Friday, October 28, 2011

Weekend Inspirations


Five inspirations for your weekend.

1. Chrissie Wellington's race report from Kona.

2.  Team Hoyt.

3.  A great post from my coach, Liz, on being still.

4.  The Lululemon Manifesto.
5.  A shirt I've been wanting all year.

Race Report: Girlfriends Half Marathon

Sometime back in 2010 my registration-happy index finger pulled the trigger on signing up for the 2011 Girlfriends Half Marathon.  There's nothing really unusual about that.  However, what was very unusual - I had zero recollection of ever doing it.  Flash forward to a couple of months ago, sitting on the couch with my dear friend Jenn, I thought "hmmm, you know, I wonder why I didn't sign up for it this year".   A quick search through my email files showed that I had, indeed, actually signed up.  What is my world coming to when a half marathon is so normal that it's not even a blip on the memory radar?

Race week was also not the typical race week.  Instead of tapering for the event, I logged over 15 hours of swim/bike/run.  The day before the race, which is usually a day of rest and relaxation, included 90 miles of riding on the trainer.  Followed by a run through the neighborhood alps.  My normal pre-race morning routine of coffee and chilling out to music was replaced with 2 miles of running.  And I delayed my post-race bloody mary (fo shame!) so that I could knock out another 2 miles of running.  So, yeah, this whole thing was just not right.

But back to the race.  I think there's something to getting a good warm-up in.  I'm lazy, and typically under trained, and therefore usually sit around and conserve as much energy as possible before starting a race.  But I was warm and peppy and ready to go when the gun went off.  The 13.1 miles in between the start and finish lines is actually kind of boring, so I'll spare you the play-by-play.  I chatted with the ladies, hugged Julie's daughter Lilli (they came out to cheer), listened to some Eminem and Nicki Minaj, and planned out my grocery list for the week.  Nothing worth reporting out on.

What is worth reporting out on though ----  PR BABY!!!!!

Seriously, I shaved 4 minutes off my previous best half marathon time.  Despite the masochistic week devised by Coach Liz.  :-)

Stats:
Time = 2:21:32
Pace = 10:48/mile
Position = still back of the pack...