The Heroes Half: Could there BE any more wind??

On the last Sunday in April, I ran the Heroes Half.  Last year I ran it with Erika and got a PR of 2:04.  I felt like this was the race that I could sub 2:00 this year.

Well, as you know if you've been reading lately (when I actually post), my training lately has been less than stellar.   However, since I had paid the entry fee, I decided to suck it up and run the race, focusing on the "joy" of racing and "forgetting about" the PR.

TriGuy came along to spectate, and once we got to the race venue I  stopped at the bathroom.

Tangent:  Why is it that no matter how many times I go before I leave the house, as soon as I see that starting line my bladder is suddenly full again??

I finally got through the line in the bathroom and when I came out TriGuy informed me that the race had already started.

See?

I nearly missed the starting mats because uh, because the uh, the starting area wasn't very well marked. Yeah, that's what it was.

Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.  Moving on.

This race is a fundraiser to support the military through the USO.  Amongst the runners, walkers, dogs, strollers, and children (there really were children doing the half!) were also soldiers,

and lots of people wearing superhero shirts and costumes.

I was wearing my new TEAM TOUGH CHIK shirt!

Unfortunately, I did not feel tough.  My hip was really bothering me.

It hurt for the first 6 miles.  

I left my fuel belt at home, which meant I had to drink from the paper cups on the course while running.

It didn't work out so well.

I had put together my playlist so that once I got close to the turnaround I would have an extra musical boost. I may or may not have been singing and dancing a little when Ke$ha and Pitbull came on.

I'm pretty sure I was not actually singing out loud, which was probably even weirder.

On the return half of the run, I felt like I was not seeing many people, meaning the majority of people were ahead of me.  Despite my plan to let go of my PR hopes, I was still stubborn motivated to try for it.  I had my Garmin set to show my average pace, and knew that if I got it to 9:09 per mile I would cross the finish in 1:59:59.  I was edging the seconds off of my 10:45 pace, though the wind picked up, especially on the uphills.

I mean, there was a SERIOUS head wind.

For SIX AND A HALF miles.

When I looked at my watch and realized I would have to run the last 3 miles in 16 minutes, I knew it was time to let go of the PR dream.  Still, at the end, I decided to just give it all I had.  Through the beautifully scenic last mile:

I became focused on running as fast and smoothly as possible. I put my game face on.

And then promptly broke out of it to take a "good" picture when I saw the race photographer.

I seriously need a jazz-hands intervention.  

Once I got past the last turn, I immediately got back down to business, and ran past TriGuy and across the finish line.

After trying to convince TriGuy that I did not, in fact, need a piggyback ride to the car, I limped to the sidewalk and stretched while waiting for him to drive over to me.  

I finished the 2014 Heroes Half Marathon in 2:13:25 , a far cry from my 2:04 finish last year, and an even farther cry from the ever-elusive sub 2:00.

For now, I can be happy that:

A) I finished, even with a wonky hip
2)  I beat the average pace by 5 minutes (there were lots of walkers), and
C) I placed 29/66 in my age group

And at least it didn't rain...

Oh, look what I just did there:

Stay tuned.

UPCOMING POSTS: YOGA, SOMETHING MAYBE TO DO WITH RAIN, VISITING A RUNNING GURU