a full year of running.

2010 Long Island Half-Marathon.  It's actually quite hard to believe that it was only one year ago that I ran my first ever race, the '09 LI Half-Marathon.  I've done so much running over the past year that it's really weird to think that it has literally ONLY BEEN A YEAR.  wow.

well, this run was most definitely not a great running anniversary for yours truly.  I've been on meds for strep throat for the past 10 days and had a hectic week and a half before getting sick in the first place.. aaaand have not run a single mile in more than two weeks.  After so many weeks off, ESPECIALLY after 10 days of being sick, one really needs to ease back into running, doing a few short recovery runs before going out for a long run.

note to self: a half-marathon is NOT a recovery run.

okay so yea, back to why this run was not the best.  actually, it was my first race all year where i literally thought "it's okay if i dont finish this."  ugh.  alright, here goes..

reasons the 2010 li half marathon was not fun:
1) 80 and humid (it was nuts.. people were passing out like crazy)
2) recovering from a long break from running due to busy schedules and damn strep throat
3) i rolled my ankle early in the race, VERY early in the race..
4) hip flexor started bothering me right after i rolled my ankle
5) only ONE water station up until mile 4 (RIDICULOUS!  water/gatorade should be at EVERY MILE!)
6) not enough water/gatorade for the rest of the race
7) were there always this many hills?  i swear, it felt uphill all the way until mile 10.

so yea, not really ideal conditions to be running a half-marathon.  at around mile 2 or 3, i started thinking that i wouldn't be able to finish.  i had never felt so crappy so early in any long distance race before.  it took so much mental strength to push myself to keep going.  i dropped my pace back about a minute and a half, keeping a very easy jog and walking at every water station.

with all things considered, i'm actually quite happy with my time.. and i'm very proud of the way i was able to push through the physical and mental pain i felt throughout the entire race.

not too shabby, Ms. B, not too shabby.

"your biggest challenge isnt someone else. it's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells 'cant!' ... but you dont listen. you just push harder. and then you hear the voice whisper 'can' ... and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are."