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Oops, [MENTION=4627]ballibeg[/MENTION] uncorked my rambles! This was too much to put in the Accountability Group thread so I guess I'll start a new one…feel free to ignore, navel gazing ahead. 
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There are probably much more rigorous half marathon courses out there, but my only previous experience was a race known as one of the flattest marathons in the country, so this felt hilly to me!
The hill at mile 3 was probably the biggest challenge that I was anticipating. But the short and steep bit at mile 6 is what got me suffering. I just kind of overdid it up until that point, and that hill took most of the rest out of me and I lost my oomph, my pace started to suffer. Then at mile 10 there's yet one more hill, and that pretty much ended me. After I crested that one it took all my willpower just to keep jogging and not slow to a walk even though it was all downhill after that. I think I may have bonked, I was shivering in the 70 degree heat.
I wish I'd hit more hills in training, and been better about my speedwork (that was often the run I'd skip when I ran out of time during a week.) I also learned a LOT about pacing and how you really do have to resist the adrenaline of the race environment and go SLOW at the start. (I felt great starting out, so I thought maybe I was just going to be faster than I thought -- but my 170+ heart rate should have warned me I was overdoing!) I also maybe should have carried a gel, or trained with Gatorade so I wouldn't get a stomachache if I took Gatorade at the water stations in the second half.
My husband was on a bike ride during the race but he came by the start to give me a pep talk, and caught me at mile 5 to cheer me on which was sweet. My parents had the kids, and they were like paparazzi following the race around and stopping about every mile to cheer. It was lovely of them, but a bit excessive. I confess it broke my concentration a bit to have to smile and wave QUITE that often, and my mom's comments were just a bit ridiculous ("You're almost to the top!" a mile from the end of a hill; "you have a bounce in your step!" while I'm hitting the wall, etc. LOL.)
I'm not sure I ever want to do a race again. Maybe a 10k but probably not a half. Didn't quite get enough out of it to justify the entry fee or the pain. I'm glad I did it this once though.
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There are probably much more rigorous half marathon courses out there, but my only previous experience was a race known as one of the flattest marathons in the country, so this felt hilly to me!
The hill at mile 3 was probably the biggest challenge that I was anticipating. But the short and steep bit at mile 6 is what got me suffering. I just kind of overdid it up until that point, and that hill took most of the rest out of me and I lost my oomph, my pace started to suffer. Then at mile 10 there's yet one more hill, and that pretty much ended me. After I crested that one it took all my willpower just to keep jogging and not slow to a walk even though it was all downhill after that. I think I may have bonked, I was shivering in the 70 degree heat.
I wish I'd hit more hills in training, and been better about my speedwork (that was often the run I'd skip when I ran out of time during a week.) I also learned a LOT about pacing and how you really do have to resist the adrenaline of the race environment and go SLOW at the start. (I felt great starting out, so I thought maybe I was just going to be faster than I thought -- but my 170+ heart rate should have warned me I was overdoing!) I also maybe should have carried a gel, or trained with Gatorade so I wouldn't get a stomachache if I took Gatorade at the water stations in the second half.
My husband was on a bike ride during the race but he came by the start to give me a pep talk, and caught me at mile 5 to cheer me on which was sweet. My parents had the kids, and they were like paparazzi following the race around and stopping about every mile to cheer. It was lovely of them, but a bit excessive. I confess it broke my concentration a bit to have to smile and wave QUITE that often, and my mom's comments were just a bit ridiculous ("You're almost to the top!" a mile from the end of a hill; "you have a bounce in your step!" while I'm hitting the wall, etc. LOL.)
I'm not sure I ever want to do a race again. Maybe a 10k but probably not a half. Didn't quite get enough out of it to justify the entry fee or the pain.
I'm glad I did it this once though.
Maybe take a break from running and focus on strength training for a bit?
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