Random Race Recap: Fort Langley Historic Half 2012

Alright... so even Plan Z was not going to happen... After 10 days of being house bound, two failed attempts of going back to work, Sunday February 17th, to my dismay, I was a spectator at the Fort Langley Historic Half.

So instead of doing a race recap of this years race, I will do a brief recap of last years:

The Fort Langley Historic Half was my first experience with the half marathon... it was also my first race since elementary school where I cried the whole time while my Mom encouraged me... all the way up till the end when, naturally, I sprinted to the finish line (if only I had that back kick now). I didn't know what to expect as the longest distance I ran was 14 km, but I knew that I could do it. I started with the last group of runners, at the back of the pack. I had ran part of the course before work one day so I knew what to expect and allowed myself to get into a comfortable pace.

Due to the fact that I started in the last wave I was passing quite a few people, which felt great, and is it just me or does it feel absolutely fantastic to pass someone who appears to be so much more of a 'runner' than you? (this being said, the downside is when they pass you again). My friend Kelly had given me some gel's which I took just after the 10 km mark, right before a massive hill was coming, which turned out to be a good idea, bad idea- sprinting up a short steep hill, why? Because you truly do feel like vomiting and that is when my first mental panic attack of 'Can I do this' took place . I had done the 10 km in 56 minutes and my ideal/ultimate/dream goal was to come in under two hours. At this point I realized it might be possible.

The back half of this race is much easier than the first which was a huge benefit for a first half marathon.As the second half had a huge hill that you ran down, the flat parts that followed seemed rather boring (but still, looking at my watch I thought 'Hey, this may just happen'). By about 17 km's a small hill came, but at that point in the race it felt like I could have been running up Mt Everest! I had to walk this part which made it extremely hard to start back up again. At the end of the day I finished my first half marathon at 1:58 and was extremely thrilled to have come in under 2 hours. I didn't prepare much but had the confidence to know that I could finish it and the determination to finish strong. The weather was great, I wore the right clothing and fueled properly for this half marathon.

Fort Langley Historic Half 2012- Kelly (R) and I (L)

In looking back on this race it was the best I could ever expect a first marathon to be and I am disappointed in the sense that I couldn't partake in it again this year, but at the end of the day I have to take care of myself and look ahead to my Spring/Summer runs.

Being a spectator was great, it was neat to experience the other side and it was awesome to cheer on my friend who is normally at the end cheering me on. I was able to run the last km with her, and attempted to just help her keep pace, pick it up and I am happy to share that she CRUSHED her old PR! Literally, buh bye 6 minutes!!! Racing is fun, the energy and the atmosphere is so exciting and right now I'm doing everything I can to get myself healthy so that March 3rd I can officially start training for the Rock'N'Roll Seattle Marathon. :) Happy Wednesday!