Race Recap: Rock the Parkway Half Marathon

And man, am I still tired?

It may have been the two day expo that I worked for the race or it may have been the actual 13.1 miles,

but I was pooped.  I'm still pooped...and it's Wednesday.

I was really excited about this race, because it kicks off the Heartland 39.3 Series and my company PRA decided to be one of the sponsors, so unlike most races I had a gaggle of family and friends there running also.  

My goal for this race was to run it in under 2 hours.  Thinking that a sub 2-hour half would get the ball rolling for the spring in a big way.  I have been training relentlessly, and it was attainable.

My long-distance-long-distance Running Love!!  Pre-Race.

The Race started at 7:30, and it was kind of hectic.  As usual, I had planned on getting there earlier and it just didn't happen, so I ended up getting pretty stressed out.  Also, large groups of people are kind of annoying to me-a terrible phobia for someone who's addicted to road races.  I was suppose to have baller status parking, and we couldn't find the lot and we ended up trying to walk to the start and my shoes got all wet, and I whined a lot about it.

Anyway long story short, Megan and I got separated at the start but I met my dear friend Mary, who was running her first (!!!) half marathon.  The race was off and the humidity was really thick.  I hate it when you sweat, and it doesn't go anywhere, it just stays on your skin.  Sitting there...all wet...and hot. GRossss.

I decided to try and line up with a pace group, but turns out I am also not a fan of those. People get really weird about trying to stay near the pacer.  There were runners who were doing everything short of throwing elbows to get people out of their way.  It was really crammed and made me feel really anxious.  So I drew back and slowed so they could pass.

The first few miles were easy peasy, nice and slow but I still felt like I was going too fast.  By like mile 4, I started to notice that I was turning over my left foot in an odd way.  Like my shoe wasn't tied right or, the unlevel road was making me strike funny?  

Around Mile 6, I noticed a familiar pain in my left knee.  No doubt from the odd strike pattern in my left foot. I started to get really discouraged.  I started to think about not finishing the KC Marathon, and how crappy that felt.  

Around Mile 7, I slowed myself waaaay down.  I was exhausted, pretty much out of gas and starving.  I didn't eat or drink anything before the race, and only water so far during.  I am struggling with GI issues while running, and want to find a happy medium.  I switched to gatorade mid-race hoping that would help.

For the rest of the race, my pace was slower than anticipated and I knew I wasn't going to hit my goal.   I was pretty defeated, there's nothing like forcing yourself to finish when what you wanted to achieve is out of the question.  But running a half marathon is an achievement in itself, so I should be proud each and every time.  

I finished with a smile on my face, and that felt awkward.  Physically I could have done more, I just didn't have it in my knee or my energy to get the job done.  I ended up finishing 20 minutes over my goal. Ouch.

The course is beautiful.   Of course I am going to say it's an amazing race :)  I will be back. Hopefully faster.