Bonsoir everyone! As you probably know, I ran the Geneva Half Marathon today! Woohoo! Today's race is one of the best races I've ever done - primarily because I actually trained for it! I managed to run the 13.1 miles in 2:13, which was an average pace of about 9:55 minutes per mile. I'll take it!
This week, I checked the forecast a lot, and I was really bummed when it showed that it would be raining on Sunday. Saturday night when I went to bed, the forecast looked like it would be very lightly raining in the morning, but by the time I woke, up, the forecast had been updated to show that it would indeed be full-on raining. Womp womp.
Nevertheless, I had some peanut butter toast and headed out to the starting line. I met up with Bo and Ashley, and luckily, we were able to hang out inside with the P&G crowd to stay dry for a bit before the race got underway. I wished the two of them good luck as we parted ways at the start (they are faster than me!), and I hung out with some work peeps!
It rained pretty hard during the course, and since part of it was through the countryside, there was some serious mud to deal with! That sort of sucked, but I actually really enjoyed the whole race! I was glad that my last long run followed some of the race route, as it was nice to see some familiar sights along the way. I kept my phone in a little plastic Ziploc bag the whole way, so I didn't take any pictures at all!
I felt really strong for almost all of the race. I tried to keep Ashley's advice in mind.. starting out slowly and being ready to finish strong.. not going too fast on the downhills.. and knowing that the rain doesn't change all the training. I mentally divided the race into three little stages - miles one to six were just to go slow and steady. At the 10K mark, I would take the shot blocks that Ashley gave me, and then I would try to pick up the pace a little bit for miles six to ten, and then the plan was to finish strong in the last three miles with whatever energy I had left! Astonishingly, everything went according to plan. Mile ten is historically where I have totally lost it, so I was super pleased with how great I felt at that stage of the race! I felt like I definitely had tons of gas left in the tank, so I started running faster and stronger at that point. I crossed the finish line with a strong sprint and a big smile!!
This week, I checked the forecast a lot, and I was really bummed when it showed that it would be raining on Sunday. Saturday night when I went to bed, the forecast looked like it would be very lightly raining in the morning, but by the time I woke, up, the forecast had been updated to show that it would indeed be full-on raining. Womp womp.
Nevertheless, I had some peanut butter toast and headed out to the starting line. I met up with Bo and Ashley, and luckily, we were able to hang out inside with the P&G crowd to stay dry for a bit before the race got underway. I wished the two of them good luck as we parted ways at the start (they are faster than me!), and I hung out with some work peeps!
Waiting for the gun to go off! Zach is thrilled.
It rained pretty hard during the course, and since part of it was through the countryside, there was some serious mud to deal with! That sort of sucked, but I actually really enjoyed the whole race! I was glad that my last long run followed some of the race route, as it was nice to see some familiar sights along the way. I kept my phone in a little plastic Ziploc bag the whole way, so I didn't take any pictures at all!
Luckily, Lauren was able to snap some action shots on my way to the finish line!
Heel striker!
I felt really strong for almost all of the race. I tried to keep Ashley's advice in mind.. starting out slowly and being ready to finish strong.. not going too fast on the downhills.. and knowing that the rain doesn't change all the training. I mentally divided the race into three little stages - miles one to six were just to go slow and steady. At the 10K mark, I would take the shot blocks that Ashley gave me, and then I would try to pick up the pace a little bit for miles six to ten, and then the plan was to finish strong in the last three miles with whatever energy I had left! Astonishingly, everything went according to plan. Mile ten is historically where I have totally lost it, so I was super pleased with how great I felt at that stage of the race! I felt like I definitely had tons of gas left in the tank, so I started running faster and stronger at that point. I crossed the finish line with a strong sprint and a big smile!!
After a quick change into dry clothes, it was time for pictures!
Then it was time for brunch!! Yum.
I feel super pleased with how I did today. I'm not the fastest runner, which I am totally fine with, but my goals today were to enjoy the race and to run the whole way. I accomplished both! I've been sporting my compression socks all afternoon and evening, and I'm planning to do some good stretching at yoga tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a short run sometime this week before heading off for our Romanian hiking adventure!
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