 5 donuts…. I worked hard! I wanted my donuts!

All in all, it was a great day and an awesome race.  I’m feeling so proud of myself for the progress I’ve made in the past 9.5 months.  My mind is blown that I have come this far, and am actually running better than I was pre-pregnancy! I can’t wait to continue making positive progress.  Next goal?? A 1:55:00 half marathon, and perhaps even a full in the fall.  More to come on that soon! 🙂

3/20: Rest Day

3/21: 4 miles

3/22: 4 miles

3/23: 2 miles

3/24: Rest

3/25: 13.1 miles – RACE DAY!

3/26: Rest