I finished my second half marathon!!! WOOHOOO!
It wasn't my fastest 13 mile run (I did that 4 weeks before the race,) but I finshed and dropped about 4 minutes off my official time - My new Half PR to beat is 2:45:12! L finished about a minute ahead of me with a time of 2:43:58! She rocked it! My legs were DEAD after mile 10, and she took off the last mile and a half. I couldn't go any faster! My brain wanted to sprint, but my legs were barely moving! I'm not sure what when wrong. Maybe too little food for breakfast? Too little GU? I'm guessing it was a combination of too little running the last 2 weeks before the race (I was sick for a week, then I had a quad strain) and lack of strength. My legs were so sore after the race I could barely lift them. I'm never THAT sore! So lessons learned from the second half marathon:
1. Cross train! Build strength in my quads and gluts.
2. Don't taper too soon - I had no choice being sick, then pulling my quad, but in the future I will only taper a week.
3. EAT! I need to experiment with more pre-race foods. The english muffin I've been eating before all my runs isn't cutting it!
So what's next? L and I are using a Runner's World "Smart Coach" plan to train through the winter. My only goal right now is to keep running through the snowy months!!
I'll try to blog more - I promise!
