Happy Rock n' Rollin'!

This picture pretty much sums up how I'd like to feel at the end of every 13.1 I run...
HAPPY!  
Happy to be running.
Happy
to have perfect weather conditions for a race (even though I wasn't racing).
Happy for a FUN and favorite course that took me through the neighborhoods of my beautiful city.
Happy
to feel strong and healthy!




Happy that using this 13.1 race as a workout and not a race meant holding back way more than I thought I would have to hold back. Happy that the paces I was supposed to hit came with ease and that finishing felt like I was just getting started. A promise of good things yet to come.  


Happy for 
Friends,
Family,
Inspiration, 
and
First-Time Half Marathoners that remind me what its all about!  




I know that even though I didn't hit all the paces exactly like I was trying to hit, I still practiced restraint and control. I spent the first half of the run kind of beating myself up for not being able to nail my mile splits exactly as my coach had asked me. My first two miles seemed almost impossible to keep over 8 min pace even though I should know better about how hard it is to keep the first miles slow.  By mile three I found myself slowing way down in parts so that my split would have an 8 in front of it and look like I followed instructions better. It is important to me to show my coach that I can listen and I was getting kind of down on myself for doing such a poor job at holding back.  Then I made a deal with myself to just run by effort, stop looking at my watch so much, and to keep my speed in check and my breathing under control.  I found that if I tried too hard to keep the exact paces that I was going for, it got in the way of enjoying the run, experiencing the course and going by effort since there were so many hills...what felt like a large amount of downhills.  I went with the uphills and downhills, holding back the effort that I will be able to use soon enough.  Some of my miles were too fast according to plan and some a little slower....
but in the end, I finished knowing that I tried to run a good workout where I gave just enough for what it was meant to be. It was a learning experience and I'm not going to be too hard on myself for being a little off. 


The Plan                  The Paces I Hit 
1:43:45                     1:42:11 unofficial Garmin time 13.26
8:30                          7:43 Too fast.  Unexpectedly hard to hold back.
8:30                          7:46 Again, struggling to hold back.  Felt SO Slow
8:30                          7:59 Really tried to get over 8 with this one and still not look at my                  
                                       watch the entire time!
8:15                          8:02  Better
8:00                          8:20  Hills help slow you down if you're keeping the effort even.
7:45                          7:41  Yes...better!
7:45                          8:00  More hills
7:45                          7:28  Where there are uphills, there are downhills
7:45                          7:44  
7:45                          7:40
7:30                          7:31
7:30                          7:18 down hills effort still more like 7:30
7:30                          7:19 same as above
                                Last .26 on garmin was 7:07 pace but felt like I was sticking with 
                                  7:30.  


Overall, I'm happy with my workout today. I know it wasn't perfect in hitting my paces. I know that I could have done things a bit differently here and there but it is another learning experience.  It is harder than it seems to run specific paces on a hilly course so I did the best I could to run by effort.  


Some Highlights:

• I loved the Portland Rock n' Roll Half Marathon course!  Perfect mix of hills IMO.
• I loved the efficiency of how it was all run and I enjoyed seeing friends. 
•  The weather even turned out to be PERFECT racing/long run conditions.  It was cool, cloudy, and just a bit of rain to keep us cooled off. 
• There were a few of you ladies who came up to me at the end of the race to introduce yourselves and it was so nice to meet you.  Thank you for your kind words.  
• The best part about today was being there to see my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephew finish their very first half marathon!  It was very inspiring!! I couldn't be MORE PROUD of them!! This is only the beginning!  

• My leg felt strong!  My KT tape might have helped...I think I've mastered the Hammy Tape Job!  It was funny that several people stopped me at the end of the race and said that my leg was their focal point.  Ha!  

Yay!  Second weekend in a row that I get to see Tasha from Healthy Diva.  Love this girl!

So proud of my sister-in-law and nephew!! This is just the beginning.  They've caught the bug!  And Debbie from The Run Home, she loved her necklace!  She's wearing it in the picture.  

Seeing my brother-in-law finish was one of the most inspirational moments of my life.  So Proud!  He realized that there was more in him than he ever knew!  

Proof that I was icing my leg right after the race!

Now off to roll, ice, rest, and gear up for a good week of training.  Hoping that my leg keeps feeling good.  So thankful!!  


Oh, and I really must register for Portland Rock n' Roll 2013!  Wouldn't want to miss out. And maybe next year I'll get the green light to race it! 


Who was there today??  What did you think of the course, weather, etc.?  How did you do?  


Amanda