Women's Half Marathon Recap!!

Today I ran the Women's Half Marathon for the third time. This run is amazing and I will continue to run this race as long as it is here. Everything from the expo to the finish line is so organized it makes for a stress-free/totally fun weekend!

RunningFrida and I went to the expo after our bike 60 mile bike ride yesterday- spandex and all. It was a really fun expo- we bought stickers and tried the free (vegan) chocolate samples. It was definitely a party! ;)

Race morning I woke up and met RunningFrida at ASU to catch the free shuttle to the starting line, since it was a point to point course. It was dark the entire time until we actually got into line for the pink port-a-potties. (Ever since Vegas, pink port-a-potties are EVERYWHERE!)

RunningFrida's sister and niece also did the half with us! Her niece is TEN years old and it was her first half marathon! Talk about incredible! (She killed it too! So proud of her!!)

We got into our corral (#2) and waited for the National Anthem and the countdown. I thought it was perfect because we were right next to the 2 hour pacer-girl. I figured if we could just stay with her, we'd be able to break 2 hours. Right?!

The start line (and the first coral in front of us)

Well, the first corral goes off and we're on deck. we were literally right next to her when we started. Then- she took off like a freaking rocket ship! I'm not even kidding! One second she was right beside us and the next she was 100 yards ahead!!

I started to panic and RunningFrida said as long as we keep her in sight we would be fine. That worked for a few more minutes but then she was out of sight. So then I really got worried- were we really running that slow?! I felt like we were sprinting!! Why was she running so fast?! HOW was she running so fast?

We came up on the first mile marker and we had ran the first mile in 8:29! We were sprinting!! I don't think I've ever ran a mile that fast in my life! And where the heck was the pacer?! We decided to forget about staying with her (since there was no way we could hold that speed for another 12 miles!) and go off of my GPS watch. Which was working very well- and since we ran the first mile so fast we had a little time in the bank.

I was totally feeling it and really hoping to break 2 hours. At around mile 5 me and RunningFrida split up. I turned on my iPod- which was actually 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's'. I was trying to hold the quicker pace, but as the miles came, I slowed down- the hills didn't help either. ;) When there were three miles left I had 23 minutes to hit my goal of breaking three hours. I tried to push the pace but just wasn't fast enough.

I officially finished in 2:03:59. Not quite the 2 hours I was hoping for, but still a PR by 7 and a half minutes. Definitely happy with that!

Next year I'm determined to break 2 hours at this run! Can you believe only 14 days until Ironman Arizona?! AHHH!! I'm really starting to freak out!

How many of you think I need this sweater for winter??!