Carlsbad 1/2 marathon, January 25, 2009

Woo Hoo! We finally got the scanner working so now I can go back to being OCD and blogging in order!

On the weekend of January 25, I had one of the best getaways yet! It all started with a desire I have to run the New York City Marathon, which is the first weekend in November. A few years ago I tried to register, along with 90,000 others, and was not chosen from the lottery...bummer! This year I found out that you can qualify for guaranteed entry by running a marathon or half marathon in a sex/age required time! Once I learned you could qualify, the lottery sounded boring and I was up for the challenge. So I started hitting the speedwork hard and began looking for half marathon to run in under 1:37!! In some ways that goal seemed do-able and in others it seemed impossible. When it came right down it, I knew I needed to average a 7:24 pace, which is just a bit out of my comfort zone! I was very nervous!

A friend of mine told me of a group of girls going to Carlsbad at the end of January to run and stay in a beach house. A girls trip in tank top weather sounded ideal!! So I made a phone call to see if they had room for me, or as Tyler pointed out - I invited myself along!

After a week of a sick baby and very needy children, I was so ready for my girls weekend! The other girls were really fun and friendly and I felt totally comfortable and able to be myself around them. The day before the race we went to the race expo and then spent the afternoon shopping in the little shops around the beach house in Huntington. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was sitting on the pier above the ocean, by myself, and reading my book while I waited for my to-go carbo load dinner to be made by the restaurant.

Race day was ideal!! It was overcast with temperatures in the 60's. And all that ocean air made it so easy to breathe! I had signed up to run with a pacer, Luke, whose goal was 1:35, that way I had a minute or two to spare. Luke would run ahead and then come back. I figured out early on that if I just checked my pace and ran what felt good I'd be better off than if I tried to keep up with him. I started out feeling really good! Everytime I checked my pace I was around a 7:10 or faster and I was feeling really comfortable. I was just loving my music, the air, the scenery, and experiencing total running bliss! This picture was taken at the top of a pretty decent hill right before the half-way point where you made a sharp left u-turn and started heading back on the other side of the road! A little after the turn around I had to start fighting a little harder. Everytime I checked my pace I'd be closer to 7:30 and would have to kick it up a notch. Then I started getting some stomach cramping that just made it feel like more of a fight to stay strong. At mile 9 I had 32 minutes to go - "keep it under 8 minutes miles and I'm golden." At mile 11 I had 17 minutes, that's when I knew I had it, I just had to finish and I was really ready to be done! I crossed the finish line with an official time of 1:36:01! It wasn't easy, which made it feel like even more of an accomplishment-and this stay at home mom needs those every once in a while!

These are the fun girls I traveled with. Kelli Hustead, Debbie Zockoll, and Brenda Graff! These ladies all ran the full marathon. The brown patio in the background was the beachhouse we stayed in and the ocean was just across the parking lot to my left! Thanks for an amazing weekend girls.

When I got back I saw these posters my awesome kids had made for me! The girls did the one on the door and Cam did the one on the wall! What cuties huh!