Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Race Report: South Valley Half Marathon

This pretty much sums up how I feel/felt about the race that I "ran" on Satuday:

Poorest performance in a half since the first time I ran the distance.  2:29:40 is the official time.  A good 20-30 minutes slower than I had hoped for/boasted about/planned on.

The course was harder than I thought it would be. (3 miles up hill??)  It was hotter than I thought it would be... and around mile 9 I just kind of gave up, after being passed by the 2:10 pacer, the 2:15 pacer and the 2:20 pacer.

I'm not proud of it.  I'm embarrassed.  A lot.

The race was gun timed and when the gun went off, I was still waiting to get in the Honey Bucket.  So I started out 1:30 behind everyone else and was running WAY too fast, trying to catch up to the 1:55 pacer.  I never even saw him.  The closest I got was the 2:05 pacer and I didn't stay in front of her for very long.

There are a lot more boring details that I could complain about and try to use as an excuse.  But the bottom line was that I wasn't prepared for the course and hadn't trained as well as I should have.

Adding to my embarrassment were two great bloggers that waited and waited and waited around for me to finish for a photo.
I'll be running with you in October, Blaine!  And Candice, you are so pretty.

9 comments:

Beccarigg said...

That race picture is hysterical! Were you at mile 10? because that's pretty much how I always look around mile 10 of a half marathon. : )

So I say don't be embarrassed or feel like you have to make excuses for your time. Are you kidding me? How many people would love to do a half marathon in that time? I think it's awesome that you were out there doing it, and that you finished, and got a killer race photo out of it ; )

Jams said...

Don't be embarrassed... things happen. Your 2:29 half marathon is only 8 minutes slower than the half marathon I worked my ass off for! LMAO

I have no doubt that you'll crush a half marathon in less than 2 hours... maybe this just wasn't the time.

Keep up the running. And remember - you did way more than a lot of people did.

Momma Twitch said...

Talk about rough... That half was NOT easy. You did awesome though! I don't even tell anyone how long it took me to run it, if you want embarrassing, just look at my time. Haha! You'll do great next time. :)

Tricia said...

poor thing, sounds rough.great job powering through

Jill said...

Sorry about the race :(. We've all been there at one time or another and I think they sort of are good because they show us that we have to maybe step up the fitness a bit. At least they do for me! I love the picture at the end with your friends!! :)

L.B. said...

Chalk that up to experience. I know it may not mean much but a lot of people would be happy to run a half marathon in under 2:30. But at least you hit the nail on the head with the training time and knowledge of the course. I know after I have less-than-stellar runs I try and figure out what happened and go from there.

I'd have waited too so I'm sure your blog buddies didn't mind as much. I wouldn't have minded :)

Blaine said...

Whitney, It was great to meet you at the finish (the honey bucket line doesn't count). That was definitely has a thumbs down in my book.

I don't remember which race I'm pacing in October with you, but I'll see you there.

ihaverun said...

I've been meaning to comment on this for weeks. You are so sweet. I love being a runner because people call me pretty. That never used to happen.

ashley said...

the heat will take it out of you a lot faster than you realize! i've definitely been there, trying to catch up to a pacer, all the while feeling like i'm being chased and caught by the pacers for slower times behind me..