Sunday, March 16, 2014

Lucky #7

Yesterday, I participated in the Team Ortho Get Lucky 21K (half marathon) in St. Paul. You may ask why my blog is titled "Lucky #7"?  The answer is that this was my seventh half marathon and why not make it a St. Paddy's day themed run as well!


A little chilly at the race start!
 
Awesome Friends and Supporters!
Team Ortho pulled through for another wonderfully organized race. The half marathon had over 2,000 runners in attendance. I stayed at the Doubletree in St. Paul which made for an easy 4-5 block walk to the race start and stress free race morning!  Even better yet, was the opportunity to take a WARM shower at the hotel after the 20 degree F race before driving home!

I signed up for this race partially because the mileage fit into my marathon training plan perfectly and partially because it looked so fun!!  My intention was to use the race as my long, slow distance run for the week. I also have been fighting an upper respiratory bug for the past week, so I just wanted to take it easy and get the miles in. However, I did end up pushing a little harder than expected. I guess running with thousands of people and race day adrenaline has that affect.  I went out with the 2:20 pace group, but ended up passing them on a downhill a mile into the race. I then ran with the 2:15 pacers for a while before passing them as well. I ended up with a finishing time of 2:14:19!  I was very pleased with my time considering the cold running conditions, wind, hills, and respiratory illness.

Another Finish, Another Medal


Running into a college friend who completed her first half marathon!  Go Beth!!!

I need to give a shout out to Great Steps Orthotics & Prosthetics for making this my first blister free half marathon with my orthotics!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  The problem wasn't such a big issue when my max mileage was only 13.1.  However, now that 26.2 miles is my goal, this is very important!! 
 
In other news, I signed up for my first Disney races (5K and Half Marathon) in Florida!  The races are quite some time away but I am super pumped for the race experience with friends!