Saturday I ran my 4th half marathon of the year – the South Jordan Half. I recently read on a running blog that race pictures are like race shirts – when you get a good one it feels like winning the lottery. I’m beginning to think that is SO true!
I set out with the goal this year to run 4 half marathons and I accomplished that. I’ll be honest. I was not too happy with my time or my run on Saturday. But I accomplished my goal, and I should be proud of that fact. A year ago I could not run 13.1 miles, and now I have done it over and over.
Waiting at the start line – I wish the sky could have looked like this the whole morning. I love the sun coming over the mountains!
One of my good running friends said to me when I first started running that running was a mental sport. I laughed at her, but I have since found SO much truth in her statement. Running is a mental sport. I had prepared physically to run my half marathon, but I feel like I failed mentally. I started strong and was doing so great through mile 7. I’m not sure what happened after that. I do know that around mile 7 the first place MARATHONER passed me. Holy smokes that guy was fast! I felt like everything after mile 7 was totally uphill. And after looking at the elevation change on Garmin, it was not. It was downhill. I had a lingering head cold from the previous week, but I felt decent that day. I drank a lot of water the day before the race and I felt like I drank at enough aide stations, I ate my gu before the race and mid race. But I could just not do it. Who knows. Who knows what happened at mile 7. But my times drastically changed.
My goal was to stay ahead of the 2:10 pacer. I really wanted to beat my time from Utah Valley and was aiming for a 2:05 run. Around mile 11 the 2:10 pacer passed me. For most people that might be a driving force to get going and finish, but I had no gumption to get up and go. When she passed me I just wanted to sit down on the sidewalk right there and cry. Looking at my splits you can clearly see that.
Somehow I choked back the tears, I remembered my friend saying “running is a mental sport” and I tried to give myself a pep talk. I made through to mile 12. My right foot was hurting like crazy. The shoes I ran in were old and have SO many miles on them. I had ordered new shoes, but they hadn’t come in on the day of the race. So old shoes it was – and my foot hurt because of it. I decided to finally break down and give in a little Walk a little bit.
Walk – Run – Walk – Run.
I got a text from my husband who said “we are here – where are you?” I had half a mile to go. And I was NOT going to let my kids see me walking when I came around the corner towards the finish line. They need to know that we can do hard things. They need to know that we don’t give up. So I ran. Slow as a turtle, but I ran.
With about a quarter of a mile to go I came around a corner and there they were! The four big kids ran with me for a ways. They were so encouraging….well, except for my 8 year old who kept saying “think about pee and poop mom” He thought he was so funny. And honestly it made me laugh, which made me feel better, and not think about my hurt pride and hurt foot. Good thing I know a cute podiatrist – who as soon as I finished the race, without me telling him, asked me what was wrong with my foot and took care of me the rest of the day. He’s a good guy.
I crossed the finish line with a good time.
2:13:47
It might not have been what I set out for, but it still is something to be proud of. I ran 4 half marathons in one year! I accomplished my goal. Honestly, I have no idea if I’ll ever beat my Utah Valley (aka – run like crazy down a huge canyon) time. And I just need to realize that.
What have I learned from this race?
Running is physical and mental. I need to be better at positive talk I’m not 100% sure that is what happened to me, but it can’t hurt. I think running this race was a good lesson for me.
Sometimes life does not go your way. Sometimes you plan and prepare for a 2:05 finish. And then sometimes the 2:10 pacer passes you up and you feel like sitting down and crying. Hasn’t everyone had times in their life like this? I know I have – and I continue to. But this race was a good reminder. You can’t just sit down and quit. Things don’t always go as planned. They don’t. But you can always walk a little. Run a little. Walk a little and then run a little. Laughing a little helps too. My 8 year old is great at helping me remember this.
And before you know it’s, you’ve done it and you can eat ice cream the rest of the day.
