Two half marathons in ONE month....AM I CRAZY?!
Yes. Yes, I am.
Pre-Race Day:
Well, let's just say it was homecoming weekend at CMU...Now let me tell you that there was a 5k before the homecoming game....one more update, it was freezing and drizzling. Mind you, I told myself it was going to be a training run because I was running the Freep the next day. Did I listen to myself? NO! I semi-raced it and ended up having really sore thighs. Awesome.
At least I received a medal. Dumb. I am dumb.
Race Day:
I woke up with a stuffy nose and sore throat. Awesome. Not the best way to wake up on race day.
Mom and I left at the crack of dawn to beat the traffic. We parked in the Joe Louis and met up with Paul and Mary. It was only a short distance from the start line so we walked the difference.
One word to explain the Detroit Free Press Marathon: Mass Chaos. Okay, that was two words but, that's what it was. There were people everywhere. Shoulder to shoulder. Being bumped into every two steps. Literally insane.
I left my Mom at the bleachers and Paul, Mary and I headed to our pace times. Since Paul and Mary ran the Chicago Marathon the weekend before, we decided to take the intervals to 3 and 1's. (Do you still think I'm crazy?)
The start line was amazing. I have never seen anything so extravagant and inspiring. The start line designers should give themselves a pat on the back!
I hate bridges. I get nervous and start sweating just thinking about crossing one. Good thing I had to run across the Ambassador Bridge and it was the first thing I had to do. yay.
To tell you the truth it wasn't that bad. I thought it was going to be way worse than it actually was. But, I did notice that I started gravitating to the edge and that made me a little nervous. Kinda like when you're watching a train and your body moves forward. It was that sort of feeling.
Once we were in Canada, we had a DJ welcoming us and reminding us of the terrible MSU/UM outcome. (Boo State!) But, it was actually really cool to see the Detroit sky line from Canada. We are always so accustomed to seeing Windsor so it was cool to see it from the other side.
We were in Canada for a good 3 miles (I think). It started drizzling as we were making our way towards the tunnel. This tunnel was SO much worse than the bridge. Imagine 20 thousand runners going through the same tunnel. It was hot and it was sweaty and I could barely breathe. Worst mile of my life. One of the most memorable moments during this race is when all the runners came out of the tunnel and you could hear everyone take a big gasp of breath. A breath of fresh air. (get it?)
My legs started to really tighten up while we were in Corktown and I think we only had 4-5 miles left. So, I wasn't that worried. At the beginning of the race, I wanted to PR. By mile 11, I wanted finish. I stopped at every water stop because I had the sick throat thing and I really slowed down my pace because of my legs.
With 3 miles left, Paul and Mary told me that we can finish it. So we just ran it in. I saw Kelly and Steve (family friends) on the sideline and my Mom was waiting for me at the finish line.
Overall, it was a great race. I overcame my fears of bridges...kinda and found a new hate for tunnels. Will I run the race again? Yes. Will I still hate the tunnel? Yes.
Upcoming Races:
Yes. Yes, I am.
Pre-Race Day:
Well, let's just say it was homecoming weekend at CMU...Now let me tell you that there was a 5k before the homecoming game....one more update, it was freezing and drizzling. Mind you, I told myself it was going to be a training run because I was running the Freep the next day. Did I listen to myself? NO! I semi-raced it and ended up having really sore thighs. Awesome.
At least I received a medal. Dumb. I am dumb.
Race Day:
I woke up with a stuffy nose and sore throat. Awesome. Not the best way to wake up on race day.
Mom and I left at the crack of dawn to beat the traffic. We parked in the Joe Louis and met up with Paul and Mary. It was only a short distance from the start line so we walked the difference.
One word to explain the Detroit Free Press Marathon: Mass Chaos. Okay, that was two words but, that's what it was. There were people everywhere. Shoulder to shoulder. Being bumped into every two steps. Literally insane.
I left my Mom at the bleachers and Paul, Mary and I headed to our pace times. Since Paul and Mary ran the Chicago Marathon the weekend before, we decided to take the intervals to 3 and 1's. (Do you still think I'm crazy?)
The start line was amazing. I have never seen anything so extravagant and inspiring. The start line designers should give themselves a pat on the back!
I hate bridges. I get nervous and start sweating just thinking about crossing one. Good thing I had to run across the Ambassador Bridge and it was the first thing I had to do. yay.
To tell you the truth it wasn't that bad. I thought it was going to be way worse than it actually was. But, I did notice that I started gravitating to the edge and that made me a little nervous. Kinda like when you're watching a train and your body moves forward. It was that sort of feeling.
Once we were in Canada, we had a DJ welcoming us and reminding us of the terrible MSU/UM outcome. (Boo State!) But, it was actually really cool to see the Detroit sky line from Canada. We are always so accustomed to seeing Windsor so it was cool to see it from the other side.
We were in Canada for a good 3 miles (I think). It started drizzling as we were making our way towards the tunnel. This tunnel was SO much worse than the bridge. Imagine 20 thousand runners going through the same tunnel. It was hot and it was sweaty and I could barely breathe. Worst mile of my life. One of the most memorable moments during this race is when all the runners came out of the tunnel and you could hear everyone take a big gasp of breath. A breath of fresh air. (get it?)
My legs started to really tighten up while we were in Corktown and I think we only had 4-5 miles left. So, I wasn't that worried. At the beginning of the race, I wanted to PR. By mile 11, I wanted finish. I stopped at every water stop because I had the sick throat thing and I really slowed down my pace because of my legs.
With 3 miles left, Paul and Mary told me that we can finish it. So we just ran it in. I saw Kelly and Steve (family friends) on the sideline and my Mom was waiting for me at the finish line.
Overall, it was a great race. I overcame my fears of bridges...kinda and found a new hate for tunnels. Will I run the race again? Yes. Will I still hate the tunnel? Yes.
Final Time: 2.21"12
PR'd by 3 minutes!
Upcoming Races:
November 13, Big Bird 10k
November 24, Turkey Trot 10k
No comments:
Post a Comment