This past weekend, I ran the Shoreline Half Marathon, which I was super excited about because pretty much everyone who runs it loves it. You start running by Lake Ontario’s Hamlin Beach Park, then continue on straight-flat-aways the entire course until you hit the finish line at Area 4 / 5 along Beach.
This was my second half marathon, so I’m comfortable with working up to that distance. And I’m constantly interviewing and talking with other runners and there experiences. I love this exchange very much! I get to ask them questions about their latest training routines as everyone is so unique.
I’d like to think that I train smart for race day—I know what to eat, what to wear, how much to sleep, and what to drink to feel prepared. But this time, pretty much everything went off like clock work. I made every possible strategic move necessary to PR and what other experienced runnerss tell me what to do and not do, and to be honest, I was pretty concerned about how things would go considering how diligent I’ve always been in the past.
Even though I’ve run only one (1) half marathon to know my body can handle the distance still is foreign to me, I always have a bit of a nagging voice in my head that says, What if I can’t? I mean, who doesn’t feel a little anxiety when they’re about to run a race? There is absolutely no shame in not setting a Personal Best– some run friends even recommend taking these runs as training runs for marathon races to get into better shape or run to finish and say they did it. Awesome! —but the truth is, I’m competitive and sometimes hard on myself. I want to run the whole thing, get a personal record every single time, and finish feeling like a million bucks. Possible? No. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking it. But Saturday, on my.mother’s birthday, YES. I PR’d and everything seemed to click. I know I’m new and have much, much to learn but Rome wasn’t built in a day and these things take time.
This time, knowing that I was totally prepared and did better than what I was going to strategically follow in my routine to a T made me really anxious before the race. I usually never know what to expect, but this time, anything could happen. My time was going to be my best, and that was kind of a lot to slswallow. I’m still reeling from the events of the day.
Regardless, I still got myself up the morning of the race and mentally prepared myself to run. And I’m glad I did: I learned an important lesson and the race was a success—despite a few minor roadblocks. I hold dear to me what I learn from others.
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