This past Saturday, Abilene, TX had its very own marathon. This was the 1st year for Marathoning for Miracles benefiting Children's Miracle Network and Hendrick Home for Children.It was my 3rd half-marathon. Number three really felt like a big number to me. I didn't just do it once or twice, but 3 times. Yea! My first was in May and my time was 2:26. I was truly happy with that. And, I did have an injury. 3 weeks ago, my time was 2:21 at the Tyler Rose, which was rolling hills all the way. Then, came Abilene - advertised as fast and flat! Woohoo! My friends, Kerry & Brandie ran it, too.
2:15:14 Avg pace 10:22. I beat my last half time by 6 min. 50s medium wind (maybe 10-12mph)
I started out faster than what I would have wanted to at 10min miles. Some of these were into the wind. A lot of the course was on gravel road. I was not prepared for that at all. It truly did throw me off. I was worried about twisting an ankle. I'm still not sure why I didn't at least attempt to drive the course, but I really thought it would be all paved road. I held on to the 10min pace for the first 6 miles though. After that I moved to about 10:30 pace. It got worse from there.
I finally turned on my tunes at mile 11. My mom's favorite song from a long time ago was on; so that made me smile. At mile 12 we could see the finish line, but were forced to run in a big out and back mile first. That was brutal.
I am going to go ahead and admit this. Right at mile 11, I did the calculations and realized if I held on to an easy 11min pace, I would beat make a personal record by a lot. So, I didn't push it. I'm not sure why I do that to myself, but I do. When I say an easy 11min, I don't really mean it was easy. It wouldn't have been easy to even walk it in. But, I definitely need to play better mind games with myself.
At the finish, I did my thing. I waved and raised arms and sprinted right in. In Tyler, the Garmin said my finish sprint was 5:30 pace. For Abilene, it was 6:00. It's fun to do that and I am sure it looks ridiculous coming in like that at 2:15, but I just can't help myself. That last .05 or so deserves some awesome finish pictures and some hooting and hollering.
I started out faster than what I would have wanted to at 10min miles. Some of these were into the wind. A lot of the course was on gravel road. I was not prepared for that at all. It truly did throw me off. I was worried about twisting an ankle. I'm still not sure why I didn't at least attempt to drive the course, but I really thought it would be all paved road. I held on to the 10min pace for the first 6 miles though. After that I moved to about 10:30 pace. It got worse from there.
I finally turned on my tunes at mile 11. My mom's favorite song from a long time ago was on; so that made me smile. At mile 12 we could see the finish line, but were forced to run in a big out and back mile first. That was brutal.
I am going to go ahead and admit this. Right at mile 11, I did the calculations and realized if I held on to an easy 11min pace, I would beat make a personal record by a lot. So, I didn't push it. I'm not sure why I do that to myself, but I do. When I say an easy 11min, I don't really mean it was easy. It wouldn't have been easy to even walk it in. But, I definitely need to play better mind games with myself.
At the finish, I did my thing. I waved and raised arms and sprinted right in. In Tyler, the Garmin said my finish sprint was 5:30 pace. For Abilene, it was 6:00. It's fun to do that and I am sure it looks ridiculous coming in like that at 2:15, but I just can't help myself. That last .05 or so deserves some awesome finish pictures and some hooting and hollering.
Oh..and after I got home, Elle wanted to run a race with me. So I had to do an obligatory run around the block with a 4 year old and her 2 year old little sister. Afterwards, Elle said she was so tired and needed a running drink! Love it! She's built like her dad; so we're hoping for a fast one.
Left is us with our cheering crew: Tammye, Kerry (1:57), Brandie (2:03), Lisa, Me, Sarah & Hartley
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