Salt City Run for the Rocks - RunHalf Marathon

I was hoping to start out slow, and then hit an 11 min pace at around the half way point. The plan was to walk through each water station and eat a fig newton. I alternated between water and gatorade, and at the mid way point, took both and mixed them. I skipped the fig newtons at a couple early water breaks, and at the midway point, I decided I really couldn't do that. So I was sure to eat one every 2-3 miles after that.

I kept the pace I was hoping for -- I finished the first 4 miles in 52 minutes. I was at the half way point at about 1:25. I took an unplanned 5 minute break at mile 7 to use the porta-potty (there was a short line), and to say hi and give hugs to my husband and kids. Then I took off again.

After the short break, it took a while to get my legs back. They were a little upset because I think they thought we were done. But I had everything I had back at mile 8 and miles 8 through 12 went pretty quickly. I even commented to someone that this last half seemed to go by much more quickly than the first half. I was really happy at this point because I was now running farther than I had ever run before.

I won't say the wheels fell off at mile 12, but my legs were done. I considered walking, but I really didn't want to slow down, and I knew that my legs were going to hurt the same whether I walked or whether I ran, so why not just run and get it over with more quickly? Up to this point, I was satisfied counting in miles, but this last 1.1 miles, I had to look to each block and each turn.

Once I made the turn into the college campus, I knew that I was within a quarter mile. I had hoped to be able to step on the gas a little, and maybe I did, but only a little. I really didn't have much left in my legs at this point, and I didn't want to annoy my hip because up to this point, it was still feeling pretty good (no sharp stabbing pains).

I was very happy with my overall time. In my ideal world, I would have finished in 2:30, and my worst case scenario was 3:00. I thought 2:45 was a pretty reasonable estimate for the training I had done. I didn't want to totally derail my legs.

My husband was right there when I finished, and that was great. It was one of the first times he has been right at the finish line to meet me. He hugged me, and then walked with me, holding my hand, to the water and bananas. That really helped because my legs were a little upset with me. I didn't feel like they were going to go out from under me, but I wasn't sure they were going to take me exactly where I wanted to go. :-)


I wouldn't do anything differently. I ran this just as I planned to.

I stretched a little, finished my newtons and luna bar, had a small slice of pizza, drank water (there was no chocolate milk), and then stood in line for a massage. She really worked over my hip and Achilles, and I really felt pretty good -- better than I expected to.


My legs. I did not break a sweat, and my breathing was strong and relaxed. I concentrated on keeping a good form for the whole race, and I think I did that. My legs just aren't there yet. If they were stronger, I am sure that the rest of me could handle running faster. But I will give them more time.


There were supposed to be oranges at about mile 7-8, but they were out (evidently). That was okay. I was back of the pack, so I expected that and brought my own food for the run. At mile 12, they still had plenty of pretzels and M&Ms, but I didn't take any because that sounded disgusting before the race, and positively retched as I passed by.