Monster Dash

Well, today I completed the Monster Dash Half Marathon in St.Paul. My foot had been feeling really good at the end of September, so I decided to give the race a go and see what happened. I was a little worried about it before I started because I've only been running a couple of times a week. I've been doing other cardio stuff like swimming and the elliptical, but those aren't quite the same. I also only had two ten mile runs as my longest training runs, and I didn't do any speed or hill workouts. So basically I was way under-trained, at least in my opinion. My last ten mile run before the race was absolutely terrible, so I didn't have much confidence going into the race. It was not the pace I was hoping to run the race in and I was super tired when I finished, but I figured if I could run 10 miles, I could certainly run 13 or at least finish a half marathon.
We got down into the cities last night, and it was very stressful driving. There were a couple of accidents and traffic was backed up a couple of times. It felt like I had five heart attacks because of some of the the crazy driving down there. It was dark out too, so that just made us more stressed out, but we got to our destination safely. We stayed with Bronson's cousin and his wife, and they made spaghetti for us, which was super nice of them. We basically went to bed right after we ate because we were so tired.
Race morning we got to St. Paul much faster than we left it the night before when we picked up my packet. No car accidents = easy driving =) yay! It was super cold out though! It was only 25 degrees when we left in the morning. That is a temperature that I don't usually run in anymore. My feet were numb by the start of the race and probably through the first mile of it. I was lucky that I deep a pair of gloves in my running jacket or I would have been is sorry shape. Needless to say the first few miles of the run were pretty miserable for me. I was cold, and if you know me, you know I don't get along with cold very well. It's a relationship that will always be pretty bad I think, mostly cuz I hold grudges. So I was unhappy to be outside for the first portion of the race, but when the sun started shining on me, I started warming up some. I decided to try and enjoy myself then. I mean, I may as well being as I had to be out there for over two hours.
The course itself had some pluses and minuses. We ran through some pretty ritzy looking neighborhoods, so we say some amazing houses, and the trees down there were still very colorful and beautiful. It was pretty scenic for most of the run The race was also mostly down hill, so if your looking to run a pr, it's a decent course for that if it's not to crowded. The negatives: there were not enough volunteers. The water stations did not have enough people to pour water, so you basically had to stop and wait for them to pour the water into a cup for you. There were lines. Not ok. Also, there were a lot of people on the course. It was really congested. You expect the first few miles to be like that normally, but it was pretty crowded for the whole race, and the road just got narrower and narrower for a while. I ran on the grass so I could pass people because there was no other way around. It stayed pretty crowded until the 10 milers finished their portion, so 10 miles into the race you felt like you had room to run. There was not a lot of nutrition at the end of the race either. Basically there was bananas, water, and a bag of chips...lame. I think I'm probably spoiled by how awesome and well put together Grandma's is. It has yet to be dethroned as my favorite race ever.
Despite all of my complaining, I did have a good race. I felt pretty decent through out the whole thing considering I was under-trained. I kept a good assessment of how I was feeling at certain mile markers, and I kept tabs on how I was doing. At about five miles in I looked at my watch and saw I had been running for about 49 minutes, which was pretty close to the 10 minute mile pace that I was expecting to do. I decided at that point that I could run a bit faster, so I did, and I managed to trim some more time off. My original goal was to finish in in 2 hours 10 mins, a good solid 10min/mile pace. Well the further along in the race I went the more certain I became that I could get under that time, so I ran a little faster and a little faster. At mile eight I said to myself "Steph, if you had five miles left in Grandma's Marathon right now, how would you be feeling, not this good, just go. You feel good now compared to that." So I went, and I finished in 2:04:19 I mean REALLY?!!??! How awesome is that! That is a pr for me by about 20 minutes!!!!! CRAZY!!!! I'm really excited now because completing a half in under two hours now seems like a doable feat. It's definitely on the radar now, not so impossible sounding. I am just stoked to have done so well, especially with not getting the training I wanted in!! YAY! Anyways, this has gotten to be a very long winded blog, so I am going to shut up now. I'M JUST SO FREAKIN' HAPPY!