It’s Almost Over

Here we are, only two days away from the Cox Providence Half Marathon! After five months of training and running my little heart out, I finally feel ready. I know that I will be able to run 13.1 miles on Sunday and not feel like dying once I cross the finish line. I can’t wait for that victorious feeling to sink in, that I, not a runner girl, just ran half of a marathon.

Me and my running buddy, Jess, who’s running the half marathon with me on Sunday.

Whenever I used to hear about or see people running any sort of long distance, I used to think, “they must be a runner and it just comes naturally for them.” You know by now that this is not the case for me, not even a little bit. Running has always been something that eluded me for the longest time. I would try, maybe too hard, and end up suffering from a day-long asthma attack. I would get discouraged and never want to run again. Heck, I was on the track team in high school and taught myself how to throw the javelin just to get out of running a two mile warm-up around the surrounding neighborhoods!

When I competed in the triathlon two summers ago, I had to run a 5k. The day of the race, I had never run further than 3.1 miles. Coming to think of it, even after my Halloween 5k and my Thanksgiving 5k, I had never run further. It wasn’t until I set my sights on this race that I ever mustered up the courage to run even 4 miles. I know it sounds cliché but if I can put one sneaker in front of the other and run a half marathon, so. can. you. All you have to do is be patient and start slow. Don’t set out for a run your first time.  Do the couch to 5k plan first, it will build up a great base for further distances.

Coldest day of.my.life. The HoBooKen 5k on Halloween weekend when we had a freak snow storm.

So here’s the thing…despite the fact that I’ve run four races and am about to run 13.1 miles, I still don’t consider myself a “runner".” Weird, right? I can’t bring myself to raise my hand in yoga class when the instructor asks if there are any runners in the class. Maybe it’s because I don’t really have plans for any more serious races after this. I guess I think that “real” runners are always looking for the next big race or competition. Sure, I’m doing a local 5k in June and potentially a mud run in July, but I don’t have plans to ever do another distance past a 10k. Maybe the running bug will bite me during the half, but I just don’t see it happening. I didn’t ever wake up on a Sunday morning excited for the miles ahead of me (unless they ended with a big breakfast and mimosas ). Don’t get me wrong, I still plan on running once this is over. I have big plans to become much faster with a couch to 10k plan, which I’ll share later. I am really proud of myself for building up this endurance and I don’t ever want to lose it and be back to where I was 3 years ago.

For now, that’s all I have to ramble on about . I will be back on Monday with my last Rhode Scholar blogging ambassador post about how the race went. Wish me luck!

Getting out of my comfort zone

Hey guys how’s it going? Not much is new over here, except for running. I went home to RI for Easter weekend and while I was there I ran a 10k…over a bridge!

This wasn’t just any bridge, it was a 2.5 mile bridge connecting Jamestown to the mainland of Rhode Island. Take a look at this puppy.

(Source)

Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind the whole day before. I was not-so-quietly freaking out about the fact that I had to run over a bridge. First of all, I hate bridges. I hate driving over them, I hate thinking about them, I hate looking at them. So that’s where half of the nerves came from, and the other half came from the fact that I didn’t think my body would be able to carry me over the bridge twice.

My mom always says that a positive mental attitude is 90% of achieving anything. So Friday night, I started using that PMA to get myself ready for the race. I laid out my outfit the night before and got a good night sleep.

One thing I was excited for was the swag; mainly the tek tee and the bunny ears! We wore the bunny ears throughout the whole race and it gave me a sense of community, which made the race a whole lot more fun.

Nervous nelly on the right the morning of.

We had beautiful weather that day, although it was a bit cool. 

And you know what, the race wasn’t half bad! Despite the butterflies that were circling my stomach all morning, as soon as the first ascent started, I knew I was going to be just fine. And my second realization? I’m not nearly as afraid of bridges as I thought I was! Check out this pic I snapped from the very top of the bridge, it doesn’t get more beautiful than that!

I’m so lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful place-I can’t wait for the summer!

After all the worrying and psyching myself out, we made it to the finish line and didn’t feel like we were going to die!

I even had energy left to sprint the shoot!

Who’s that girl haulin’ some serious a**? Just me!

Thanks for the photo Capstone!

So the name of this game was conquering fears. And you know what? You may find you’re not actually as afraid as you thought you were! Facing those fears is the only way to ever overcome them and grow.

Oh hey, the running bunnies survived!

We finished the race in 1:10 (gun time, I think we were a minute or so faster if they used our chips instead). Not the speediest race ever run, but at least we didn’t walk for a second!

Hey look, there are people behind us on our way up!

So now that it’s been a little bit of time since the race, I have had time to fit in quite a few more runs, I am feeling far more confident in my running ability. Last Sunday’s run was an 11 miler, my longest run to date. Sunday’s forecast called for nothing but rain, so there was talk of changing the run to sunny Saturday.  I decided I needed to become familiar with running in the rain, in case the Cox Providence Half Marathon ends up with weather more like this:

Fingers crossed that’s not the case, but if it is, I feel ready because I did my 11 miler in the rain.  I actually had a good time.  I never got hot and it was kind of fun avoiding the rain puddles. Another benefit? When it rains, people tend to stay inside. Hooray for nearly empty streets, which is a rarity in my little city!

So there you have it, an update on all things running. I decided I should taper the week before the race, so I am only doing 6 miles this Sunday, instead of 12 like I had previously scheduled. And once that run is over, I’m having a huge home cooked breakfast and declaring my training for the Cox Providence Half Marathon (and my first ever half marathon) over! (Save for a Zumba class or two I plan on taking the week before.)

What fears have you overcome recently? How did you face them head-on?