Short version. I finished, with a time of 2:11:48. While this is no where my PR of 1:59:29, it's also a lot better than my PW of 2:24 from last month.
Long version: I'm in the midst of a training plan to run a full marathon (maybe, we'll see), but hurt my ITB a couple of months ago, and have been slowly battling back ever since. And, I've been making slow progress (see previous blog entries), and have shaved 13 minutes off my injured time of 2:24, with a race finish time today of 2:11:48. I'm OK with that, it was good for me since I was just using this as a long training run anyhow.
The race today took place around Lake Okoboji, in northwest Iowa. The race itself is extremely no frills. Only the marathoners get finisher's medals (did not know that going in). No bathrooms on the course, water stops are served off card tables and out of the back of pickup trucks, no post-race food. The course was very scenic though, going through Iowa farmland, then through the neighborhoods surrounding the lake, with beautiful vistas of the lake, tons of boats, etc. But the rolling hills were constant, and made the course pretty challenging. I was a little worried about the race-start temperatures being pretty chilly in the upper 40s, and originally was going to wear a long sleeve running shirt, but a RW forum post steered me in the right direction. Dress for mid and post race temps, not start race temps! Thanks RW Beginner's forumites for the great advice!!
I only stopped once to stretch my ITB and hamstring around mile 9, and otherwise, ran the whole thing. I also wore new Balaga socks during the race, and this was also the first race that I've run in the green Superfeet insoles. My feet were killing me around mile 11, and I thought I was getting a huge blister, but no blisters when I was done, phew.
Lessons Learned: I was a little bummed when I learned that only the marathoners received a finisher's medal. I'm not a fast runner, and for this mid-to-back-of-the-packer, it's all about the t-shirt and medal for me. LOL. I know that sounds crazy, and it doesn't really mean anything, but I legitamately was let down when they had nothing to give me at the end of the race. I guess it's my little momento of the race to add to my collection, and I couldn't believe I could get so hung up something so trivial. I felt like a kid with no present under the tree at Christmas. Geesh, am I that shallow? LOL, I guess so. So, I intend to buy my own running medal and have it engraved for this race. You can buy generic ones on the Internet for $3, so not sure why the race directors couldn't pony up for one for the halfers too.
Second, when I run something like a half marathon, I feel a real sense of accomplishment. Running 13.1 miles is not easy. I felt so proud, as I have the previous 3 races. That is, until I looked at my standings compared to everyone else. I've openly admitted that I'm a pretty slow runner and I thought I was OK with that, but when I compared myself to all the other faster runners, it kind of makes you question why you're doing this. I have to learn that it's not about the desination, but the journey (hence the name of the blog). After every race, I have to learn to relearn that lesson. It's the journey. Doesn't matter where you're at when you finished, the most important part is that you finished and put in your best effort. I still ran 13.1 miles, even if I was in the bottom of the pack. I'm a slow runner, but da#%@t, I'm still a runner. Period.
Here are a couple of pictures: The first is immediately post race, while waiting to catch the shuttle back to my car. The second is an elevation profile of the race. Rolling hills throughout. I might have nightmares about those hills, we'll see.
Race on!
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