Runner's support and Accountability

@nascfan Thank you! I hate allergies too! I likely will sleep hard tonight! I won’t even argue that one! Winnie has the cutest face!!!

@eeyorepoohfan Oh my goodness she’s so cute! How do you concentrate with that sweet little face watching you?!

@starbee Winnie is so stinking cute! It’s not always easy to get workouts in when she “helps”! But I don’t mind! How did your race go??

I FINISHED MY FIRST HALF MARATHON!!!!!

Oh my gosh it was such a whirlwind! I had to get up at 5am to get ready and make it to packet pickup since we couldn’t get down to Dallas in time the day before. I picked up my packet without issue, stretched and made my way to the start line. This was an inaugural half marathon alongside a 5k and 10k that they’d been hosting for a number of years so that was fun! It was 76* when we started at 7am and 74% humidity. The course started and finished in a baseball stadium which was neat!

The race started and it was pretty bottle necked in the beginning which was tough. I was surprised they didn’t stagger the start times. But before too long the 5K split off and that helped some, but there were still people running two/three across on a sidewalk which was frustrating and one lady with a double stroller who took up the whole sidewalk. Once the 10K split off I didn’t have any bottle neck issues after that. The race was called the Hero Hustle and there were a lot of people in costume which was encouraged. There were some great ones including one lady racing with her dog in a matching costume! I would have loved to dress up but I really didn’t want anything getting in the way of my time.

The course was mostly flat and 75% in the shade which helped so much! There were a couple of long boring stretches next to a road that weren’t very scenic, but the majority was through a pretty park with animals carved out of wood and trees everywhere, very pretty. The first mile was over super quickly, the second, third and fourth miles didn’t take too long either. At mile 5 I was starting to get a little thirsty and made my first water stop at mile 6 for some Gatorade. Then all of a sudden I was at mile 7 and I couldn’t believe I was halfway done! I still felt strong and I was enjoying the pretty trail. At mile 8 I felt my energy lowering so at mile 9 I ate my Honey Stinger Gel and drank a little water at the water stop (gels dry my mouth out).

Mile 9 was where I kinda hit the wall. We were leaving the trail and heading back to the boring stretch of road where we were completely exposed to the sun. It felt like mile 9 to 10 took forever! I also started to feel a little nauseous so I switched my ratios until it went away. After mile 10 I was okay again so I went back to my regular ratios. There was a large hill alongside a bridge around mile 11 or 12 so I walked that whole thing, not wanting to burn out trying to run it so close to the end. Before too long I was down to my last mile and then I sprinted across the finish line as I always do finish strong! I had fun but I was glad when it was over because I could definitely feel it heating up at the end. It was 81* when I crossed the finish line and it was still 74% humidity.

I was really pleased with my stats!

Time: 2:36:30
Distance: 13.1 miles
Pace: 11’57”

Overall Finish: 48 / 110
Overall Female: 17 / 48
Age Group: 9 / 17

My goal was to finish in under the 2:45 required for Dopey POT, but my aim was to keep a 12’00” pace and finish in around 2:36. I got the finish time I wanted AND was slightly under pace! Super happy! I’ve submitted my POT to runDisney (I hope I did that right) so hopefully I get a decent corral

No more races planned as of right now, aside from my virtual 5K races. I’m considering a couple in the Fall but we’ll see how training goes.

@starbee
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
I’m so excited for you! You did so fantastic! Love the pictures

Look out Dopey! Here comes Chloe!

@eeyorepoohfan Thank you! I still can’t believe it! how many corrals are there and where did you place? I’m curious where I’ll be. I drank Tailwind before the race but didn’t carry anything with me. I tested out a 6 oz Flip Belt bottle on my 9 mile run last week and that was surprisingly easy to carry. However that bottle wasn’t mine, it’s my running buddy’s. I was testing it out before deciding to buy one. I don’t have a handheld bottle like you have either and didn’t have time to get one and test it out before the race. My friend would have let me borrow his Flip Belt water bottle but when I carried it with me on the test run I was super tempted to guzzle it all at once which isn’t good. Relying on the water stops instead of carrying forced me not to drink too much at once and freed up my hands for running. I find it harder to run with stuff in my hands. I need to figure something out though because when I start my even longer runs there won’t be water stops!

@starbee I was in Corral E for the half and full! There were either 2 or 3 corrals behind me, and those are huge corrals. So you will actual start just behind mid- pack! It’s a great place to be! Ryan has to learn to run with a water bottle in hand, he’s still not a fan but he really has to learn to do it for Dopey. My sister uses the belt that has a couple of small water bottles on it and a pouch for chews. She did that for Dopey and loved it. Before Dopey she actually wouldn’t even drink much during a marathon! Just a couple cups of water on the course. You truly have to find what works for you, but absolutely use something for training! Then you’re used to it for race day! I run with a 20 ounce bottle in my hand at all times, even for runs that are only a few miles. Due to a septum issue, I’m a huge mouth breather and get dry mouth. I polish it off during a half and have it refilled on the course, especially for warmer runs. Keep in mind that during each race at Dopey that you won’t be pushing yourself hard and fast. So carrying water and things won’t really slow you down. You will be saving yourself a bit on each race. I was so tired from lack of sleep by marathon day that even if I wanted to push hard and fast, I just couldn’t! So don’t pay attention to pace at any of those races. I slowed my pace down by 1-2 minutes/mile from what I could do in training. But it saved my feet and I wasn’t sore! I did have a couple small blisters at the end of the full and some muscle fatigue. But the next day I was walking normally! So that will be your goal and focus! As long as you finish each race ahead of the sweepers you will get your Goofy and Dopey medals! It’s seriously low stress!