Yesterday was the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, which I have run in for the past seven or so years. Each year, my goal is to improve my time from the year before. This year, however, I have struggled through several of my training runs plus I was sick two weeks before the race, resulting in not being able to get in a few key work outs. Then, on race day morning, I wake up to crazy, insane winds! My mom came up to watch Amy for us so that we didn’t have to get her up so early (we left the house around 6:15am) plus we didn’t really want her in the windy, cold weather. Kurt dropped me and Emily, Kurt’s niece, off downtown and then headed to our friends’ house, Phil & Laurie. They walked to where they stand every year to cheer me on when I pass them. Then, Kurt heads back downtown after awhile to pick me up. I am so grateful that he is willing to drive me downtown every year because I think I would completely stress out about parking if I had to drive myself! Plus, I absolutely love to look forward to seeing someone a little less than half-way through the race. It gives me motivation and I love how they cheer me on!
While standing in line for the start of the race, there were wind gusts of 20-30 mph. The wind tore right through me and I was so cold!! However, once I started running, I warmed up fairly well, though my hands were chilly throughout the race. I was able to give Kurt my vest when I saw him and I was fairly comfortable except for the occasional gust of wind. I kept waiting for the wind to change directions and give me a "push" toward the finish, but I never really felt it! Overall, I finished in 1:52:57, which is a very slight improvement from my time last year (last year I finished in 1:53:34). The last two miles I really struggled and wondered if I would be able to finish. It is at these times that I think it is so foolish to even consider trying a full marathon! So, overall, I feel that this race was a good experience - it was a reminder that training doesn't have to be perfect and I can still finish the race.
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