Last weekend I ran the Buffalo Stampede Half Marathon in College Station. It was a warm morning and I had a bad attitude going into the race because it was going to be so hot but I just decided to do the best I could. This was a training run to get ready for my marathon in November. Well it turned out I won! It was pretty exciting. I drove down by myself and did an air bnb and it all worked out great. Here are the notes I sent my coach:
"Thanks Sarah, it was super fun to win a race. I had a bad attitude going into the race the week of because it was so hot and I just wanted to have a cooler race after melting in my 5 k but after some encouragement from my people I just decided that it wasn't going to be the best I could possibly run but I could run my best I can possibly run for that day.
The heat really wasn't awful, low 70s is not terrible (for us) it was the humidity that was awful, people's glasses were fogged up and everything. After my 3 warm up miles I was already sweaty. I decided to carry my own fluids to make sure I took in enough. I started off conservative and backed off the first four miles, it was out and back and it didn't take long to realize that the first half would be harder. These miles felt relaxed and comfortable (7:05,7:33,7:32,7:26) then I started to pick it up a bit (7:19,7:17) after the turn around I said it was time to get to work (7:10,7:12,7:15,7:11) and then I tried to pick it up for the final 5 k (7:04,6:59,6:55,6:28 to the finish) happy with the race strategy, thanks for reminding me how important it is to hold back at the beginning and not be afraid of those 7:30 miles so I could feel strong at the end. I kept reminding myself that you said to wait until the final 2 miles or so to really push, the cyclist was super nice and kept encouraging me those last 2 miles. While it was a small race, I don't care, ha ha it's fun to win no matter how small the field. And I just felt like 1:34 on that day, I'm chipping away at this half marathon thing and I just feel like a 1:30 isn't crazy anymore, and I want it now, I can do it.
Thanks for believing in me and for encouraging me when I get frustrated! Can't believe my marathon is just 5 weeks away! "
It was such a fun experience to win a race and even though hit was a small race I still lived on cloud 9 for awhile. I wouldn't wait to call my kids and tell them. Aaron continues to support me in everything and did a great job taking care of the kids while I was gone.
They were even early to soccer game.
It was such a humid day, my hair post race was in bad shape. :)
A few shots from the race, coming into the finish line. I kicked it in and felt strong. It was a great race. Just the confidence boost I needed to get ready for my marathon.
The awards ceremony.
I have enjoyed training for these races so much!
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