Well, I can officially say I completed one of my goals of 2011: completing two half marathons. On Sunday, I completed the Wisconsin Dells Half Marathon in 2:14:58. This was a little over five minutes faster than my first one. Truly not sure how that's possible considering how many hills the course had AND I'd been Slacky McSlackerson in my training (only running 2-3x/week as opposed to 4-5x).
But, I am not going to complain about a PR, that's for sure. I did completely fall apart in between miles 9 & 10. When I made the turn at the half, I saw that the 2:10 pacer guy was 5-10 minutes behind me and I was feeling great, thinking I could finish in closer to two hours flat. My goal at that point became, "don't let the 2:10 pacer pass you."
Side note: there were NO timing clocks whatsoever on the course - not even when we started. The only clock was at the finish line, so until I saw the 2:10 pacer, I didn't have a CLUE as to how I was pacing.
Of course, during one of my walk breaks, the 2:10 dude ran up beside me and it was all downhill (or rather, uphill for the last two miles) from there. He caught me around mile 9 when I was starting to lose steam and try as I did to keep up with him, I was hurting too much at that point.
I'm still insanely sore and expect to be for a few more days.
This is definitely a race I'd recommend - it was a beautiful, country course and challenging with the hills. The spectators were great, they had tons of water stations, and I really enjoyed the winding roads.
Goal for 2012 (which I am already regretting): Run the Chicago Marathon. My body is already weeping.
Fantastic job, Reva! I'm looking to a marathon in 2012 as well. I was thinking either Twin Cities, or Chicago....they're both in the beginning of October. I started training "officially" in the beginning this month, giving myself a whole year to get ready. Don't regret...just DO IT! :)
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