As part of my training plan this go-around, I decided to run a half marathon two weeks before my full! What was I thinking? I guess I was thinking that my training plan called for 12 miles so why not run 13.1 for fun with a bunch of other people and get a cool t-shirt and medal in return!
So I did it! I ran a half marathon on Sunday October 30 with my fastest time of the year! Not a PR but the fastest half this year with a time of 2:22:07! Not too shabby considering I was starting to taper!
This was the first time I had run this race and I really enjoyed the course. It was pretty flat with one giant hill at mile 8. They had the option to run a full marathon and you loop with this course, so you would have to run up that hill twice. I might actually consider running the full course next year! I must be crazy saying this a week before I run my second full marathon.
Anyway, packet pick up was the day before the race at the Hilton Garden Inn where we stay for my back to back Twilight 10K and Half Marathon in May. We talked about staying the night there and then decided just to drive up that morning and I would get my packet by myself on Saturday. I really should have brought the kids with me though as packet pick up was all decked out for Halloween. It was so cool! The kids would have loved it. I will definitely bring them with next year.
Race day morning came and it was cool and misty. The forecast wasn’t calling for rain today but it was still misting at the 9:00 race time. We arrived early per our usual and we went into the KEVA sports complex to stay warm. The kids were complaining already, of course.
We started right away at 9:00 and I tried to keep my pace slower to begin with and keep it easy throughout. Plus I was intending to use this race as a training run so I didn’t want to push to hard. The course was beautiful even if it was cloudy and misty. We traveled along the outskirts of the city of Middleton and on to some beautiful scenic trails. There were some boardwalks that were slippery on these trails but I slowed down and kept on going. I should have stopped to take some pictures as the trees were beautiful! If I do this race again next year, I hope the weather is better and the colors are brighter!
The rain picked up when I started out onto some country roads which felt nice as I was starting to heat up when we were on the covered trails. We were coming back into the city when we made a right turn and there was the gigantic hill at mile 8. It was almost straight up! I literally gasped and was like, “WTH?” But I sucked it up and pushed it up the hill. It wasn’t so bad as once we made it to the top, it was all downhill! That was nice!
As we made our way back to the start/finish line, we passed directly behind the sports complex to hear the band playing, but it was deceiving as we still had about 3 miles to go! These were probably the toughest miles of this race. It was at this point that I wasn’t sure if I could make it! I thought maybe I was going to beat my PR at this race, totally unintentionally, but at this point I just wanted to finish. I usually get like this at the end of my races.
One thing that was really nice about this race, was all the water stations and people out cheering for us. I was impressed by how many people were standing in the rain cheering for us. We didn’t have our names on our bibs so some people were cheering for us by the color of our shirts or what was written on it. I was wearing my Madison Mini shirt and I heard, “Go Mad Mini” a couple of times! It was very encouraging. There were also quite a few people wearing costumes which was really fun to see. There were awards for the best costumes! I didn’t wear one this year, but you never know what might happen next year.
I was so happy to see the time when I got closer to the finish! I saw my family cheering for me before the finish line and that fueled me to push it across the line! I am so proud of my time! Finishing with a time like this helps me feel better about my full marathon next weekend.
I grabbed a silver blanket from a volunteer after getting my medal and headed to the refreshments to grab some water and snacks. Not a super impressive spread but it was enough to satisfy me and my kiddos.
Love this girlie so much! She just had to take a selfie with me!
We headed into the complex afterwards to warm up and Jay and the kiddos played on one of the indoor fields with the football EJ brought along. They were having so much fun playing that I didn’t want to make them stop, but the longer I sat there the colder I got and the more my head started to hurt. I didn’t bring extra clothes with since the weather didn’t call for rain, so I was stuck in my cold, wet clothes. Note to self: no matter what the race or what the weather says, I will always bring extra clothing with. That an extra snacks and my migraine meds, as I always seem to have a dehydration induced migraine after a race, no matter how much water and Gatorade I drink during the run. I will keep these in mind as I am packing for next weekend.
They had so much fun playing!
Overall this was a great race experience and one that I would very much like to do again! I may even do double marathons!!! This one and then Madison a week or so after! I may be totally crazy for saying this but I think I can do it. It definitely won’t be about time and beating a PR, it will just be about finishing both races and accomplishing something that I never thought I would be able to do before. I have time to think about it, but I think it would be fun and quite an adventure!
Yes, I did eat pancakes when I got home! They were delicious and my daughter picked them out for me! You have to eat them then, right?
Until next time, RUN ON!!!
Laura
P.S. Wish me luck on my marathon next Sunday!
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