Save the Lighthouse-Folly Beach Half Marathon

You have to train for EXTRAORDINARY performances...the EXTRAORDINARY doesn't just happen because you are fit...it happens because you planned to be EXTRAORDINARY...author unknown but some encouraging words sent to me race week from my coach.

I am very happy to report that my race plan played out perfectly.  I am not one to set a "goal" at a race, but going into this race I decided to try to make this my fastest ever.  I knew I could run 13 miles, the question was could I push myself enough to reach this goal...With the help and guidance of my coach, I did just that and it felt awesome!!  I knew that I was ready for this race, I've had great training runs & been able to hit all my paces...Goals take commitment & hard work and I'm so glad I was able to reach it and the hard work paid off!!  Here's how my race plan unfolds...

We head to Folly Beach on Friday...the race jitters were already upon me.  I have run this race in my head numerous times all week!  I had set a "goal" for this race, I wanted to PR this race & I knew I was trained and ready to do that.  I told myself all week to not be disappointed if it didn't happen but to give it everything I had to make it happen.  I LOVE training & having a training plan, I can usually do without race day...RACE day for me is stressful & my nerves go wacko!!

We meet up with the Fowlers and head to packet pick up.  We also find out that they have changed the course this year, meaning we have 2 loops out to the lighthouse, which also means we have 2 loops with the WIND right at us!  They also added a 100m section of fluffy sand (which did give us a great view of the lighthouse) Oh boy, wind-my least favorite race condition!  I remembered the section running out to lighthouse from last year and wasn't real excited about having to do that twice...I knew I was going to have to gain some seconds on the turn around to be able to hit my goal.
We ate dinner at Taco Boy and turned in early.

The race start time was not until 8:30 so we had plenty of time to change race day outfits fifty times before making our final decision...Ha!Ha!  It was 37 degrees with 13-14mph winds.  None of us were in any hurry to get to the start real early.  Love being able to walk to the start line.

Trey was not as trained for this race as I was so his plan was to stay with me for about 6 miles or so to try to help keep me on pace and then drop back if he needed to.  We ran a little before, even did some stride pick ups to help loosen up and hopefully warm us up a little.  It was COLD.  There is not an official starting mat at this race so before I even had the chance to think and stress about "am I really going to be able to do this?", I was running and the race had started.  My overall pace had to be 8:24 to reach my goal and here I go...My plan was to start out about 20 seconds or so slower in the beginning to get settled in and let the crowd spread out and take it from there...

Mile 1 - 8:34 (made it through the crowd)
Mile 2 - 8:28 (small race so it was easy to get settled in quickly)
Mile 3 - 8:32 (toward the end of this mile came the wind)
Mile 4 - 8:37 (into the wind & sandy section)
Mile 5 - 8:14 (wind at our backs-taking every advantage but holding back some)
Mile 6 - 8:19 (still loving the wind at our back, but still hesitant to push too hard)
Mile 7 - 8:20 (enjoying the view of cute beach houses before heading back out for Round 2)
Mile 8 - 8:34 (hello wind, it felt even stronger the second time)
Mile 9 - 8:23 (I must have found a burst of energy here)
Mile 10 - 8:36 (last turn around through sand here)
Mile 11 - 8:03 (time to start digging deep & end this party)
Mile 12 - 7:54 (it still seems strange to look down & see a 7 something mile)
Mile 13 - 7:50 (BOOM)

The course was long...13.23miles....1:50:05
I DID IT!!!!  I now have a new PR and I've never been able to run that fast at the end of a half marathon!!!  I felt good the whole time!  Trey ended up running the whole race with me, I'm still not sure how this dude ended up pulling that off but I loved having him there by my side.  He was as proud of me as I was.  I really like a "loop course" as well, I LOVED seeing all my friends out there along the course!

We hung around and waited for the awards and Good Lord guess who got 3rd in her age group????  ME winning an award at a half marathon!! I grabbed my coffee cup award with a huge grin of satisfaction & pride...because I knew how hard I had worked for this.

3rd Place Age Group
45-49 yr old

We had some celebratory food and drinks at Rita's with friends...that's a perfect ending to a great race!

Once you've achieved a goal, it's time to start over with a new one.

Next up:  Parris Island Sprint Tri