Half Marathon report continued...

So, as I told you in the last post, although the race was officially canceled, I decided I had NOT flown 1100 miles to NOT run 13.1 miles, so I just started where the starting line had been, set my Garmin, and headed off down the trail.

As usual, I started out way too fast and finished my first mile at about a 9:30 pace which is way too fast for me. I felt pretty good though and kept going between 9:30-10:45 for about the first three miles. Of course, then the hills came and I had to slow down considerably.I settled into a 10:15-10:45 pace and was feeling really good about it. As I hit each hill, I had to slow down to between 11-12 minute mile pace, but I was ok with that.

The water stations were placed well. I had decided not to take any GU with me and I'm still not sure if that was the right decision or not. I was definitely starting to get hungry about midway through and could have used a bit of a boost.

At the half-way mark, we turned around and headed back the way we came. I was still doing and feeling pretty well although my average pace had slowed to about 10:45.

Then I hit mile 8! The mile between 8 and 9 just really sucked. I definitely started feeling every hill and was just getting very tired in general. My legs started burning and I really started wanting this to be over. I just kept counting down the miles in my head and started thinking about anything else I could think to think about. Finally, I made it to mile 10 and things started looking up. Beyonce's "Single Ladies" came up on my Ipod and I even managed a "raise the roof" sign to my fellow runners.

Mile eleven started well enough and I even kicked it into high gear for a bit, but by 11 1/2, I pretty much lost all steam. My old friend, achilles tendinitis (which I haven't had for over a year) returned in my right foot. It was starting to get really painful and the next mile and a half was pretty miserable. I just kept thinking, "you are almost done and look what you will have accomplished!"

Finally I knew I was getting close to the end and saw some spectators ahead. I ran as fast as I could and finally saw LS standing at the finish line with camera ready. I was so glad to be done with that race!

Unfortunately, my achilles tendinits continued to get worse the rest of the trip and I wasn't really able to do any sightseeing due to that and the rain. I went to the doctor yesterday and got some medicine so I'm hoping it goes away fairly quickly.

Now, on to the next half-marathon in September. Hopefully that one will actually count!