I'm not going to lie, I'm freaking proud of myself! I didn't make my goal of finishing in under 2:30, but I only missed it by about a minute and a half...and if you look at the little Nike+ graphic above, the race was longer than 13.1...so really, I probably made my goal, right? I had a friend from church who ran the same race, her goal was to run it in under 2 hours, she missed it by just over a minute. So, we both really made our goals in my eyes. Heck, of all the friends who I ran with, my GPS was the closest to 13.1...theirs all said it was even longer than mine did. (And I finished 2nd out of all 6 of us who started together, much to my surprise!)
After the race we hit up the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale...wahoo, new flip flops! I threw all ours away when we moved earlier this year because flip flops can get pretty nasty and should be replaced anyway. Then we went to Runner's Roost to get a "13.1" sticker for our car. I was dead tired and asked my husband to go inside to get it while I stayed in the car with the girls. I figured he'd get a small black and white one. But nope, this one is pretty big and it's red (my favorite color) and white. Now it's on the back of all car, all loud and proud! Anyway, I let myself have a cheat meal that night...because I could! We got Tacos al Pastor from this place called Yolanda's. My husband says they're pretty authentic...and he's so happy we found this place. During his 2 years living in Mexico he fell in love with the tacos from the street vendors.
My husband must have been feeling all sorts of proud of me and sorry for me all at the same time. By that night I was SORE! Even after taking a dip in the hot tub at our complex, I was sore, sore, sore. He made me 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies (cheat day, cheat day, cheat day) and watched a chick flick with me. Yes, my husband who refuses to watch girl movies watched a total chick flick with me...while massaging my legs. Makes me think I should run a half marathon every weekend! ;)
He must have been feeling really inspired too...he's now signed up for his own half marathon in September. And the longest he's ever run is 5 miles. But he's insanely fast (I think so anyway)!!!!! So I think if he slows down a bit he'll find he can run farther.
My running has been...different, I guess that's the word for it...since the race. Before I was always focused on distance. My race pace was around 11:20/mile. Not fast, but I did it. Since then I've been working on speed. And what's "speedy" for me, is slow for others...like my husband who runs close to 7:00-7:30/mile every time he runs. But I've been focusing on running under 10 minute miles every time I run...save one run where I just let myself go and get lost in thought. That was a just over 6 mile run where I averaged 10:59/mile. So far my monthly average (even with that slower run) is 9:53/mile. I'm really not enjoying this kind of running though. My favorite part of running is putting in my ear buds and getting lost in my thoughts while listening to music. But working on speed has me constantly focusing on speeding up and checking my pace. Plus I've been running on flatter courses (well, as flat as you can get in this super hilly town, there's no escaping some hills) when what I really love is running in the hilly neighborhoods near our apartment. I even miss the quarter mile steep climb up a street full of beautiful new houses that will always and forever be out of our price range. Usually I dread that hill for its steep incline, long distance, and the green eyed monster that comes out in me as I trudge up the hill. But I miss it, and the next half mile of down hill and flatness that follows it before getting all hilly again. I miss the feeling of freedom as I just run, unrestricted by time.
My other problem is...my husband is running a lot now. Where he used to hate it, he now "fights" me over who gets to run in the morning. By evening when he gets home it's too dang hot to run outside. So it's morning runs or treadmill runs. We both hate treadmill runs. So I don't get to run as much outside as I'd like. Most days I get 1.5 - 3 miles while he's home getting ready for work and watching the girls. This is after he's already worked out.
Basically, I'm feeling a little lost right now. For the longest time, even when I was totally sucking at exercising, I had this goal to run a half. Now that I've done that I don't know what to do. My husband's answer to this was simply, "So run another one." And I'm sure I will. There are a few in September that look awesome. One is a night run even. How fun would that be?!?! But while I'm working on speed I'm losing confidence in my distance abilities. Sigh...
I'm registered for an upcoming mud run as well as a 5k while we're out of town. I'm a little terrified about the mud run. What was I thinking? Obstacles? WTHeck?!?!? Eek! The 5k is no biggie, except I'm running it with my husband and he'll kick my booty instead of staying with me while I run. Haha! There are other 5 and 10k's coming up in the next few months that I want to do. Here's hoping it will work out. Because...my goal after we return from vacation next month is to find a job. That will definitely throw a wrench into both training and the ability to sign up for races. I need a job that has hours that I can work around my husband's schedule. I still have a toddler that is home all day. So, I can't work a day job just yet. (Although can I say how excited I am for all that one on one time with just her?!?!?) Nights and weekends it is.
So, that's the health/fitness/running update with me. Haha! I accomplished a long time goal, I'm making changes, feeling lost, anxious and apprehensive about the future. And I admitted I have a green eyed monster inside me (one that kicks herself every time she runs up that hill because she didn't go to graduate school and now can't afford it even though it's what she wants to do more than almost anything else).
1 comment:
Congratulations on completing your second half! I just starting training for my first and I'm already in panic mode!!
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