Wilmington NC Half Ironman 70.3

 I've wanted to do a Half Ironman for years, but last year I finally bought a triathlon bike. After getting some experience on my new bike and going on some longer bike rides around San Francisco, this year I finally decided to go for it and train for my first triathlon! I was going to sign up for an Olympic triathlon as part of my training plan, but none of the races near me worked out with my travel and training schedule, so I ended up just doing the Half Ironman with no experience with triathlon races!

I read some blogs on what to bring and what not to bring to the transition area, but I think it's very personal. I put a few extra items in my bags that I ended up not needing, but I would rather have it available just in case! My friend Lacy, who's done 2 Ironmans gave me the best advice about transitions. She said, "You're not going to win this thing, so it's okay to take a little extra time in the transition area to make sure you're comfortable and well-hydrated for the next leg of the race."

The Wilmington 70.3 is a point-to-point race, so T1 and T2 were in different areas. I had to drop off my run bag the day before the race by 5pm. The only annoying thing about that was I like to run with my own flavor of Gatorade, but I had to put my running water bottle in my bag a day ahead of time, so it wasn't exactly cold by the time I got to T2. Ironman is very strict about all your transition items being able to fit into the bags they provide. For my bike bag, I had my helmet, sunglasses, bike shoes, bike shorts, bike shirt, Garmin watch, a big towel, and a little towel, and sunscreen. My water bottles and snacks were already on my bike. My cell phone was in the pocket of my bike shirt.

I got to T1 around 5:30am and made sure I had all my biking stuff ready to go. Then I got my swim cap, goggles, ear plugs, and wetsuit, and took the shuttle to the starting area for the swim. Everyone was directed to a parking lot where we waited... and waited. I'm glad I brought snacks in my warm-up bag because I had to wait almost 2 hours. I ate a protein bar and some Sour Patch kids, and drank some Gatorade. I also took 2 ibuprofen to prevent muscle pain later in the race. After awhile of sitting around I started to get cold, so I put my wetsuit on. I rented a short sleeved wetsuit, which was a good choice, because the water wasn't that cold, and it was way easier to take off than a full length wetsuit. I sprayed every area of my body that I could think of with TriGlide before putting on my wetsuit to prevent chafing!

The first group of athletes started at 7:10am, but we didn't see them. We stayed in the parking lot until after 7:30, then we finally got to move to the staging area for the swim, and wait in another line. I didn't start the race until 8am! But the wave start was nice: three people got in the water every 5 seconds, so the swimmers were spread out. I took a few steps in, and started swimming! I focused on relaxing and gliding and getting into a comfortable pace. The swim takes place in the Intracoastal waterway, which is a protected inlet of the ocean. The waves were mild and we were swimming with a gentle current. There were yellow buoys to follow and lots of volunteers on paddleboards directing the swimmers. There were three turns around red buoys: left, right, left. Thanks to the wave start, I only had people brush up against me a few times, and there was one time I had to slow down because someone cut right in front of me swimming at a crooked angle. Swimming in open water can be disorienting, and there was a lot going on with boats anchored all over the place, sunlight shining into my face, and lots of other swimmers around, but the course was well marked. I enjoyed the swim and thought it was the easiest part of the race!

At the end of the swim, we climbed up a ladder onto a dock. I liked that we didn't have to run through sand, but we did have to run across pavement for about a quarter of a mile, which was hard on my feet! I got to T1 and got my wetsuit off. I wore a sports bikini under my wetsuit rather than a tri suit... I just never felt comfortable in the tri suits. I quickly dried off, and put on my bike shorts and shirt over my bathing suit, then I sat on my big towel and dried my feet with my little towel. There is nothing worse than having to pedal for hours with foot discomfort, so I took the time to make sure my bike socks and shoes were on right. In this Ironman race, you also have to take the time to put your wetsuit, cap, goggles, and towel into your bike bag and leave everything neatly tied up so the volunteers can take your bag to the finish area.

Just as I was getting onto my bike past the mount line, my chain came off! I was able to get it back on quickly. I'm glad it happened before I was clipped in, otherwise I would have fallen right over. When I started off on the bike, the sky was gray and cloudy, and it was cold. It looked like it was going to rain. By the end of the bike ride, it was warm and sunny. There were a few sharp turns and up/downs over bridges near the beginning of the bike course, but then we biked out past the city and the course was very flat, with nice gradual inclines and declines. After biking on the hills of San Francisco and Lynchburg, it was a relief to be able to set my bike on a moderate gear and just cruise along!

I ate a Honey Stinger waffle at mile 25 and mile 45, and ate handfuls of Sour Patch kids between miles 30-50. I drank Liquid IV throughout the bike ride. I didn't figure out this nutrition plan until 2 rides before the race, but it worked really well for me! I didn't need to stop at any of the aid stations during the bike ride. I also packed tissues in my Bento box on my bike, which really came in handy because something about biking in the aero position makes my nose run and it felt good to be able to blow my nose several times (lol)! I was a bit surprised to find out that the bike course was actually about 57.5 miles, not 56!

When I got to T2, my legs were a little tired, but other than that, I was feeling pretty good. It was a good feeling to be done with the longest leg of the race! I had put extra running shorts and a shirt in my run bag, but I decided I felt good in my bike outfit and decided not to take the time to change. However by the last few miles of the run, I started to chafe along the padding of the bike shorts, so it would have been a good idea to out on the running shorts. I took the time to chug the rest of my Liquid IV, eat a handful of Sour Patch kids, and take one more ibuprofen. I changed into my running shoes and grabbed my running water bottle, and I was off on the last leg of the race!

From the beginning my legs felt tired, but I was surprised that I was actually keeping a pretty good pace on the run. I started off around an 8:30 pace for the first three miles. My dad and my sister and nieces were waiting for me at mile 2 to cheer me on! The run course went around Greenfield Lake and back. Thankfully there was a lot of shade because it was starting to get hot! I ran the first 7 miles without stopping, but my pace slowed to 8:50 for miles 4-5, then 9:18 for mile 6, then 9:30 for mile 7. I was definitely getting tired! I ran out of my own Gatorade at mile 7, so I had to stop at the aid stations at miles 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12. They had watered down lemon-lime Gatorade which was ok. My original plan was to have my dad give me a fresh Gatorade halfway through the run, but I discovered that spectators aren't allowed to hand the athletes anything during the race.

I really wanted to stop and walk during the second half of the run, but somehow I kept going. I'd walk through the aid stations to get Gatorade, but then I'd keep running. A LOT of people were walking, so I ended up passing a lot of people on the run. I told myself that even if I had to run slower, at least I was still running! Miles 8-13 were around a 9:30 to 9:45 pace. I saw my family again at mile 11, and after that I only had 2 more miles to go! My legs were really feeling it by the last two miles but I refused to walk with only 2 more miles to go!

Crossing the finish line was a surreal feeling. Did I really just cover 70.3 miles swimming, biking, and running? It seemed a bit impossible! I thought about this line from Rudyard Kipling's poem If during the run and it kept me going:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

Despite getting a cold the week before the race and not being able to train properly for the last 6 weeks before the race, the Half Ironman went better than I could have hoped! I didn't have any cramping or stomach issues, the weather was nice, I stayed hydrated, and I felt pretty good! My goal was just to finish, but I was also hoping to finish in under 7 hours, and I crushed that goal with a final time of 6:10:23! However when I crossed the finish line I was mostly just glad that it was over!

Swim 1.2 miles: 35:23

T1: 9:10
Bike 57 miles: 3:18:55

T2: 5:16
Run 13.1 miles: 2:01:39

Overall Time: 6:10:23       Age group 30-34 F: 34/71       Females: 304/653

My calves were sore after the race, but I've definitely felt worse after some of my half marathons! Overall I picked a great race for my first Half Ironman! The swim was with the current and fairly calm, the bike and run were mostly flat, and the weather in NC in October was cooling off after the summer heat. The Airbnb I rented for my family was right on the race course so they were able to easily cheer me on during the run! We had some fun exploring Wilmington before and after the race. My nieces regretted not bringing their bathing suits because it was still warm enough to go to the beach!

Training for the Half Ironman

I printed off a Half Ironman training plan in 2015, so it had been a goal of mine for awhile, but I didn't commit to training for one until 2020. I started biking, running, and swimming at the YMCA regularly in the Spring of 2020 and I was going to sign up for the Roanoke Half Ironman. Well, Covid happened and everything got cancelled, but it was probably a good thing I couldn't do that race because I doubt I would have been ready by June 2020.

For starters, I didn't even have a bike. I bought a TT bike from someone on Facebook in the Spring of 2020. I had to get someone to help me to put it together. The first time I took it for a spin, I almost fell off. The bike was so responsive, it seemed like the slightest movement made me turn, and it was so lightweight, I picked up speed remarkably fast biking downhill. The gears were on the aerobars, but the brakes were on the other handlebars. It took me a good 6 months before I was used to shifting gears, especially since there were no numbers to indicate which gear you're in, so I had to learn to operate by feel.

When I moved to San Francisco in October 2020, I started biking with some of my roommates. Biking around the city was fun and I really had to get good at shifting into a lower gear quickly to make it up some of the hills! San Francisco has lots of bike lanes and some bike trails. My favorite was biking along the Embarcadero to the Golden Gate Bridge, and sometimes across the bridge to Sausalito and Mill Valley. My other favorite place was going to the East Bay and biking along the Iron Horse Trail and Contra Costa Trail. And when I got up to the longer rides, I would start at Canada Rd, and bike almost to San Jose.

In Spring of 2021, I felt comfortable enough on the bike that I decided to start training for a Half Ironman again. I still had a few steps to get bike ready. First I got clipless pedals, so I had to learn how to clip in and out. I practiced on bike trails first, but then started biking around the city again so I got lots of practice remembering to unclip whenever I stopped. I did have a couple falls: one when I was turning and my bike skidded on some pine needles, and another when I came to a small unexpected hill on the bike trail and didn't have enough speed to get up the incline. When you're going slow, it's easy to lose your balance, and when you're clipped in, there's nothing you can do!

In April, I started really training. I joined a gym so I'd have access to a pool, and got out my Half Ironman training plan. It starts off pretty intensely. I had to repeat Week One three times before I moved on to Week Two! Half Ironman training is a lot. I'd work out after work 4 nights a week, then on the weekend I'd have a long bike ride on Saturday and a long run on Sunday. It takes a LOT of time, way more than marathon training!

Once I started doing longer bike rides (25+ miles) I had issues with my feet going numb and then getting burning nerve pain. When I'd go swimming the day after biking, I had issues with foot and calf cramps. Sometimes I could stretch it out and be okay. There were other times I got such severe calf cramps that I was incapacitated and barely able to move, and there was no way I could continue my workout. I did lots of stretches and went through 4 pairs of bike shoes to try to find a pair that didn't make my feet go numb (they still go numb even now). I got a professional bike feet and the pro repositioned the cleats on my bike shoes farther back, and that helped somewhat with the burning nerve pain in my feet. But the one thing that I think was the most helpful was Liquid IV! I had to replace tons of sodium from sweating so much on the bike rides and regular Gatorade wasn't cutting it anymore. Once I used Liquid IV for my bike rides, I stopped getting debilitating muscle cramps.

All the working out made my appetite shoot through the roof, and I started eating SO MUCH at every meal. I was worried I was going to gain weight training for this thing! The one thing that improved during training was my running. For years, I've been a 9-something minute miler. All the biking made my legs stronger, and I started running long distances at a consistent 8:30 pace. There were a few 9, 10, and 11 mile runs where I ran the last few miles at a sub 8- minute pace! I had some great runs in Sausalito, and along the Sawyer Creek Trail just south of SF.

I built back up my swimming pretty quickly once my muscle cramps were under control. I remember the first time I got back in the pool after years of not swimming, my arms felt like they were going to fall off just 2 laps in! But soon I was swimming 1200 meters without stopping. However, open water is a whole different experience! I rented a wetsuit from Sports Basement in San Francisco and signed up for a few open water swims with Water World (Swim with Pedro). The water in the San Francisco Bay is freezing! The first time I got in the water my face hurt from the cold, and all I could think of for the first 10 minutes was how miserable I was. Then you sort of get used to it. The group swims were at Aquatic part which is a protected cove, but there were still times it got pretty choppy and windy. I did 3 or 4 swims there, and got up to a mile by the last swim. Then I did some of my open water practice swims at the lake in Maine, which was much warmer, calmer, and much more pleasant! One thing I had to get used to was sighting ahead every 4 or 5 strokes to stay on a straight course.

My best month of training was probably June. I was building up the bike miles, running faster, and swimming a mile consistently. Then in July I was in Maine for a month with my family, but I stuck to my workouts, and did some long bike rides, long runs, and mile swims in the lake. When I got back to SF in August, they were going to charge me a fee to re-join the gym, so I didn't. I did all my biking and running outside and I didn't swim for a month. I was starting to get a little burnt out with the training and it was a struggle to stay motivated. I was also tired of SF and couldn't wait to finish my job and move out of the city.

In September, I went on vacation in Utah, injured my quads during a half marathon, and couldn't work out for a week. The last couple weeks of September I was back in Lynchburg, and I did my last 2 long bike rides (56 miles each) to Smith Mountain Lake and back. I did a few runs in Lynchburg but I wasn't as fast as I had been in June and that was discouraging! I joined the YMCA in Lynchburg and did a couple long swims and was relieved that I could still swim a mile at a good pace after not being able to swim for a couple months!

Training for an Ironman is not easy! I had so many hurdles I had to overcome. The biking was the biggest challenge for me: getting used to clipless pedals, getting used to aero bars, and dealing with foot and calf pain, and even back and neck pain from the aero position. I had to learn how to hydrate and refuel on the bike (Liquid IV saved me!). The biking just takes a significant amount of time! The long bike rides of 40-60 miles would take me around 4 hours each Saturday, and sometimes by the last few miles of the ride I was OVER IT. It seems like most people who do triathlons are strong bikers, and they just get through the swim and the run. I'm glad I started early just with the biking because that was my weakest area.

If I had to train for another one, I would try to find a triathlon group or triathlon training team, or even just a friend who wanted to train together. I did all my training on my own, except for a few group swims. It's tough to stay motivated when you have to go bike 50 miles by yourself on Saturday, and then run 12 miles by yourself on Sunday. In the beginning I was super motivated, but by the end I was getting so burnt out. I think it would have made a difference to do my workouts with other people!

Cedar City Half Marathon

Since I was going to be in Utah in September for a week long vacation with my family, I wanted to find a half marathon to run in Utah. The Cedar City half marathon happened to be the Saturday before my vacation and it was only an hour from Zion National Park- perfect!

I got to Cedar City a day early and found it to be a charming little town. There were several cute coffee shops in the little downtown area- I love checking out local coffee shops! I got my mocha and looked up some hikes. There are a lot of hikes near Cedar City that looked really cool. I wanted to hike to Kanarra Creek Canyon but I needed a permit and it was sold out for that day (I ended up doing it later with my family- it was awesome!)

I hiked the Spring Creek Canyon trail, Cascade Falls, and Red Hollow. I think I ended up hiking around 10 miles. Normally I wouldn't do so much the day before a race, but since I've been training for the half Ironman, I'm used to doing back-to-back workouts.

Packet pick-up was easy since it's a smaller race. The next morning I got up early after barely sleeping (I accidentally got a tea that had caffeine in it at like 8pm), and took the shuttle to the start of the race. The race started in the canyon, so everyone had to take the shuttle there. It was cold in the canyon! But there were a couple bonfires that I sat close by to stay warm.

The race was a net downhill through the canyon. As the sun came up and it got warmer, the canyon walls continued to provide some shade for at least the first 2/3 of the race. There were pretty views of the canyon along the way. Most of the race was a gradual decline, but there were some stretches with a steeper grade and I had to be careful not to run too fast down the steep parts so I wouldn't tear up my quads. (As I learned at the Lake Tahoe half, a down hill race can be brutal!)

The last 2 miles levelled off, and there were even a couple very small uphill climbs. It started to get hot, but I was feeling pretty good and picked up the pace the last few miles. I ran miles 11 and 12 at a 7:58 pace, and mile 13 at a 7:46 pace! A lot of people started off too fast and slowed down a lot in the last few miles, so I passed a lot of people. The people at this race were so friendly, and were saying "great job" and "good pace!" as I passed them. After the race, a guy came up to me and said, "Nice jets at the end! I tried to catch you and I couldn't!"

I ended up getting a new PR! I was pleasantly surprised the race went so well, since I wasn't feeling well with a sore throat that week, and I'd been getting burnt out on Ironman training and running slower paces than last month. My plan was to start out slower than I thought I needed to (first mile was 8:41) and not try to go too fast on the steep downhill sections. I guess that strategy worked!

Official Time: 1:46:50  (8:09 pace)     F 30-34: 2/61       Females: 43/453

I got second place in my age group!

Narragansett Summer Half Marathon

 While on vacation with my family in Maine this summer, I decided to make a weekend trip to run a half marathon in Easton, Massachusetts. The Narragansett running festival is a smaller race with a half marathon and 10k option. Leslie decided to come along with me and run/walk the 10k while I ran the half. 

The race starts and end at Stonehill College, a pretty campus with a nice big parking lot for all the runners. We got there an hour early and had plenty of time to park, use the port-a-potties, stretch, and wait for the race to start.

I lined up near the 2 hour pace group but quickly passed them near the beginning of the race. Everyone seemed to start running at a pretty good clip- even though it was a little crowded in the beginning, I ran the first mile in 8:05 and hoped I hadn’t started off too fast! We ran through some nice neighborhoods and I settled into a good pace. I definitely wanted to finish in under 2 hours after all the training I’d put in! So I was pushing myself a bit, but also it’s a summer race in New England so I had to keep in mind that the heat and humidity could slow me down.

Luckily, it was a good day for running. It was cloudy and cooler than normal, with relatively low humidity. Towards the end I noticed the humidity more because my shirt got completely soaked, but it was definitely on the cool side for a day in mid-July!

The course was advertised as “fast and flat”, but I’d describe it more as rolling hills. My pace for the first 5 miles was pretty consistent from 8:04 to 8:12 but the bigger hill at mile 6 slowed me down to 8:27. There was one guy slightly ahead of me who would pull away from me on the downhill sections, and then I’d catch up to him on the uphill sections. I eventually passed him. There were a couple other runners who I was trailing for a long while but couldn’t seem to get up the speed to pass them; but I just tried to keep a consistent pace and eventually caught up to them.

I had crossed the starting line about 100 yards back from the 1:50 pace group so I could see them ahead of me from time to time, and I finally passed the 1:50 pacer around mile 6.5. I was convinced I was capable of not only breaking 2 hours but finally getting a new half marathon PR! If I could only maintain this pace I could do it! However I was realizing that despite the cooler weather, it was still humid and I was sweating a lot.

Miles 7 and 8 were still good at an 8:15 pace but around mile 9 my legs started to feel tired. I’m still in the midst of triathlon training and I had biked 14 miles the day before. Miles 9-13 were inching closer to an 8:30 pace and I was really pushing myself to stay under 8:30 and get a time under 1:50! Miles 10-13 were on Stonehill campus, which was pretty- but also annoying because it was on gravel, dirt, and grass sections with lots of twists and turns. I saw Leslie who was on the second lap of her 10k. I really had to push to finish the last mile in under 8:30, but I did it!

Official time: 1:48:03, an 8:15 overall pace, and a new PR!

After the race though, I was hurting. My legs felt like they were about to cramp up, my stomach hurt, and my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I took off my shirt and sat in the grass trying to gently position my legs in a non-painful position, and watched for Leslie to finish. I drank some Gatorade and juice to try to restore some electrolytes and prevent muscle cramps while I waited. 

When I saw Leslie, I got up to meet her at the finish line, and we took some pictures. Then I told her I needed to find a port-a-potty ASAP (stomach/bathroom issues). As we were walking around, I felt like I was on the verge of calf cramps again and was sort of half limping. A girl saw me awkwardly walking and asked if I wanted some of her Liquid IV. She told me, “I’ve been there before, I can tell you need this! This is the good stuff with 500mg of sodium.” OMG. I drank some and it worked almost instantly. My cramps got better, I felt more hydrated and less light headed, and immediately started to feel better. It didn’t taste too bad either! Kind of salty but it had a good mild flavor to it. I was surprised I’d never heard of Liquid IV before! Especially because later on I found out a bunch of my friends use it and love it!

Leslie and I got some Narragansett beer at the finish festival and I got a really cool beer can medal!

Official Time: 1:48:03

Pace: 8:15

Angel Island Half Marathon

 After a year of most races being cancelled in 2020, I’ve been itching to sign up for a real race again! The Angel Island half is a small trail race that was one of the few races around San Francisco this Spring that want cancelled. Now that California is mostly re-open it looks like a lot of the Fall races will still happen too! I can’t wait to run some more half marathons!

Packet pick-up for this race was in Tiburon near the ferry terminal, and the race bib was the ticket for the ferry ride. There’s no bridge to Angel Island, just the ferry and they chartered a special ferry for the runners at 8am before the other ferries get to the island. I was a little worried about getting seasick but it was a very calm day on the water, thankfully.

It started off a little cold and cloudy so I kept an extra layer on until the last few minutes, then left it by the picnic tables at the finish area. There was no chip timing for this race, we just lined up near the cones and we were off! I was prepared for there to be some elevation on the course (it’s a trail run after all!) but the first mile was all uphill on narrow single track. It was kind of good, because I had no choice but to go the pace of the runners in front of me, and it kept me from starting out too fast.

Eventually the trail got wider and there were some amazing views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and San Francisco. The trail also flattened out with just some minor up & down hills around the ridge. The sun came out for a bit and it got hot, and there were still a few good climbs in the first 5 miles. A bunch of people started walking around miles 4-5.

Then around mile 6 there was an intersection where a group of runners took a wrong turn. I guess there was a sign for the half marathon runners that hadn’t been moved after the first loop, so about 20 runners went the wrong way. I had gone about half a mile when the faster runners came back, saying “turn around!” It was a little discouraging to have to run the half a mile back to the intersection, but there was also a sense of camaraderie from all the runners who had done the same thing.

When we got back to the right turn, we had to run down the narrow single track again to the aid station at the picnic tables, then run back up the same steep section. That was rough! The second loop was on the roads around the outer part of the island. Again there were some beautiful views from every side of the island! I passed a couple of girls around my age who had been way ahead of me at the beginning but were petering out with all the hills.

I felt pretty good but I knew I had to run more than 13 miles because of the wrong turn, but I didn’t know how much farther it would be. I ended up running 14 miles total. I’ll take it because some of the other runners went even farther in the wrong direction. But it was a little sad when I got to 13.1 miles and my watch read 1:57! I would’ve had a sub-2 half marathon if I hadn’t gotten lost! That was a bit of a bummer; but it was a great race with amazing views, and the best I’ve ever done at a trail race!

I was surprised to find out I’d gotten first place in my age group! I got a cool pint glass :)

My Garmin: 14 miles in 2:04:39 (8:54 pace)

Official Time: 2:04:35

How far I’ve come

 Sometimes it’s nice to look back and reflect on my running journey. For me, I’ve never absolutely loved running- I hardly ever have a strong urge to run, and I don’t really miss it when I’m not doing it. But I do like getting outside and being active. Training for a race gives me a goal to shoot for, and that’s what keeps me motivated to run. Without a race to look forward to, I run a little bit here and there but I tend to fall off the bandwagon pretty quickly. Race weekends are so fun and make all the training runs worth it!

When I first tried to run in high school, I couldn’t even run a mile. I would get painful side stitches and I’d have to walk within half a mile. I was on the swim team in high school, so I was in decent shape, but I was terrible at running. When I was in college, I tried to run some for exercise. I did build up to 3 miles, but that was it. I always felt like I was going to die after 3 miles. Sometimes I couldn’t even make it 3 miles. I remember I used the elliptical for awhile and thought I was building up my endurance. Then I tried to actually run again, and realized the elliptical isn’t really that much like running! Lol. 

I was stuck at 3 miles for the longest time. Honestly 3 miles was the biggest mental roadblock for me. For about 5 years, it was the max I ever thought I could do. I only ran sporadically, but not fast and never more than 3 miles! It wasn’t until my first year of grad school that I really got into running. My best friend Tristan signed up for a half marathon so I started to try to get into running too. I remember Tristan came up to Maine to visit, and she had to do a 4 mile training run. I told her, “I can’t run 4 miles, but I’ll run 3 with you and just walk the rest.” 

Well Tristan and Kyle left me behind pretty fast, but I managed to slog through 3 miles. I was walking the last mile back to the house, and after walking for a minute, I felt like I had enough energy to run again. So I ran for a minute, then walked a little bit, then ran for a minute again. This was my first breakthrough! I was always so dead tired after 3 miles. The fact that I could recover within a few minutes of walking and actually have the energy to run some more was a revelation! I suddenly realized I could build up to more miles!

Then I went to Tristan’s race to support her. The atmosphere was SO fun. There was music, tons of people, and an excitement and nervous energy in the air that was contagious! Going to that race and seeing Tristan off at the starting line made me determined right then and there that I was going to do a half marathon too.

In the first few years of this blog, I wrote a lot about running. I even wrote about my boring training runs! Every new distance was a milestone (see what I did there 😉) and I almost couldn’t believe it when I was regularly running 6 miles or the first time I ran 10 miles! The Richmond half marathon in 2011 was my first race, and afterwards I remembered how I felt at every mile (and documented it).

I’ve come a long way since that first race. Now 10 years later, I’ve run over 30 half marathons and 4 marathons. This year I’m training for a half Ironman! I’ve never been a very fast runner, but my endurance has improved tremendously. In the past few years, I’ve been challenging the notion that “I can run far, but not fast”. I’ve never been a naturally good runner. It has taken years to build up stamina and speed. But this year, I’m finally seeing consistently fast paces (for me). Ten years ago, I started with 10 minute miles. Then I got to 9:30 paces for awhile, then around 9:15. For a long time, a 9:00 minute pace was my fast pace where I really felt like I was pushing myself, and a 9:15-30 pace was my comfortable pace. My lofty goal for a half marathon is usually to run a sub-2. I never really thought I could get much faster than that.

This year I’ve been getting into triathlon training, so I’m biking and swimming in addition to running. And the most surprising thing about all this cross training, is that it’s making my running faster. In the past few weekends, I’ve done a long run every Sunday, and I’ve been running almost every mile at a sub-9 minute pace. These were my last few runs:

7 miles. 8:47 pace.

8 miles. 8:34 pace.

7 miles. 8:20 pace. (Last mile @ 7:49 pace)

9 miles. 8:19 pace. (Mile 8 @ 7:55 pace) (Mile 9 @7:48 pace)

10 miles. 8:32 pace (Last mile @ 7:57)

11 miles. 8:28 pace

Today. 9 miles. 8:10 pace. Last 4 miles all sub-8 min (7:59, 7:53, 7:49, 7:33)

This isn’t to brag or to make me feel all proud of myself. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come. There are still lots of runners who are way faster than me, and probably got to these paces a lot faster than I did. But the thing about running is that it’s a race against yourself. It’s trying to beat my best time. It’s trying to go a little faster than I have before. It’s about reaching the limits of what I thought I could do, and then saying, “I think I can go a little farther.”

When I was stuck at 3 miles running a 10+ minute pace, I never, never thought I’d be able to run 10 miles at a sub-9 minute pace. And now here I am. So even though I don’t LOVE running like some people do, even though I’m not a naturally fast or gifted runner, even though it’s taken me a long time to get here; running has taught me so much about how to overcome mental barriers, how to push past my limits, and how to persevere when things get hard. That’s why I still run. That’s why I keep running. Once one goal is met, there are always new goals to chase.

West Virginia New River Gorgeous half marathon

I’m posting this almost a year after the fact, but last year as the world was shutting down due to Covid-19 and most races were getting cancelled, I managed to find a small trail race in West Virginia that was still happening! It was a great chance to knock WV off the state list and my sister and I made a little vacation out of it. We brought my nieces along and did some hikes and spent one day on the water at Ace adventure.

To be honest, I thought I was in great shape for this race. I had lost about 15 pounds in the past year and I was running faster paces in training. But I forgot how tough trail races can be! The single track dirt trail provided a great way to naturally social distance (lol) but there were lots of rocks and roots and loose gravel, and LOTS of elevation change. I felt like I had to constantly watch my step to avoid tripping and careening down the narrow rocky path.

We ran through beautiful lush green forest, and there were even some mini waterfalls! But it was August in WV, so it was pretty hot and humid! My friend Will met up with us there and also ran the half marathon, but he’s much faster than me and left me in the dust at the start. But he did circle back after he finished to cheer me on and ran the last half a mile with me. He let me know when the finish line was coming up, which was a nice surprise because the course was short by over a mile! (Almost makes me wonder if I should count it as a half marathon!)

I’m still on the fence about whether or not I like trail races. The scenery is usually better and it’s nice to be out in nature. There were times during this race when I was pretty much alone in the woods, or I could see maybe one other person ahead of me. The small laid back atmosphere at trail races is nice. However, I’m constantly worried about twisting my ankle or falling. I did fall at my first trail race in Golden Gate recreation area and I had a huge bruise to show for it. Another time when I was running down the trail from Dragon’s Tooth, I caught my foot on a root and hyperextended my knee. So while I’ve never been seriously injured, I’ve come close enough to wonder if the risk of injury is worth it!

After the race, the runners got a taco lunch. My sister and nieces did the 4 mile walk while I was running the half so we all got to enjoy some tacos! Then we had tickets for a day at Ace adventure water park. It’s not a typical water park; it’s a pond with all kinds of inflatable mats and slides that you can climb on and jump off. Some of the obstacles reminded me of the ones on Wipeout!

New River Gorgeous trail half

8/22/20 Official Time: 2:10:57