LiveCentred Half Marathon

I ran the LiveCentred Half Marathon Saturday. It was a great day to run. It was cool, sunny and hardly any wind. This was the day to chase a PR. Unfortunately, I didn't chase a PR. While running on Friday, my right hamstring started to get tight. It hurt. I stopped and stretched off a set of stairs. The stretching seemed to loosen my hamstring up. I was able to finish my run without any more issues. 

With my hamstring not at 100%, I knew I wouldn't be chasing a PR. I was OK with that. My main goal of the day was just to finish, have fun and not injury my sore hamstring. When the race started, I felt pretty good. I ran the first mile in 8:25. I just kept telling myself to push it while I could. I was also prepared to DNF if I needed to. I was able to pass a few people and a few people passed me.

I was on pace for the first 8 miles, which thrilled me. I lost some momentum at the aid station around mile 9. The first volunteer offered me water. I took it. The second volunteer with the Vitalyte wasn't extending his hand with a cup. He was holding it down in front of him. I had to stop and grab it from his hand. Just because I take water, I also want Vitalyte too. I started running again after snatching the cup from his hand. But my pace wasn't the same. 

Before reaching Mile 10, I was disappointed to see a woman pass me. She didn't only pass me, she was running away. Unknown to me, that woman was a relay member. She was so much faster because she just started running about 4 miles ago. Around this same time, I was able to chase down another woman. As I passed her she said "Good job" to me. I didn't have the energy to say anything, so I gave her a thumbs up.

Even though my hamstring wasn't feeling the best, I was surprised how easy the hills felt. Since my treadmill has been out of commission for nearly six weeks, I have been running hills practically everyday. The routes I ran had so many hills. Going up the hills didn't take much out of me at all. That was a pleasant surprise. 

After crossing mile 11, I saw a woman in front of me starting to walk. That pepped me right up. I was hoping she would continue walking so I could pull her in. She did start running again, but started walking again with about 1.5 miles to go. The course turned us on a dirt road that lead us uphill. She was walking on the hill. About halfway up the hill, she started running again. I was able to cut down the distance to half, but I couldn't get any closer.  I picked up the pace a little coming towards the finish line. I finished the race in an unofficial time of 2:02:03. I was happy to finish the race without aggravating my hamstring.