Woodlands Half Marathon

This past Saturday I ran The Woodlands Half Marathon.  This was the first time I ran the half.  I ran the full the previous two years with a good and a bad experience.  This was another bad experience.  I think I may be passing on this race next year.

I have to say that my heart was not in this race.  I barely thought about it all week. I did not know what I was going to wear until right before I went to bed.  This is so not me.  I thought about my goal and know that I am capable of running a 1:48.  But, I did not feel in my heart that I was going to do it.  I am not sure if it was because I was/am still feeling mentally tired from the marathon.  I am beginning to wonder when this hangover will pass.  Or, if I just did not care because of everything else going on that day.  Whatever, it was, the race was a disaster for me

For starters, my body just did not show up.  My legs which were quite rested from an easy week of running hurt almost from the get go.  It was like a mile 20 of a marathon hurt at the beginning of a half...not good at all.  The weather was crap and that is being kind.  I hate humidity and on Saturday it was 70 and drizzling.  Just freakin' great.  I also hate rain whether I am running or not.  To say it was humid is an understatement.  And my mind...it was finished with the race by mile 4.  If I could have gotten to my car quicker than having to finish I would have taken my first DNF.  Honestly, my only motivation to finish was Jonah.  I knew I had a limited time to drive to his meet in Bryan, Texas.

Each mile after mile 3 was a battle for me mentally and physically.  I hated the course.  I detest running on theWoodlands Parkway and I think that is the main reason I won't run this race again.  Running along a major road with nothing to look at is just so boring.  There were hardly any spectators along the most of the course and that was probably because of the rain. 

My splits gradually got slower and I did not care.  That is just awful in a race so I just ran to finish.  I had no time goal in mind after mile 4.  I just wanted to be done.  By mile 10 I felt some motivation return.  I kept telling myself it is just a 5K.  My pace picked up some and I was able to finish with a respectable time of 1:54.35.  It is one of my slowest half marathons ever.  So freaking frustrating when this is my favorite distance to run.  It is over quickly. The body recovers quickly.  The distance is just fun, but I can't seem to get my stuff together to run a good half.  It has been forever since that happened and that makes me mad.

Even the medal is ugly, but it sure is heavy

So, it was not my day.  I literally finished, grabbed my medal, got a picture taken, grabbed some water and walked to my car.  I barely stretched and then I made the 90 minute drive to the gymnastics meet.  I was disappointed with my race, but I was not going to disappoint Jonah by being late.

Jonah had a decent meet and placed well on four events.  His HB was a disaster because he lost his grip on the bar.  I think my heart literally stopped watching his routine.  I am still amazed he hung on and more that his shoulder did not hurt at all!

I was super proud of his 2nd place on floor and 8th AA despite his horrible HB score.  I was also pleased at least one of us had a good day!

I am finished with races for a while as I train for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May.  Jonah has     three more meets.  It is going to be a busy couple of months for us!