This is a bit overdue now, but life’s been pretty hectic
lately.
For the third year in a row Adam and I participated in the Huntington Beach Surf
City Marathon/
Half Marathon. I feel like we’ve come
such a long way. In 2011 we ran our
first half marathon. During training,
the longest training run we did was 11 miles.
I had no idea what I was doing out there for those 13.1 miles back in
2011, I had a few missteps along the way, I didn’t take in enough water nor
fuel and I went out too hard so that by mile 10 my body started shutting
down. That 13.1 miles was tough. When I finished I told my co-worker I’d never
do a full marathon.
Fast forward to 2012 and Adam and I had committed. 26.2 miles, we were up for the
challenge.
I went from hating everything about running, to just doing
it non stop. I learned not to hate it so
much, and felt very accomplished after completing a marathon. Although, I think I am a one and done person
when it comes to doing a full marathon.
So this year we went back to the half. 13.1 miles sounded easy compared to what it
was like to run 26.2 the year before.
I knew a lot more about what I was doing, how I needed to
run the race and keep a good pace. Adam
and I both set a goal to try and come in under 2 hours. Our training for about 14 weeks went well, we
always fit in long runs on Saturdays and I did more cross training than running
during the week, but did at least 3 days of running as well. Still, I started
to realize in training that I am just not a fast runner. Sure I could pull off a pretty quick 10K, but
once I would get past 7 or 8 miles the pace would drop. I wasn’t all the worked up about it though
and decided I just wanted this run to be about enjoying the moments; Taking in every mile knowing that we had
worked hard to train and raise money for Free Wheelchair Mission. We managed to raise enough for about 10
wheelchairs, which I am thankful for all the support we got from friends and
family, it really does make a huge difference when you’re running knowing that
people are supporting you and the reason you’re running, to lift people up off
the ground.
It was race week. The
49ers were going to the Superbowl and things were looking good. That is until Adam came down with
Bronchitis. Yuck! He was seriously so, so sick, fever, chills
and the cough from Hell. I made him
sleep on the couch for days and basically walked around with a can of Lysol and
wouldn’t go near him. I felt so
bad. Just two weeks prior we had done a
15 mile run and felt good, we were both confident our 2 hour goal was within
reach. But with lungs filled with junk,
Adam was looking doubtful.
Race morning came, and some how I stayed healthy. Adam however, was still pretty bad. We started the race together and Adam was
pretty wheezy, but held strong for the first three miles. But looking down at my watch I knew I had to
push. If a less than 2 hour goal, which
I still felt like I could do, was going to happen, there was no way I could slow
down. On a course with 15,000 other
runners, Adam I got separated at a water station and I was on my own, and so
was he.
I kept a solid strong run.
I was dying for fuel at one point, which I didn’t bring with me because
they had it on the course, but when I needed it I wish I had brought it. I guess I hadn’t quite learned everything
yet. At the half way point I was just at
about 1 hour. It was go time. I had to go faster my second half if was
going to make it. And you know
what? I did. I felt good and strong, especially after the
cliff blocks came at mile 9 and I ran my heart out.
I was so thrilled when I crossed the finish line and stopped
my watch and it read 1:59.17.
I had done it. I ran
a half marathon in under 2 hours! A personal record for me, 3 minutes faster
than we did in 2011. In honor of the
49ers who were playing in the superbowl that day, I kissed my bicep as I
crossed the finish line, a Colin Kapernick (49er QB), trademark now. Details of how I ran are as follows. I was pretty happy to have a negative
split(which means I ran the second half faster than the first).
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Runner Details
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Race Results
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Split
Times
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Adam’s bronchitis however got the better of him, and he had
to walk a lot of the second half, but he still finished. I think he hated every minute of it, but I
was proud of him.
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| 3 years of running this race! Proud to do it for Free Wheelchair Mission |
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| 3 years in a row also put us in the Longboard legacy club! |
2 comments:
You guys are amazing!! I wish I had your dedication to keeping fit
Way to go guys! What an awesome accomplishment!!! I can't believe how close you were to the 2 hour mark! Yay!
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