After watching my hubby run the Montreal Marathon I was ready to get back in the race game. I registered for the Hamilton Half Marathon as soon as we got home from Montreal.
Unfortunately life got in the way and other things took priority to my running. I was getting runs in, just not a lot of long runs.
The week before the half I forced myself to get a long run in. I wanted to run 16km just to make sure I wasn't setting myself up for failure. I pushed myself to 19km and ran it in 2hr 9mins. I run all my long runs doing 10 and 1's - run 10 mins walk 1 min. I felt quite good after the 19km so I figured I was good to go for Hamilton.
I didn't have a goal - I wanted to finish, but not just finished, I wanted to push myself.
So the family and I packed up on Saturday afternoon and headed to Hamilton to stay overnight. I figured it would make life much easier!
We went out for a great pasta dinner (one of my favourite parts of being a runner!) then headed back to the hotel for a quite night.
I had the advantage of the Daylight Saving time change so I actually woke up Sunday morning before the alarm.
We got to the start and I got myself set. Got my Rev3 in me and I was good to go! The race was delayed about 15 minutes, but before I knew it I was shuffling along with the crowd and crossing the start line and hitting the start button on my Garmin.
I had absolutely no plan for this race. I have always run 10 and 1's but as I started running I felt great and decided to try to push myself. I stopped for a brief walk at a water station around 5km then we started a gradual downhill (obviously my favourite part of this race!)
I took my first Gu gel around 7km and still felt pretty strong (and I was still running a gradual downhill!). At 10km my Garmin read 54:49, I'm pretty sure my fastest 10km time! At the half way point I was under 1 hour so I was thinking this was going to be a great run!
Unfortunately after we passed the 10km mark we got onto some trails and a few rolling hills. I started to slow down a bit and added in a few more walk breaks (maybe 15 and 1's?) I really started to struggle around 15km but pushed myself through it. I kept thinking just get to 18km, then it's only 3km left - easy peasy, right?
I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:09:19. Not my best time, but definitely not my worst. Considering my lack of proper training I really can't complain. And now I have some more bling to add to my collection!
I realized after the race that I didn't hydrate properly along the run. I grabbed some water at a few water stations, but only a few sips each time. I finished with my fuel belt almost as full as when I started. I barely touched my gatorade. This all explains why I felt so sick for the rest of the day. Lesson learned!
I would definitely runt the Hamilton half again. It was a good race and I can see the potential for a PB!
I am now so excited for the Goofy Challenge in January. Flight and hotel are booked and now all I need to do is focus on running! I can't wait!
As always,
Run Happy!
Jamie
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