Get Lucky! Triple 7K (half marathon)

There is so much I'd like to say about this race. I hope I can do it some justice.

All set to Get Lucky!

It was such a great race for me. As you know, my knees have been bothering me a bit most of the year. I started out at a nice, easy, slow pace. My sister and I ran and chatted together for more than a mile. When she needed to stop for a walk break, I kept going. I tried to maintain a slow, easy pace, but it was difficult with the excitement of the race and the crowds.

And then I saw that I'd nearly met up with the 2:30 pace group. If I increased my pace just a little, I simply *knew* I'd be able to pass them by.

I did!

It felt really great. I was just enjoying the run in the sun. It was already in the 70s, I'm sure. And pretty humid. There were quite a few people out there complaining about the weather, but I was loving it! I mean...it's mid-March!

I loved the customized timing chips!

I'd just passed mile 4 when I saw the first guy who was heading for the finish line. He. was. fast! I mean the next person was still quite a distance behind him.

It was probably a good half mile before I saw the first woman.

Just before I got to the turn-around point, I saw my friend, Anne. She looked great! So strong. So focused. She said she was zoned out. I'm still going with focused. :-)

Approaching the Finish Line

As I approached the halfway mark, I was really, really close to passing the 2:20 pace group. I passed them and did my very best to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race.

Shortly after the halfway mark, I sent Jeff a message letting him know I'd passed the halfway. If he wanted to see me cross the finish line, he should probably get out of bed.

Crossing the Finish Line

By mile 8, I was getting really tired. In retrospect, I probably should have gobbled some fuel. *sigh* I had to walk, and that dang pace group was really gaining on me.

I sent Jeff another message with an update.
And was surprised to get a response. Sweet!

Mile 10. I was ready to be done. I tried all the tricks. Only 3 more miles! You can do it! Keep it up!

Finding Jeff after the race

I was able to stay in front of the 2:20 pace group until this point. But now I just had to walk. I figured I'd be okay. I could walk and still catch up to them again, right?

I came close around mile 11.

But then had to walk again.

When I saw the mile 12 marker, I got a free high five from a volunteer, and I told myself I could certainly  run that last mile.

I didn't.

But when I could see the mile 13 marker ahead, I pushed myself to start running again.

And then when I passed it, I really kicked it into high gear to finish strong.

Even Sallie came out to see me

It was fun to hear the announcer read my name as I was about to cross the finish line.

Time on the clock - 2:24:20

I MADE IT!! I achieved all my goals for the race. Plus, I beat my previous PR by 3:55. :-) Sometimes the best races are those with lower expectations.

My favorite stat is that I passed 245 runners and was only passed by 13.
How awesome is that?

I am super proud of my sister. She ran a fantastic race and beat her PR by over 11 min. What a rock star!!

Because don't you always play a quick game of pattycake after a race?
We weren't actually playing pattycake but were trying to get into a pose,
but this picture just looks like we're having so much fun.

A couple other notes:

• I had to adjust my race belt a couple times in the beginning, but then I must have found a sweet spot because I never had to adjust it again. :)
• My socks, surprisingly, stayed up really well. I only had to adjust them once on the course.
• My calves got really hot from the socks.
• The course was a bit hillier than I'd expected. I tried to follow the example of my friend, Mary, by keeping the same pace, if not speeding up a bit to run up-the-hill. Probably not the smartest move, but it did feel good passing people.
• Every time I stopped at a water stop, I choked on the water; it inevitably would go done the wrong pipe.
• I carried a water bottle with me to supplement the water stops. I was glad to have it, but I don't think I'll use that bottle again. It got SO sweaty! Annoying. Plus it carries more water than my other one, so it was heavier, too. I sipped on it throughout the race, but really didn't drink very much of it until the end.
• I'm glad I had supplemental water because the last water stop had run out of cups.
• I thought I had to pee at the beginning of the race, but it must have been nerves 'cuz I never had to go while on the course.
• My toes next to my pinkie toes really took a beating. They are black, blistered, and still painful hours later.
• I may have worn my medal when we walked to the convenience store later in the afternoon.

Sporting our awesome medals.
We totally rocked this race!!

Hope you all had a wonderful St Patrick's Day! This was a great way to kick it off.

What did you do to celebrate the holiday or just to enjoy the weekend?