3M Half Marathon

This past Sunday I participated in the 3M half marathon in Austin. This is an awesome race and one that I would like to do every year. With it being in January, you can almost guarantee that the weather is going to be great to run in and the course is a mostly downhill elevation. That means you can fly through the 13.1 miles.  

Aixa, me, and Linda beaming bright before the race!

The morning started off with Aixa coming to my house and her, Brian, and I driving over to Linda's house and picking her up -- all before 5 a.m.!! We had a fun drive up there and we had no trouble finding parking and getting over to the race start. It was a chilly morning and we waited as long as possible to drop our warm clothes off at the gear drop. After that was done we walked up as far as we were brave enough to. It was somewhere between the 1:45 and 1:50 pace groups. My goal was to go under 2 hrs for the first time, with a top secret goal of maybe going 1:50.  

The happy finishers!

And then we were off!! As the first mile was flying by I remember thinking to myself, "Holy cow this course is downhill!" The first mile beeps on my watch and I look down: 8:30 average. Nice -- but is it too fast? Can I really stay in the 8's for 13.1 miles?? I don't know the answer but decide to just run for it. Every mile that ticked off felt like a victory as they were staying in the 8's. Also, as each mile ticked off, I could hear the 1:50 pace group behind me shouting the status of their time (13 seconds ahead of schedule, 10 seconds ahead of schedule, etc...) and that gave me motivation to keep moving. Around the 9-mile mark they finally came up along side me. I didn't mind it too much but just told myself to try to keep them in my sights for as long as possible and, by all means, DO NOT let the 1:55 pace group catch up to me!! The topography around this mile starts to change and there are some sections of steady inclines. I was able to hang on but I slowly saw the 1:50's pulling away from me. Mile 10 came along and I could feel myself starting to fade. I told myself to just hold on for two more miles and try not to drop the pace too much. I had 1 mile average in the 9's but finally I heard that beep and there was only 1 mile left. GO FOR IT!! I picked up the pace and ran my little heart out. The last mile was back down in the 8's again and then it was a sprint to the finish!! I crossed the finish line and turned off my watch. 1:51:47!!

Brian and Aixa both had PR's on their races as well and Linda had a great race too! It really turned out to be a pretty much perfect day. I'm so happy for everyone! 

Last January, I started to really focus on my run. And after a year of this focusing, I am so pleased with my progress. I've learned that I can push myself a lot harder than I thought possible. I have been able to find a mental toughness that was not there 4 years ago when I first started triathlons. Thank you to everyone who has helped and pushed me to be better and having the confidence in me that I could do it!!! First race of 2014 is in the books!!