Saturday, October 17, 2015

Hayden Half win!

Pretty sure I haven't worked this hard in..... ever.
Maybe Charity's birth.
And a few college races (one particularly grueling track 10K comes to mind).
But this was 90 minutes of insanely intense physical and mental endurance. I pushed it so hard I seriously thought I'd collapse at the end (and kindof did).
When I crossed the finish line at Honeysuckle Beach I beelined it straight into Hayden Lake. The freezing water and warm sun felt absolutely amazing as I shamelessly soaked my screaming muscles, praying I'd be able to walk again.
And praying a huge THANKS to Heavenly Father for answering my prayers and getting me thru that [self-imposed] ordeal successfully. My original goal was to go under 1:30. I missed that by 30 seconds.
But I don't really care - I gave it my all. I even finally broke in my last pair of free shoes I collected from business trades in UT  (I miss the perks of that job, when I could take advantage of local deals).  New shoes feel so amazing.
And I just wanted to WIN in this case (though I should focus more on hitting my time goal than winning, since that's theoretically more within my sphere of control).
I especially wanted to win because my parents drove all the way out for it. 2 hours roundtrip. Super nice of them. Wanted to make them proud.
So - today's racing torture was courtesy of that chick standing on the #2 podium.
She rode my tail the ENTIRE. TIME, Never let up.
Passed me on almost every uphill (check her short muscly legs!) forcing me to utilize my long legs to cruise past her on the downhill (kinda scary letting myself go!).
She had her hub and son cheering her on at 6 different spots on the course!! Now that's support!  (though I'm in no way belittling what Brian does - playing with the kids at the beachy finish line - I get what I get and won't throw a fit)  If it weren't for her, I probably would've ran at least 5 minutes slower. It was a super tough course - constant hills, lots of turns.
But gorgeous. Northern Idaho is so pretty.
I had to keep repeating positive phrases in my head over and over and over to keep the negative thoughts out.
It was mentally draining.
I remember thinking at the 6 mile mark that I should've signed up for the 10K cuz I'd be almost done by now.
It's so crazy to me to think of running DOUBLE what I ran today.  I doubt I'll ever do a full marathon again. Halfs (halves?) are hard enough. I'd have to be back in 2:49 shape again to even consider it.
And I doubt that will happen - the self discipline of my college days is long gone.
The other girl in the photo wearing a pink jersey is Merissa. She's my new friend. Because she's wearing the same racing shirt.
See.... this is a big reason I love being on the Spokane Swifts team. Insta friends at every race! Easy to spot them!
She's done 2 Ironmans.  That's NOT on my bucket list, nor is putting my hand in a blender. They both seem pointless and painful.  But kudos to IMs out there for dedication!

So - every race doubles as a fantastic workout, meaning I should reap the benefits of being in good shape and do more races! Soon! Yay! I've got the next 3 weeks of races planned out (tentatively).  So excited!

The girl in the photo below that is my friend Mandy. Met her at MOPS and library storytime. Awesome girl.

The kids hung out in the car reading stories for a bit while I was doing my thang. Lovelovelove it when they all get along. Brianna is such a good little reader to them! She gets totally animated and reads so expressively. So grateful. Charity looks s'darn sweet here! I just want to eat her.

They LOVED the finish line party. There was a giant inflatable to run and bounce in, lots of food and treats, fun woodsy areas to run around, etc.

A few complaints (because I'm a race snob and have an opinion about everything): Way too expensive. $85. Ridiculous. That'd pay for THREE half marathons in Utah.   And the awards ceremony.... a full 90 minutes after I finished the race. Annoying to have to stay around that long. Bag the awards ceremony and just pass out medals as winners cross.
Also - there wasn't enough food for the slower marathoners. Very poor planning on the Race Committee's part - common sense: have LOTS of post-race food for starving runners.

This is the most rambling post I think I've ever written. Congratulations for following all the tangents to the end!

   

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Congrats! I was 7th woman.
I'm telling ya, do it next year. They reverse the course every year, and I swear it's easier on the even years. The downs are more gradual, easier to gain productive speed. And those really heavy hills during the second half will be out of the way before the halfway point!
Again good job, maybe I'll see you at a swift workout soon ; )
O ps; they had SO MUCH FOOD last year, maybe they over corrected. Oops