Goals

Well....

Yesterday I completed my fitness goal for the month. I had been training for the KC half marathon for a few months and yesterday was the big day.

The KC course is one of the hilliest courses ever and after running the full course last year I was anxious about running all those hills again. They really did me in last time.

The first big hill took us up Kessler toward the Liberty Memorial and only getting a short break we were then running up the hill by the Penn Valley Dog Park. Phew!! I overheard a woman coaching her running partner during the first hill and she said to just lean forward and shuffle. That was great advice because I usually try to take big strides up the hill thinking I will get it over faster....but leaning forward and shuffling made it seem more doable and definitely not as taxing and I was able to stay right on pace despite the smaller steps.

During the course I had some great support from family which is one of the most amazing things they could do for me. I don't know if they know, but having them there cheering me on pushes me just that much harder and makes finishing easier. I loved seeing them out there and looked for them at every turn. I feel so lucky to have such great family support.

So, I set out to get to the finish in under 2 hours and with the help of two amazing women runners by my side the whole time, I made it in one hour and 54 minutes.

Those girls kept me going, knowing they could do it, made me believe that I could do it....even when I wanted to stop. Hitting mile 10 was a really big point for me, knowing only a measly 3 miles stood between me and the finish line, stopping at that point was not an option...so I pressed on.

It was a cold day and my body felt that the rest of the day. I was sneezing and just plain worn out the rest of the evening.

Next, I think Hospital Hill is on the agenda for us....So i have until April to get nervous for another big race day. I think I'll try for 1 hour and 50 minutes.