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| Feeling good and running along! Look coach, no smiling at the camera!!! |
Today, I am happy. It's funny because the time I had today is still not close to my PR of 2:10 but there were different goals today and so really, the two races are apples & oranges. Today, I wanted to show improvement and I think I have!
I'm happy to report that I was 6ish minutes better than I was at the Chicago Half and more than 10min faster than last year. Today was not an A race so I went technology free and I loved it. I enjoyed the event today as much as I enjoyed my first half and I think that speaks volumes. I pushed at times I thought I didn't have much left and I also learned that even when you think you can't push, you certainly can. Did I get everything right? Well, of course not but I got more right than I got wrong and the stuff I got wrong is stuff I can now focus on as I head into my final several weeks of prep for The Woodlands Half, my A race.
I'm not going to get into a summary of how I felt where mainly b/c I just put all that info in Training Peaks for my coach and I don't want to type it again and cut & pasting is for losers. :) I'm kidding, I c&p like the best of them. There were a couple of "Jenny" race moments. If you've been following this blog at all, or know me even just a little, you know that I am prone to some random things happening at times. Things that make you say, "wtf". Well today, I had a "wtf" moment at approximately mile 11.75. I was trucking along and when I say trucking I really mean I was jogging at a pace that wasn't going to kill me. Anyway, I was trucking along when I felt a pop from my sports bra. I reached back and the snap closure was broken. O M G. What am I going to do? I had no choice but to stop to see if I could fix it. I glanced across Allen Pkwy to my left and saw Keith riding his bike along. He motioned for me to get moving and I yelled, "my bra broke"!!!!! Yes, Keith and everyone within a .5 mile radius heard that one as I had my iPod volume up just a little too loud. I fiddled with it for a minute and got one of the hooks to work but had to leave the others undone. I started to run ever so cautiously until I felt confident the hook would hold and then picked up the pace. I was worried though...what if the final hook final gave in to the pressure it's been supporting for the past year and decided it was going to quit on me too. Would I be forced to bounce to the finish line? Ugh. Luckily I didn't have to find out as the bra held up and is now resting comfortably in the trash. Upon closer inspection, I'm lucky the thing held in there the whole race. Some of you might be thinking I need to stop buying cheap sports bras but let me tell you, this bra has been the bomb. It's not like I'm involved in low impact sports either. This thing has had the tough job of reigning in the twins for a long time under tough conditions! Note to self: get online and order a few more Moving Comfort bras before I bust any others. :)
Other than the bra incident, I was good. I finished the race feeling very proud of myself for improving. For a brief moment I was a little sad by the final time but then reminded myself this wasn't an A race and also reminded myself that it takes time for speed to come back and I have to assume it's a lot like weight loss. You want to lose weight slowly to make sure it's done the right way. Well, speed must also come back slowly so that you can be sure that you're really going to be able to maintain the new found speed long term. Once all this was put into perspective, I was back to being happy as a clam.
Before I get to thanking all the important people who helped me, I have to give major props to my brother, Luke. This kid has not run since November. He has run two half marathons at 1:51 and obliterated his time today finishing in just barely over 1:41. Umm, for those who are wondering, that's a 7:44min/mile pace. WITHOUT TRAINING. I have been hoping and praying that Luke would have a race where he realized training was sooo important and that he couldn't get better without it. Well, today was not that race. All joking aside, I am extremely proud of Luke. A 10min PR is a big deal but to do it with no training is just unimaginable to me. Because we come from the same gene pool, I have to believe that maybe I have just a little, tiny bit of his running talent. Makes sense right?
Ok, so I have to thank Keith for being out there all morning. He rode his bike all over that course and was my cheerleader the whole way. From mile 6.5 - 7 he let me know I was running well and to keep pushing. He yelled at me (repeatedly) to get moving on Allen Pkwy. While I was fixing my bra, he told me to just GO. Up until the 12 mile marker, he was just telling me to get it done. It was awesome seeing him out there!!! Of course, I thank my coach as well for really helping me get my stuff together. I know she wants me to see a big improvement soon too but also helps me understand what's important to focus on. Ana is understanding but at the same time, tough and I really appreciate all she does.
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| My 5th Houston Half Marathon Finish |
January 17th Update
Typically once a few days post-race set in, I start second guessing myself and dwelling on the things that are done that I can't change. Not today! I'm still proud of myself. I still think chipping away at my times little by little is going to help me in the end. What I'm more excited about is how anxious I am to get out there and run again. I've found a few races (running) I think I want to do this year and I'm having to resist temptation by signing up for them. :)
Happy Tuesday everyone!!!! I hope you have a great week!!!!
Hi Jenny, reading your blog gives me a great start on my day. You are amazing to do all you do. Can't wait to see this summer. Until the next blog. Love you
ReplyDeleteZanetta