Race Day

I always wanted to run a marathon. It was an item on my "to do before I die" list. While I was pregnant with Adam and watched Mike complete his first marathon I knew I wanted to try a race once I was no longer pregnant. I also knew it would be a perfect opportunity to get in shape after I had Adam, but I was also realistic and knew that seven months after giving birth was not the time to attempt a full marathon especially when most of those months I was still breast feeding which makes training for any race more of a challenge (for me!). I ran cross country my junior (or senior... I forget) year of high school and I loved it. Rob Bare was my coach and the things he taught us helped me to enjoy running long after high school. I thought the half-marathon would be a perfect distance so we decided to do the Harrisburg Half-Marathon.

I was so nervous for today's race. Every night leading up to the race I had nightmares. In one dream I came in last place and got lost because everyone was so far ahead of me I did not know the correct route. In another dream, I showed up on race day to find out it was a triathlon and part of the race would be a swim in the Susquehanna River. So needless to say, I am glad it's over.

It was raining pretty hard when we left this morning. Mike said rain is the "great equalizer" and I tried to tell myself it is better than extreme heat. The rain ended up stopping right before race time and there was just an occasional mist during the race. It was perfect running conditions if you ask me. The sun was not out so I was not overheated or squinting and I never felt really thirsty because the mist was keeping me a little hydrated.

Mike was a great coach. He motivated me and pushed me to do my best the entire time. I never wanted to walk, but there were times where I wanted to slow down and he'd make sure I didn't let myself slow my pace. He told me to make sure I was giving it everything I had... and I did. I averaged a 9 minute mile the entire time which was great for this 10-minute mile girl. My goal was to finish in 2 hours and when we crossed the finish line it was exactly 2 hours. The race results are not posted yet, but I can't wait to see my official time. The highlight of the race was seeing Owen, Beth, my mom, Eric, and my friend Crystal, her kids, and her husband (who also raced) at the finish line! I really wish Adam could have been there, but he was way too sick, so thankfully Papa was able to stay with him this morning.

It was a great day. It was painful, exhausting, and mentally challenging, yet fun and so rewarding. I am just hoping my purple toe nail does not fall off. I can't wait to be a spectator and cheer Mike on at the Hershey Half Marathon in a couple weeks. Thank goodness I did not decide to run in that race too. I am "raced out" for now.

Here are some pictures from the race.

Owen and Eric checking out the finish line.


The bridge to the finish.
Owen was not being very cooperative. I think he was cranky from having to wait so long for us to finish.

Update: I just got this e-mail...

Congratulations on finishing the 2010 HARRISBURG HALF MARATHON
on September 12, 2010.

There were 97 finishers in the Female 30 to 34 age group and
902 finishers in the race.

Your overall finish place was 466 and your age group finish place
was 32. Your time of 2:01:01.40 gave you a 9:14 pace per mile.

Full results posted at www.parunners.com

We hope to see you again next year.

Rats! I really thought I did it in 2 hours flat. Oh well, I am still happy with my results.