Last year at the Phoenix 1/2 marathon in January, a friend mentioned the Austin 1/2 marathon/marathon. I always wanted to go to Austin, so without much thinking, I blindly signed up for the race that was a couple of weeks out. About a week before the race, I took a look at the course map and realized the course was hilly. Finishing the race last year in 2:19 was a little disappointing, but running in the pancake land of Chicago, the Austin hills were a shock. I managed to stay away from the negatives and making excuses and focused on the positives:
- I had done a better job with nutrition than the previous race in Phoenix.
- I learned about taking pacing more seriously.
- I finally understood why understanding the course layout ahead of time was important.
The couple of issues pointed me in the right direction for getting ready for Ironman training.
My race schedule for 2012 is essentially the same as last year. I feel like I’m repeating kindergarten…in a good way! Once again it’s taking on a couple of big challenges and having to stick to the basics and keep it simple.
My first goal for the year was to break 2 hours for the first time for a ½ marathon. Some people think trying to PR the first race of the year in February is ridiculous, and there may be some truth to that, but beyond their words, I still like to believe the quote:
"The more goals you set - the more goals you get."
- Mark Victor Hansen
- Mark Victor Hansen
I knew the course was hilly...
And I knew my typical Evanston/Chicago routes were extremely flat!
Heading into the race, I felt pretty confident with my race plan to get me to my goal, but once again, I under estimated hills. Between the hills and working through a couple of mental issues, I finished in 2:10.
I wouldn't be an athlete if I didn't get a little upset with myself when I didn't reach my set goals. But this is the first race of the season and I will let this disappointment "fuel" me to get a little more out of the upcoming weeks and months.
Avoiding excuses, I try to look at the truth of the situation, and this one was pretty simple:
- I could have integrated better “hill” training in prep for this race, but I have a hard time running on the treadmill. I should have opted to run the Evanston parking garage more often during my training runs. Driving out to the suburbs to find a hilly route would have tacked on an extra 2 hours to the training time. In the past couple of months, that just didn't fit with all the balls I'm currently juggling.
- I improved 9 minutes on the course. Maybe my goal of taking off 19+ minutes may have been a little too aggressive...for this course.
- After looking at my Garmin "statistics" it was a much more consistent and better effort than last year. I am seeing improvement in some of the areas that I have been working on. Some more hard work and a little patience, and I'll definitely be hitting those goals and writing new ones.
My "take aways" from this race...
Don't underestimate packing for running events
Since running is only 1/3 of a triathlon, I seem to have put 1/3 of an effort into my packing for the weekend. I didn't pack the shorts I intended to run in (a.k.a. my "Happy shorts") and forgot to pack my back-up shorts, so ended up running in my "lounging" shorts.
Positive Thinking
By default, I'm not a "glass is half full" type of person. So when I hit a speed bump in a race - or in this case 3 at one time - I really need to have some positive mantras ready to get my head shifted back and focused quickly. On Sunday's race I did an ok job getting the thoughts switched, but the swing physically created quite a physical hurdle.
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| My Awesome Family! |
There's nothing like being surrounded by the "LIVESTRONG" environment that helps me reset my perspective on what really is important. Mile 9 of the course is covered with people dressed in yellow and cheering people on. Heading up a hill to mile 10 a woman stood on the side of the road cheering with a sign “You are running for ME!” It made me think of the true race heros - ones like my mom (a.k.a. “Muzz!”) that have battled the marathon course of cancer and have come through as winners. My mom and others that I've seen courageously fight the fight have shown me what it really takes to “suit up and show up”. Love you Muzz! And to my friend Anne who recently started the battle…I really want to see her kick cancer’s a$$.
Congrats to Susan for running an AWESOME race...and unfortunately being slowed down by me in her moments of encouragement and kindness! We had such a great weekend in Austin and had fun catching up with one of our favorite running buddies!
As Wayne Gretsky said "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been." Whether it’s an athletic, career, or personal goal I set, I can guarantee you that I will not limit myself to where I have been!
“…I CAN do ANYTHING.” - Lori B. J
