What one year can do...

Last year on Valentines Day I ran Half at the Hamptons 1/2 marathon along with a group of friends. It was a tough race, with frigid temperatures, snow and wind. It was my second 1/2 half marathon and I PRed with 1:54:change (after a 2:06 for my first 1/2). I remember feeling so nervous at the start line, thinking that I am going to start slowly and maybe run a 9min/mile pace. But I felt good, I felt great, and ran 8:00 miles for the last 6 miles or so. This race was a turning point for me in that it made me much more confident in my running abilities.

Today I wanted to run the same race again, but Chris and I had to catch a flight later in the day and so the timing was not right. My schedule called for a 13 miles @ 8:38. Sue C and I met up per usual and ran together 10 miles, including about 4 miles of hills. Sue C had a cold and she asked me to run the last 3 miles without her. Pace for the first 10 miles was 8:33. I did not have my Ipod with me, so my mind started wondering about the 1/2 marathon last year and about how I really wanted to run it this year as well. And then it downed on me. I am running a 1/2 marathon. And then I decided I have to run in faster than 1:54. So I picked up the pace, and ran 3.1 more miles of hills, for a total time of 1:48:change and pace 8:28. This is not a PR (1:44:06) but that was not the point. Most importantly I felt strong after the race and could have kept going.