I survived the 2009 AC-T Half Marathon

This morning’s half marathon was a tough one. The course was new – and much hillier. The race director actually blogged at one point that there were several hills that should be walked up (or that we could benefit from walking up, rather than trying to run.)

This is a video of the course:

I felt ok this morning. I went into this race knowing that I was using as a training run and that I would not kill myself over it….yet I wish now I could have pushed myself harder.

There were 1000 people at the start and it was insane. The first mile was ok, and mile 2 was good. I realized I was averaging under 9 minute miles, and that’s fast for me. At the start of mile 3, we were in the middle of a steep incline, so I walked. Right after mile 3, I started feeling shooting pains in my shin. That caused me to walk even more.

Things went well until just after mile 9, and a girl said, “the next mile marker is at the top of the hill!” Too bad that hill that was 3/4 of a mile long. I knew then that the race was over for me. There was a group of women at the top of the hill on Bernard Street that were very encouraging, and I could have used them the rest of the race!

There was a lot more support this year, than in previous years. That was great. The weather was great, but the hills killed me.

And get this….my husband PR’d on this course. How in the world??

Photos were taken of me, but that photographer hasn’t emailed them to me. Hopefully I can get them by next week.

My next race is Kiawah, and I’m hoping this bad race didn’t just psych me out for the next one.