More Moments: East Texas Half

Disclaimer: I kind of rambled about running prior to the actual info about last weekend's race, but feel free to skip the end where the pictures are.

In Winter 2010, Mike and I signed up for our very first 5K. It was the Race for the Cure - Fort Worth. My best friend had formed a team in honor of her aunt who was fighting the disease at that time. I had wanted to find a way to shed a few pounds and change my post Mikaela body shape. Mike took to it rather quickly. We both did the Couch to 5K plan. I remember that first race, just wanted to run the entire thing. It took me almost 40 minutes. Mike ran it much faster than I did, but it was a great experience for us both.

We would continue to run off and on (me more off than on) for the next several months. I didn't have a treadmill or access to an indoor track at the time so once it got hot, I pretty much stopped running. Mike is crazy and loves the heat, so he was a little more consistent. As the weather cooled, the running increased but the 2011 car wreck would result in a broken ankle for me, ceasing running for the foreseeable future.

I was cleared to resume running about the time the heat index crept up, so again running was slow for me until fall. Then in Fall of 2011, we both kicked up our running. Mike made it his goal to run a 5K every month and I think he met it. Most of them were actual races, but a couple of months he just blazed his own trail around the neighborhood. I joined him for a few, but becoming pregnant with Nicholas slowed my running. I still ran some while pregnant, but as much as I could have.

After his birth, and a few months to adjust to life as a mother of two, I started back up to run. This time I had a treadmill so that would help with weather or the fact that I sometimes could only run when kids were sleeping which meant running on the treadmill or outside in the dark. Treadmill please. Mike started having back issues Jan 2013 which would result in surgery the following May. He wouldn't be able to resume running for a year, May 2014.

So... we set out again, feeling as though we basically started over, to become "runners." I ran a 5K in May this year. Not my fastest time, but a good kickstart to my runs. Mike never signed up for a formal run, but toured the neighborhood often.

Then one day this advertisement came across my news feed, "East Texas Half Marathon". I noticed it would take place in Nacogdoches, TX. They already had the trail marked, which would include several familiar places to me from my college days. I'd been toying with the idea of running a half someday, so I decided this was the one for me. So last July, we signed up. Official training started in September. Some weeks were harder than others, but we made it work.

And last weekend, we ran our first half marathon through the streets of Nacogdoches, TX. I had such a great time viewing all the places from my college days and seeing a few places I didn't know.

Mike said he had to walk more than he wanted to, but still finished with a good pace. I didn't walk at all (except for one very steep hill before mile 12) but a cramp kept my pace slow. I had three goals for this race:

1) Run the entire thing
2) Run with an overall pace under 13:00 min/mi
3) Finish in under 2 hr 30 min.

I met goal one (if you don't count that hill, which I don't). I met goal two with a pace of 12:35. I did not meet goal 3. I was 14 minutes over. Official time: 2:44:57. I'm disappointed, but it was still great for my first race. It was very cold and there was a constant drizzle the entire time. Not ideal, but I like the cold so I didn't mind too much.

I don't know if and when I'll do another half, but I do have a 15K in February. Right now my left foot is pretty sore (overcompensation due to the cramp in my right leg during the race). I tried to do an easy run yesterday and my foot yelled at me for it. So... unfortunately, I'll have to take a break for a couple weeks. Praying it heals quickly!

So here are photos from Race Day. We thought we took one of us after the race, but apparently it didn't take and we were too tired and cold to notice until we got home. Oh well.

Enjoy!

course map

start/finish

campus sign we ran past

campus student center we ran past

All along the way were all kinds of signs spectators were either holding or had left along the path (in front of their houses or what not. Some signs read:

"Stop reading and keep running."
"This seemed like a good idea 4 months ago."
"Go Stranger Go!"
"Toenails are for sissies."
"Chuck Norris never ran a half-marathon."