Another long overdue post and what better time than when we’re
driving up to Brevard for the Swank65.
Around mid-September I decided to sign up for a half
marathon, The North Face Endurance Challenge down at Pine Mountain. After signing up for IM-WI, I was (and still
am) a little overwhelmed at the thought of the training needed to finish a 12+ hour multi-sport race. I think I’ll feel better if I run a marathon beforehand b/c if
nothing else, I’ll know that I can do it if/when come race day, I’m struggling.
At that time, the longest I had run was 10 miles (once late last year) but I
was looking for a little change of pace from mountain biking and I like trail
running so I decided “why not”!
Most training plans call for 12-16 weeks . . . I had 5
weeks. I felt pretty confident that I had the endurance and base since I do run during the week for a quick workout. Anyway, I spent the next few weeks
getting ready for my first half marathon. I knew I could finish it (barring any
serious injury) but really didn’t know how fast or what my competitive nature
would do to my time.
The race was on Sunday down near Callaway Gardens so Matt
& I went down on Saturday to check out the festivities for the marathon,
50K & 50 mile events going on. Apparently they screen print your TNF tech T
with the date/location of your event on-site but I forgot about it and didn’t
bring my shirt with me. L
We scouted out the start and went to find our hotel in LaGrange about 30+
minutes away. We got checked in and relaxed for a little while before hitting
Longhorn for dinner. The best part of that meal was the Chocolate Stampede, a massive super chocolaty
cake and ice cream. I ate more of it than Matt but we barely put a dent in this
thing . . . so good and I couldn’t stop eating it. I figured (well, hoped) I’d burn it off on
the run or at least digest it before the run.
We were up early Sunday morning and went to Waffle House for
some breakfast. I had eggs & grits but they had so much butter in them, I
was worried about it not agreeing with me since I don’t usually do
buttery/greasy pre-race. Pre-running race nutrition was another thing I was
worried about b/c I didn’t want to be puking grits & eggs on the side of
the trail later that morning. I had a couple of bananas that morning and a
PB&J before the race and took a flask of gel/water for the run. It seemed
to have worked.
 |
| Before the race! |
I felt pretty good initially. I couldn’t keep my heart rate
down but decided to push it a little anyway and rest up on the descents. Matt
took his bike so he was able to ride around to the aid stations to cheer me on
(apparently this is frowned upon) so that was a nice surprise to see him at the
road crossings!
 |
| After Aid Station #1 |
Once I passed through
the 2nd aid station at about mile 10.5 my knee started hurting. It
was mainly on the descents but the last few miles started off with a lot of
down. I stopped and tried to stretch it, tried to adjust my stride/foot
position, etc. but nothing seemed to help so I suffered through it until the
trail finally flattened out a little. The info packet noted that the last 2.5
miles seemed like the longest and I agree. I finally popped out of the woods
and tried to pick up the pace a little in the grassy field to the finish line.
2:39:58 (4/22 in the 30-39 age group and 22/99 for the women)
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| Crossing the finish line! |
I
was pretty excited and I’m confident I’ll do it again! I’d love to do the Thanksgiving Day half here in Atlanta but
that day is too hectic to go downtown so I’m thinking about the Publix Georgia half or
full for my birthday in March. The Savannah Rock-n-Roll marathon is this
weekend but we’ll be in Brevard, NC for the Swank.
Mountain bike racing is wrapping up this month with the Chain
Buster series finale at Oak Mountain next Saturday. I’m looking forward to
riding some new-to-me trail over in Alabama. After that, we’ll probably take it
easy through the holidays and get in some non-training/non-racing weekends of
fun in the mountains, keep running and start working on my swimming. And the
best part is we’re planning a trip to Sedona in December for our 10th
anniversary!!!
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