Now that I have a few of these races under my belt, I can usually feel how this is going to go. Going into the Lake Fair half two weeks prior, I was nervous, but well rested and ready. For this one, I didn't rest as much as I should have, but that's OK. We started, and I felt pretty good. Lots of inclines in those first 6 miles. At 5 miles, I was at 53 minutes and feeling good, thinking this could be a PR day if I could keep it up. Especially knowing that that the second half of the race didn't have as many hills and inclines.
Little did I know....
At mile 5.5, my stomach started to hurt, and that's where the race took a turn for me. Long story short...I had to make two potty stops, and I was miserable pretty much the whole race. Final time was almost 2 hrs. 30 minutes, nowhere near a PR. 9 minutes slower than the last half marathon. UGH! I had to do a lot of walking, in addition to those two stops.
So what did I learn? I learned that half marathons ARE a big deal! I didn't treat this special at all. I ate any foods I wanted to, and didn't follow my normal morning routine. I also took a Power Gel at the 6.7 mile mark that I never had before BIG MISTAKE!
There is a part of me that really wants to redeem myself. I want to sign up for another half for a few weeks from now. But on the other hand, I think I need to take a break and really focus on just learning to love running again. I enjoyed all of my races this summer, but I am only happy with 2 out of four of them.
On to the next story...
So the following weekend, my husband and I went for a hike at Mount Rainier. Our goal was to get to Camp Muir, which is at 10,100 feet and is the base camp for those who plan to summit the mountain.
The hike starts at about 5,400'. It is basically straight up, and it's about 4.2 miles to Camp Muir. The first mile is mostly paved, but the incline is intense. The second mile is rocky and has some stretches of creeks and snow. Then you get to a place called Pebble Creek, and that's when "stuff" gets real. Then you start hiking the snow field, and it was tough. I did not have crampons on my boots, and next time, I will get them! It was crazy how slippery it was, even with good boots and trekking poles. My good friends had no problem without crampons, but I borrowed some for part of the hike, and they make a difference. When we got to 8,700 feet, my husband said, "I'm done," and honestly, I could have kept going or been done...either way. My husband was not in shape for this, he admits it. So we turned around while our friends went on. Nevertheless, we had an awesome experience.
But the best part of the day was GLISSADING! We brought garbage bags to slide down the mountain. That was a blast! I need one of those "Go" Cameras for next time. My husband tried to take footage, and the first part is sideways, but it gets better. My first time I tried glissading, I slid off the trail, so what you see on this video is me going a little slower figuring it out. Once we put the camera away, I figured out to tuck my legs in, sit back, and GO! Here's a video if you want to see it.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoVDbcxgq8Y
So anyway, I'm still doing things that I never thought I'd do in a million years and loving it! I am not where I had hoped to be fitness wise, but I'm still in it. Life happens, work happens, kids are busy...but as I always say, "I'M NEVER GOING BACK TO WHERE WAS!"
