02:18:43

So I just completed my second half marathon on Sunday! Let me tell you, it was very, VERY painful. I didn't walk away with any injuries, so that is good, but I did walk away with a few learned lessons.....

1.Lose some more weight. I think I need to drop about another 15-20 lbs to be a bit more comfortable running such long distances. Actually, 20-30 lbs seems more realistic to be able to eventually run a half in under 2 hours and then to reach my other goal of completing my first whole marathon. Can I lose 20 lbs by the end of this year? I certainly hope so. I just love food so much, I don't know if I'm motivated. Actually, strike that. I believe the pics from my race on Sunday should be more than motivation! They are downright scary. In fact, they remind me of this joke:

2. Stay with stability shoes. I should have just shelled out the bucks and got my usual New Balance stability shoes. They were just so boring and I saw a good sale on runningwarehouse.com that lured me in and they were PINK! Ugh, how dumb was I? The shoes for the most part were generally comfortable, but after such a long run, I wasn't loving how bouncy and squishy they were. For a "larger" runner like myself, it is a good idea to get a big ol' shoe. LOL. Whatever....

3. Holy cow, I am massively competitive when it comes to this sport. However,I obviously recognize my.....shortcomings. I cheered with earnest when I was at mile 4 and I saw the First Woman running past our group at mile 8 which was on the other side of the street. WHEW! She was running twice as fast and she looked good and more power to her. I, however, seemed to have saved my competitive nature for my friend who was running with *her* friend along side of me for most of the race. Whew, boy. They passed me at mile 11 and I had to almost admit defeat. I was so pooped! I almost started to cry which is just LAME under those circumstances and then I started having this horrible bout of depression and self-doubt. "I don't wanna run anymore! Ever again! Running SUCKS!!!!! Gah, my legs....whimper whimper....I wanna throw up. I HATE THIS." Very much an emotional roller coaster! Then at mile 12 I gave everything in me to speed up past them and I joked with my friend as I passed, "You wanna race?" She had mentioned she was going to speed up at mile 12 anyway. She didn't go faster and frankly, at that point, I was miffed she hadn't stayed with me through it all(even though I know I was in the wrong to expect that anyway.) So, again with all I had left in me, I kept pushing. They stayed within a few seconds of me and when I saw the finish line, I started to tear up and decided I was going to run faster than I had. So I did. I ran as fast as I could muster(which according to my results was only about a 10:12 mile) and I crossed before them (barely) and almost passed out! My friend was a bit irritated with me, and I didn't really care all that much. Lesson learned though, don't run with friends. At least for me, that is.

Also, I think I need to do a few more 5ks where it's light and fun and short and for a cause I believe in as opposed to the standard causes that big races tend to support. I'm not necessarily against those but I think I need these races to be more meaningful to me.

So, lessons learned:
Lose weight.
Pay for good shoes.
Don't run with good friends.

Unfortch, I kinda have to break the last one at least two more times this year. I signed up for a half in June with a group of women friends. It's downhill the entire way (dubbed the Fastest Half in the West) so I'm not too worried about making a good time. Everybody does simply because of gravity. Then, in October, I had promised a friend of mine I would run with her and her husband. It's the Rock&Roll LA again which I didn't love but there you go. We'll see. I don't think I will make this year's goal of doing a whole marathon and we're hoping for baby #3 sometime in the next year and a half? God willing of course. So the whole marathon will probably have to wait until after baby 3. Maybe I should do it for my 35th birthday or something. Hmmm....stuff to think about. I think I'm more motivated now to lose more weight, and try to get my half time down to under 2 hours. That in and of itself, will be very difficult and enough of a challenge.

Well, I'm very happy despite the negative feelings about part of the race on Sunday. It was a beautiful course and sentimental to me because I was born in Pasadena. The weather was just beautiful and a real treat. Sigh. The course was also very hilly which sucked, but I should have suspected that. Oh, yes!! Final lesson learned:

Pick a flat course. Ugh, so many dang hills! There were 5 significant ones and they were horrible.

So there you have it. I am very pleased to say I beat my previous time and now have a new PR(Personal Record).

Until next time....