This race is seriously deceptive…Hospital Hill gives you a shirt that says “I conquered THE hill”. Right, so I did no research and assumed that meant there was one large hill that really blew…uhh no. The purpose of this course it to be hard and hilly, so you are at hill number three by mile 2…but hey it finishes on a downhill!
MORNING
I was a little bummed because no one wanted to come cheer me on…seriously parents, David…I think I run so much they don’t get how different it is on race day and how much that support means. Too bad, by 6AM eyes half open I was happily parking and David did decide to come with me. Possibly for fear of suffering stony silence if he didn’t, but who knows.
PRE-RACE and POST-RACE posing because I couldn’t decide what else to do.
Turned out to be about 75 and WAY humid, which was bizarre because I swear I wasn’t in Miami! I did feel bad for the local KC racers because they haven’t had time to adjust to this weather so it was far worse for them.
MENTAL HURDLES
I have to admit running another race by myself, I found myself doing some way too serious thinking. Around mile 3 as I was still trying to hold my pace steady about 8:50… I was thinking I am just too afraid to push it harder and find I don’t have any thing left at the end. But if I never push it, then I’ll never know what I can do. About that time I decided to just go and see what would happen…um I would bonk, just so you know.
Mile 10 I was thinking I hate racing, I hate pushing myself to that uncomfortable point and then knowing I have to hold that or pick it up to meet some goal.
Mile 11 I was thinking to hell with Seattle, I’m walking that damn marathon if I feel like it
Mile 12…holy shit this was the hardest race course I have run and I might just PR, LET’S GO!
POST RACE
I was thinking there is no way I can do 4 hours in Seattle…or wait…is there. If you look at the things stacked against me in this race, I did pretty damn well!
A. Last weekend was my longest training run at 21 miles
B. It should be cooler and less humid in Seattle
C. I’ll actually have people running with me
D. Seattle isn’t quite so hillly as this
So who knows I guess we shall see what happens. I am really proud of myself for how this race went, but I’m sure as hell never signing up for it again! Finished in 1:55 which I still need to look…but might be a tie for my PR or best by 10 seconds.
THEN it was POOL TIME!! I was soooo happy to see our friends for the entire afternoon!
Gratitude Journal
June 6
I am grateful for good friends
I am grateful for their amazing potluck food
I am grateful for hubby grilling
I am grateful for things working out with our rental
I am grateful for beautiful weather for the pool part
congratulations for doing such a great job on a humid and hilly course
AWESOME job Amanda. And love the skirt!
The pre and post run poses are equally upbeat, looks like you could have run another half… Congratulations!
CRACKING UP!! Running my Marathon yesterday I kept thinking, I wonder if Amanda will be OK switching to the half. LOL!!! I say we TRY and if it all goes to HELL we just have fun.And FYI it is hilly and was 75 at the Finish last year…not very humid though.HUGS will see you soon friend.You are stinkin ADORABLE!!
You are definitely going to make 4 hours! You can do it!!I have that same pink shirt. The V chafed a scab on my chest yesterday during my marathon. Boo.
Wonderful job! Way to run past your self-doubts. A sub 4 hours is YOURS for the taking :)
Congrats on a great race!!!!!! You are going to do wonders in Seattle
Woohoo! Congrats on your race…you did awesome! I love your pre/post race pics! And, your skirt is super cute (I have the same one)! :)
Nice job!! I've heard that its a pretty rough course and on top if the temp and humidity didn't help!! So awesome work:)
congrats on the race! you did such a great job, especially with all those hills lady! wow!
Congrats on your race despite the weather conditions. You will do well in Seattle. Love the pre/post race pictures – cute!
Congratulations! That's an amazing time on a super hilly course! I'd feel good going into Seattle…you did have a lot stacked against you this race and you performed incredibly well. It's great to read about what was going through your head during the race. I'm always so curious to hear what other runners think about while racing.
Congrats! You did great! I always think the same things when running races, especially half Marys.
Good job. I think you will be great in Seattle. And I agree on the "pool time"!
Great job on the half! I am sure Seattle will be cooler and you will enjoy it more!
we didn't get there nearly as early as we had planned and by the time we went to the bathroom it was time to line up. i'm so sorry we missed you before and after the race! you had an awesome time!
Great job! you pushed through a lot and did great!! i'm glad you got to see friends afterwards, too. sounds like a great time!
Great job Amanda, you should be proud!! Love the pix. I think you'll do great in Seattle! Have a great week!
great racing a hilly course. Glad you got to relax at the pool in the afternoon. It probably felt great.
Congrats Amanda, awesome race. I love the posing pictures!
Great job on such a crazy race! You'll do awesome in Seattle.
Nice job and very cute pics! I've run a race with no one watching me too. It was kind of a bummer, but still fun.
love all of the happy photos….I think you're right about the heat when you get to Seattle, keep thinking positive! Great job!
Congrats Amanda! Sounds like a tough race for a number of reasons. Way to hang in there and pull it together for a (maybe?) PR in the end. Seattle, here we come!!!
Nice work!! You kicked booty and I love the pics, I have ran races all alone and it's not too fun, but way to rock it!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Congrats on a great run, despite the heat and hills! Way to go! :)
Congrats on a great race!! You pics are so cute, and you will do amazing in Seattle!
Humid and hilly? Congrats on a great run!
Congrats on a tough run! You'll love Seattle. With the weather we've been having here lately, I'm sure it's going to much cooler for you.
Fantastic job…as usual! I am no fan of hills…
I wanted to run this race but was out of town:( Hope you had fun back home!
How is it that you look more fresh and full of energy after your race than before!! Way to go for sticking with it and finishing with a great time!
Congraats! That is an awesome time. Keep it up :)
maybe the shirt should now be changed to read 'you conquered the hillS and humidity!" :) Awesome job on the race!
I have heard horror stories about that course! You did great!
I hadn't done any research either. So glad I resisted the temptation at mile 2 to ask people around me whether we had done "the hill" yet – they would have laughed in my face!At mile 4, I heard a guy tell his running buddy that the hill we were running up was not, in fact, "the" hill. So I knew there was something particularly gruesome in store. (I guess "the" hill is the really long one by UMKC.)Oh well; now we know! Congrats on the PR!
Awesome job Amanda! We could run together:) My best for a half is 1:54! You did fantastic with hot weather and all…way to rock it! I love the pictures! You look great!
You look so smiley all the time! Well done. :o)
Congrats on a good run! I ran the Hospital Hill Half Marathon a couple years ago and it can definately make you bonk. I wasn't quite trained for it and lets just say the second half about killed me. But seems like you were pretty well trained and did a fantastic job. Keep it up and good luck in Seattle!
Nice job on the half marathon, girl! You are a rockstar!
Nice job!!! HH is such a hard race. All things considered, I totally think that you should go out and try the 4 hr race @ Seattle. What do you have to lose?!