Running race 2:19:00 [3]
Before we knew about the Stars MTB-O, Hermes and I had signed up for the Run Blue Mountains half-marathon as an excuse to get together for a weekend in Thornbury. At the time, a road half-marathon seemed like a good idea! We were both disappointed when we saw it conflicted with the MTB-O but the race entry was steep enough that we didn't want to forego it.
My longest road run this year was a 10K in January, so I suppose it was fortunate that we had winter-like conditions on Sunday morning in Thornbury! After much debate about whether or not we should just stay inside and drink coffee, we headed over to the Community Centre which was a convenient 5-minute walk from Hermes and g-stix's place.
I had no expectations for this run other than not to hurt my legs too badly. Looking back at my time and how I felt at the end, I am sure I could have pushed much harder (as usual), but at the time I was quite content to just trot along as the wind and snow pelted my face. I had forgotten how mentally challenging road running could be when you don't do it on a regular basis. Within 3km I was so bored! The course itself wasn't super inspiring, although the last 5km were a bit more twisty and turny and scenic and I enjoyed them the most.
The good: my pace was consistent throughout and I felt I got stronger as the race went on. My last km was my fastest and I passed four runners in the last 500m. I had four scoops of Tailwind and continue to be impressed with this product - it just seems to give me consistent energy and agrees with my stomach. Today, my legs feel fine, which is further reinforcement of the value of the strength training I've been doing but also tells me I didn't run that hard, so...
The less good: I know I can run a lot faster than this but have trouble tapping into the part of my brain that I need to in order to want to run harder!
Overall, the weekend was a smashing success. Hermes and I tooled around in Earl on Saturday afternoon, we had a tasty dinner at the Bruce Wine Bar, got some accessories for Earl at Home Hardware and visited Northwinds Brewery. She also kicked ass, finishing 2nd female and 1st in her age category. And she won a delicious, delicious pie!