Sub 2

I have enjoyed running (off and on) for about 8 years now. Some years I am more committed than others, and two of those years I did not complete a “bigger” race. My first race ever was a half marathon, the Rock N Roll St. Louis in 2011. I ran for fun, followed a program that just had the basic milage, and finished it feeling great with a 2:10 time. I LOVED it, and I was hooked. I ran another half the next year, 2012, a smaller but beautiful run (the Mother Road Marathon half), and got a 2:03:something and placed 3rd in my age group! (the beauty of a smaller race). I decided to do my first triathlon in 2013, which was a small one in Manhattan, Kansas. It was only a sprint distance, so 500 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and a 5k run. I really enjoyed training for that race and will some day do a half ironman triathlon (though probably when both of my kids are in school). I had my first child in the summer of 2014, and ran in a Go Girl Half marathon that fall. It was so hard, and I really was NOT trained well for it, but I was able to check it off my list and was proud to finish in under 3 hours, without injury. In 2015 I ran the St. Louis Half marathon again, along with the challenge of completing a 5k Saturday and the 1/2 on Sunday. It was fun, and I have no clue what my time was (for some reason that year is not online and they have stopped doing this run in St. Louis) but I think it was around 2:10?? In 2016 I had my second child (late summer) and though I did not complete any “big” races, I walked and ran more local 5k’s during that year than I ever have. 2017 was another year of smaller races plus I completed a couple obstacle races which were a lot of fun but still only 5k in distance. I decided at the end of 2017 that I was going to start running in half marathons again, so I started training and, since I do not do anything half way, I signed up for a series called the Heartland 39.3 Series. It is composed of 3 half marathons within a 3 month period in Kansas. My goal changed during that time, I really wanted to run a Sub 2 hour half and I was hoping to do it in one of those 3 races. Now, I fully understand the stress of running so much, so I decided to make the first two races training runs, and the last race I would go for time. Looking back I should have looked more at the course descriptions before I decided that (haha). I ran the first race in a 2:02:18, unintentionally; I felt so good, and my goal for that race was to have negative splits, but the coarse was relatively flat, and had great vibes. The second half was very close to that one (only a week in between), so I took that one easy, and still finished with a 2:11:12. The last half, I still thought I could break 2 hours, was super hilly, and I didn’t know until half way through that the pacer I was by was getting us there just over 2 hours (the one getting just under was way ahead by then). SO, I tried to catch up, and burnt out with a couple miles of rolling hills left. I finished with a 2:04:08. I signed up for the same series this year, and I recommitted to getting a Sub 2, found a new training plan (80/20 Running), and have had a blast training on this plan (more on this in a later post). This year I knew my goal was to attempt the sub 2 in the one I ran a 2:02 in last year (Rock the Parkway). The first half of the series this year though was in March, and in Liberty, MO. It was the most challenging coarse I have ever raced on! Luckily, I went in knowing it was going to be cold and hilly, and I was just running to get the miles in. I finished with a 2:18:15, and felt good throughout the whole course, despite the hills. Yesterday was the Rock the Parkway half, the second one of the series this year. It was perfect running weather, I stuck with the right pacer this time, and I already knew the course was great! I was diligent and stayed with the pacer until mile 9.5, then my friend and I decided to speed up slightly, still feeling great! I am happy to report that I finished with a 1:57:02!! I am ecstatic to have reached this goal, and though next year I will aim for a new time goal, I will just enjoy the last half of the series as a fun run! (BTW the next race, Running with the Cows, has a BUFFET for post-race eating, I highly recommend it). I also have one more major running goal for this year, but more on that later 😉