Oak Tree Half Marathon Recap

I did not run the half in under two hours. My official chip time was 2hours 13 minutes 5 seconds (10:10/mile) for a 176 place out of 275. And 14 out of 21 in my age group. And I also did not run the whole way. I walked. . . a lot.

But that's okay. Because it ended up I was running on these babies.

Yup I'm so hard core. I think the scariest part was not knowing what was underneath the socks. 

I think this started happening after mile 5. Around then, it felt like I was running on fire. The first five miles were a breeze.

When everything was speedy and happy. 

I was running way to fast and tried to slow down, but it felt really good. Then, blisters started forming. I blame the slippery, dusty trail. So I thought I would take my first GU. WORST IDEA EVER! The taste wasn't bad. But it was too sweet and sat in my stomach heavily. And definitely no magical energy surging through my body that I was expecting.

And somehow, I slugged through 5 more miles. I walked up some hills and ran down. The worst part was trying to run on my feet. I completely lost any semblance of form. Normally I am a fore foot striker. Well, during the majority of the race, I was striking heavily on my heels to try to avoid blisters especially on the trail portions with lots of pointy rocks.

Thankfully, near the end, I met this awesome fellow runner, Ali, who also blogs. Her blog is cool but she is even cooler. I ventured to talk to her because she told everyone who passed her good job. Way more gracious than I will ever be. But that made the last 5K bearable.

We were smart. Instead of taking an energy drink which came in disposable cups, we took water and kept the cups. 

She also finished super strong. I tried to keep up with her, but by that point, my feet really hurt. so I took it easier until the last half a mile. I really pushed then, and started passing tired people. At the last 0.1 of a mile, this man tried to pass me. I didn't let him. I finished in a full out sprint and promptly forgot Ali's advice to pump my fist in the air when i finished. Instead I looked something like this

I know, super attractive. 

Blurry sprint to the finish

Even though, I didn't do as well as I liked, I already knew that I lacked training on hills. Unfortunately the whole course was hills. And I know that my training hasn't been a waste. Even though I wasn't running for speed, by the first 5K, I was already faster by a half a minute than my previous 5k. I am certain that if I was running a 5k, I would have blown my PR by a minute or more.

And despite the terrible time I had running and all the pain that I still am in, I can't wait for a redemption race. Currently, I am considering the Fabius Bread for Schools Run. It's a half in a month and just as hilly. Damn you central New York and your hills!!!!

What do you guys think? Should I sign up for another race?