What a great day! I had my sweet husband drive me up to the starting line of the Phoenix Half Marathon so I could run the course this morning. I needed to see where my endurance was at after not being able to run for so long. I'm also getting anxious about the race, and I want to be as familiar with it as I can be. It wasn't a perfect run, but it sure felt good to get out there and move like that. I wasn't the only one who had the idea of running the course today. There were a lot of runners out there! It was so motivational to have comrades doing the same thing with the same basic goal as me.
The very basic breakdown of the run went as follows....
At mile .25 I realized I didn't have my IT band straps and had a minor panic attack, but kept going, no pain.
At mile 1.5 met three guys from the marathon drop off and chatted for a bit as we ran, they fist bumped me and off they went. So that was awesome.
At mile 3.5 I could feel some tightness in my right IT band, but it was manageable.
At mile 4.79 pit stop, felt pretty great!
At mile 5 another marathon drop off chatted for a bit, but she was cookin' so off she went!
At mile 5.5 texted most amazing hubz to bring me a strap. Just too much pain started and I needed to hold down the IT band.
At mile 6.80ish he met me before heading into downtown Mesa.
At mile 8 I noticed I wasn't able to get all of my breath in and out anymore (asthma) and started to panic again, which just makes it worse. I had my inhaler, but didn't want to use it. I got under control.
At mile 9 it started becoming a suffer fest, but I was DETERMINED at that point to finish. I paused twice to get some good breaths in and out.
At mile 10.5 it became a very vocal push myself to the end and lots of wheezing.
At mile 12, success! I did it. I'm tired. I'm sore, but I sang every song from miles 1-8 and then from 10-11. I enjoyed myself.
Since part of my problem with injuries is that I haven't been stretching well (or at all) I made it a point to stretch a bunch as soon as I got home. Then I grabbed some food (hard boiled egg and smoothie with Greek yogurt, oatmeal, almond milk, banana and strawberries) and headed straight over to my friend's pool to ice my legs. I also got some PVC pipe, because my foam roller just isn't getting the job done, and cried as I rolled out my poor sore muscles (kidding, but for real, it was intense).
I'm counting on the adrenaline of race day to push me closer to my original goal time. Despite the anxious butterflies, I'm so excited to run this race!
Also, don't forget to sign up for the Run3rd 5k that's happening on April 11, 2015. There's a virtual option as well for out of town folks or people who can't make it race day. Don't forget to use Run Eat Tweet AZ's race code "RUNEATTWEET" for 10% off registration, and to get entered into the GIVEAWAY for an autographed DVD from Sean Astin of "Goonies" or "Lord of the Rings". Get in before the price goes up again. It's for a great cause, benefitting the kids in the Mesa Public School District. Read all about it on their website!
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