13.1 part two

Yesterday Liz and I accomplished yet another milestone in our quest to get fit. We ran the Surftown Half Marathon, by the ocean, in gorgeous Westerly, RI. This is our second half marathon and I hate to admit it, but I really have the running bug now.

After the first half marathon I completed, I felt beat down. I was dying around mile 10, ready to be done. I managed a 2:12 finish for that one, but really struggled through it. This time, I realized I was never out of breath the entire race. We decided to run this one together and I finished in 2:16, but I felt like I could have easily shaved 10 minutes off of that pace. I am setting the goal now of running this race again next September and breaking 10min/mile. I would really like to break the 2 hour mark, which would be a 9:16 pace, but we'll see how that goes. The things that really made a difference this time were, the visor that kept the sun off of my face, the new shoes and orthotics I got from Olympic Physical Therapy (more to come on that later) and the fact that I was down 7 pounds from the last half marathon I ran. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I was in better overall physical shape. I was lighter, so I didn't have as much of a burden to carry while running and it was less strain on my legs. Last time I felt sick and couldn't even walk the next day. This time, my legs are a little bit sore, and I did get one blister on my foot, but otherwise I feel amazing.

It just goes to show what you can do if you really put your mind to it! Next race?? I am doing a 5K in October and will try to keep up short races before I start training for my next half!!