Wow, the feelings one gets when they hit a PR. I have been at this Half Marathon thing for well over two years now and it just keeps getting better. My first Half Marathon attempt way back in the spring of 2007 was such an accomplishment and it netted me a time of 2 hours 5 minutes and 38 seconds. So as the years have gone by my times have gotten faster. I approached PF Chang's with a skeptical attitude, I had just PR'ed back in November in Fresno, CA at the Two Cities Half Marathon with a 1:45:33. Unfortunately thanks to my enjoyment of food, wine and beer and regardless of how far I've run I've put on a few pounds over the Holidays. Last year I had run PF Chang's in 1:47:20 and as one can see that damn "less than 1:45" has always been so close yet so far away. So I figured with PF Chang's I'd approach this years' race with a "see how you feel, see how it goes" type attitude. A short breakdown of the race...
Miles 1 to 6 - Perfect temperatures (40Fs) with some cloudiness. Senator John McCain shoots the starting gun and we are off. Headed out with a faster than normal pace, I wanted to average somewhere around 8:20 a mile as I always have this fear of pushing too hard at the start. Well, I started out in the 8:15 range and then I was up to 8:10, I was feeling pretty good but was I going to pay for it later?
Miles 7 to 9 - Now we've got some small hills but I still seem to have the strength to push maybe a little harder, my Garmin watch now seems to be stuck in the 8:06 range. I begin to wonder, could I possibly push my overall average to under 8 minutes? An overall average less than 8 minutes will get me in that 1:44 range. At this point in the race I am starting to tire a bit and I somewhat doubt if I can push to reach that 8 minute mark.
Miles 10 to 13 - For some reason I get a wonderful kick going. I step it up a notch and tell myself with each push "try it and if you don't like it slow the pace". So I keep pushing it up and somewhere I notice my watch is now at the 8 minute overall average which means I am running somewhere in the 7:30 a mile range. The last mile seems to last forever, I just want to finish at this point, I've given up looking at my watch fearful that a greater than 8 minute average may appear and I'll be dissapointed and shut it down. I continue hard to the finish with one weird dizzy spell and then I cross the finish line. I look down at my watch and am greeted with a time of 1:44:24! Elation and unbelievable feelings of wanting to cry in happiness fall upon me. Yes, I finally beat that demon called 1:45!
What a great race! All that hardwork, all those long runs, all those short runs, all the soreness, etc., etc., it was worth it! I'll talk about the race itself in upcoming blogs. But today, just lovin the moment and enjoying the fact that I am now in the 1:44 category for the Half Marathon, Yipee! Keep running and keep smiling!
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