Austin

My original half marathon goal was to finish. To finish it regardless of time in one piece, uninjured and wanting to do another one in the future.

Then i started training and got into that somewhat elusive running groove. It takes time and patience and work to get to that space (and sometimes it's a hard thing to hold onto). But i got there. I was training smarter than i've ever trained before. Yoga was a huge help--my chronic IT band was less of a problem than it's been in 10 years. I started feeling like i could actually run this thing and do better than just finish in one piece.

Then i got sick in January. Really nasty, prolonged respiratory/sinusy/fluey kind of sick (phooey). I didn't run for that last 4 weeks of training. My longest run had been 7 miles.

And suddenly it was February 18th and Kristen flew in and off we drove to Austin for our run. I wasn't sure what my plan was. I didn't want to do something stupid and injure myself. I'd looked at the map and it looked like i could easily drop off the course around 8 miles, but really, i knew i wouldn't do that. I absolutely hate walking long distances but figured i could always walk it if i couldn't run.

The first mile was great. Good vibe from the other runners and the crowd. It flew by and was a nice warm-up to a slightly chilly morning. By mile 3 i was loving it. By mile 3.5? I felt the slightest complaints from that IT band. I hoped it would work itself out (it never has). I hoped it would not worsen as i pounded the pavement some more (it always does). I stopped about 6 times between miles 4-9 to massage that right hip and leg. But by mile 9 i was done. And walked 4 miles (yuck). The last 1/2 mile i decided to kick it into gear again and finish strong.

My official chip time? 2:51 (i think). Garmin time (taking into account auto pauses): 2:41.

What i learned from this? I can so run a half marathon. It wasn't that bad, even with all the cursed walking and kneading of muscles and bands. Hopefully i can get this IT band under control again and get it done in the near future.

For this week though? I'm not running. You can find me at the yoga studio and on my family room floor foam rolling. Living it up, i know!

Look! I'm famous!