Mission Completed: HALF MARATHON!

First things first, no longer will I commit to blog at any type of regular interval. Life is full, I am a procrastinator, so I will blog when I blog! I would like to blog more, but it is time to be realistic and not beat myself up if I am not blogging every week.

The good news, I ran a half marathon yesterday - 13.1 Miles! It was a great accomplishment for me. I set a goal, I set a training program, I stuck with it (never missing a run) and I did it! I did make some changes though. I did not go to Seattle to Run the HUGE Seattle Marathon (14,000 runners expected). I had talked myself into it, justified it, but could not get comfortable with the idea of running on Sunday. It set a bad example for my kids, when I was trying to do something good. There was another marathon in Seattle on Saturday called the Seattle Ghost Marathon that I considered doing. It is a small marathon (about 100 runners) and is more like a fun run for a running club. Then I thought, I can run anywhere and meet my goal, why spend $250 in gas and hotel charges?

We were headed up to Sandpoint for Thanksgiving with Jeff's side of the family. All of Jeff's brothers and sisters and family were planning on being there, so it was a big deal. Unfortunately, Janie and Cean couldn't make it at the last minute. Janie was still recovering from minor surgery and wasn't up for travel so, so it could not be helped. But, WE MISSED YOU JANIE!

Jeff had called his sister Sherry and asked her to arrange a Spaghetti lunch celebration for after my run. I took all my running stuff, and made sure my iPod was charged before leaving town. On Friday it snowed, and I thought, "I wish I had remembered my Yaktrax!". We were staying with my brother-in-law, Richard, and when we woke up Saturday morning, there was still snow outside. So Jeff and I drove into town to check out the trail conditions and to see if I should buy another pair of Yaktrax for the run. I really wanted to complete the run, everyone was excited for me, plus the weekend after Thanksgiving was my goal date. Now, my in-laws live in Sagle, ID, which is about 6 miles from Sandpoint, and there is a paved trail that goes all the way into town. I was happy to see that most of the trail was clear, with just some small patches of snow and slush. So we went back to Richards where I got ready, and then back to Mom and Dad's for the start (I was originally going to start at Richards, about 1 mile away, but the road between the two houses was covered in very wet snow).

It was a quiet send off. Jeff, Mom & Dad, Erika and Kylie were there. I did have a half hour delay when I discovered that my iPod needed charging, but I took off about 11:30. My goal was very realistic, complete the run in under 2-1/2 hours. Considering my 11 minute mile pace, I did not foresee any problems in meeting my goal. So I got running! It was just under 1/4 mile to the highway, cross the highway and right onto the path that led all the way into town. A lot of down hill for the next mile. The traffic from the highway was louder than I expected, so nervously (and successfully) turned up my music (whenever I had tried this before, I always messed up my Nike iPod settings and had to start again!).

Jeff was my great support team! He met me at the beginning of the long bridge with a water bottle (3 mile mark), a quick drink and I continued on my way (I also ditched my hat - too hot, and my sunglasses - too foggy due to all the moisture in the air).

At mile 4 on the bridge, I was feeling pretty good and decided to increase my pace a bit. This was so I could have a bit of extra time at the end when I was going up hill. I ran about 100 feet when I felt a small 'twang' and pain shooting down my left hamstring. Oh, Great! I ran a few more feet, stopped to try to stretch it out - no good, so I continued on. My pace dropped to slower than 12 minutes per mile, and I thought, why couldn't this happen on the way back, when I have 4 miles left instead of 4 miles into my run? I also thought, I have to finish this, or when will I do it? If the injury puts me down for a few weeks, then another month of training to get back up to endurance, and then it will be January some time before I tried again. This just wasn't an option, plus I was on the bridge still and Jeff was over a mile away, so I might as well just keep running. Slowly my hamstring started to feel better (less painful), and my pace increased back to normal. When I came to Jeff's water station at the far end of the bridge (mile 5-2/3), I made sure that I had no appearance of a gimp so that Jeff would not ask me, in a very concerned manner, if I was 'all right' (though he always asked me how I was doing ;-).

I wasn't sure how for I had to go in town, but was just going to turn around when my iPod told me I was at the half way point. I did not want to run right downtown, so I turned towards Sandpoint City Beach, and was about 3/4 along the path around the beach (located at a beautiful sandy point on the lake, hence the name "Sandpoint". A lot of the beach areas around Lake Pend O'reille are rocky, so the sand is very nice) when I turned around. I was feeling pretty good and was happy to be on the return leg of my run. Jeff was at the same places going back with water (very good to have. While training on those long runs, I was lucky if I found a place for just one drink, the hydration really helps to Keep on Going!).

Going uphill during the last 2 miles wasn't too bad, though my pace did slow a bit. That is one good thing about running in Moscow, there is no way to avoid hills! My main concern was my iPod not having enough juice to last the entire run. I had barely charged it half way, and my power was in the red. Before crossing the bridge on the way back I picked up another iPod from Jeff to use if mine completely died, but it was only for an emergency! I really wanted to compete the run on one iPod - for accurate stats. And I am happy to report that it did last the entire run, whew!

Well, to make a short story longer ... I finally made it back into Sagle, where I crossed the highway. Jeff was there with the camera, to record the moment for all posterity :). According to my iPod, my 13.1 miles was up about 50 yards from Mom and Dad's driveway (I always run a bit further than half way before turning around). I pushed "Run Completed" on my iPod for an accurate time, but kept running. I knew everyone was waiting for me, so I couldn't very well just saunter on in and say, "Oh, my 13.1 miles was up 50 yards back down the road."

It was a great finish. The whole family was there cheering, they had a finish line, balloons and a poster (thanks Sharon!). Everyone had huge smiles on their faces, and felt genuinely happy for me, they even gave me three "Huzzahs!" - way better than finishing with 14,000 other people! William then presented me with my Half-Marathon shirt! (I will post pics tomorrow - too late tonight!) I was very surprised and touched that everybody (and especially Jeff) went to so much trouble. I am truely blessed with a wonderful husband and family!

We then all went in for a wonderful spaghetti dinner (though I did shower first!). Dad had made chocolate chip cookies, and there was ice cream left over from Thanksgiving for dessert. I was dog tired, so by 5:30 I was ready to head back to Richard and Nancy's for a soak in their jetted tub and an early bedtime.

We are back in Moscow now. Today I am a bit sore, but better than expected. I am especially glad to say that my hamstring feels fine and I will be running this week. I am trying to establish my next goal. There is a marathon in Lewiston in the spring, but I have not been able to find out an exact date yet for 2009. Though what I really have my eye on is the Boise Half Ironman on Saturday, June 13th - 1 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run! But to help me with either, or both, is that professional training certificate that I still have that I won at the Sprint Triathon in September. I will definitely be using that at the beginning of next year.

Oh yea, my official finishing time: 2:25:26, average pace: 11:05 min/mile. GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!