April & May Races

It's been a busy few weeks and I am way behind on race reports. I still haven't written up my marathon which was in March. I will get to that. Here is a quick recap...

National Marathon- It was a great day to run, the weather was in the low 40s and the sun came out. I definitely ran too fast at the beginning and crossed the 13.1 mile mark at exactly 2 hours. I was already suffering. There were 8000 people in the race and 6000 of them were running the half marathon so once they finished the course was pretty lonely. I didn't fall apart completely, but did feel pretty bad between miles 20-25. I never wanted to quit though. I had raised over $5,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and that was pushing me on towards the finish line. Once I got to 26, I felt a burst of energy (where was that a few miles before?!?!) and ran across the finish line in 4 hours 22 minutes. Not bad for my first marathon. I am still convinced that I will never do another solo marathon, but who knows. I know I can run 26.2 miles faster than that.

Tampa Bay Marathon Swim- 24 mile relay with my friends Jen & Jana. It was an incredible day out in Tampa Bay. We each swam about 8 miles and finished in 10 hours 48 minutes. More later.

Columbia Triathlon- It was a great day to race. The rain held off and the temps were cool and no humidity! My goal was just to finish. It never really crossed my mind to try to "race" this one. Even on the swim. I know I'm not in ideal swimming shape so I just drafted off some girls in my wave from start to finish. I was 3rd in my AG out of the water and the 23rd woman overall. Definitely not what I'm used to, but it was fine. I got to test out my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit in a lower intensity situation. I really like it! The bike was about what I expected. It sound crazy, but my whole goal was to not feel terrible at any point. I decided to relax up the hills and work the downhills/flats. A strange strategy, but it helped me get through it and still be able to run. I knew if I could get through the bike that I would be fine on the run. The plan worked. Though I added 17 minutes to my bike split from the last time I did the race, I felt great getting off the bike. I honestly thought that since I have not trained much on the bike at all that I would have added more time. Transition was interesting. My feet were frozen for the whole bike ride and I had trouble getting my shoes and socks on. From the moment I started running, I felt great! First mile (with the killer hill) was under 10 min! Mile 2 wasn't so great, my stomach started to give me trouble. It sorted itself out and by the time we exited the park, about mile 2.5, I was fine. I kept running at a comfortable pace and smiled the whole way! The last mile once you get over the last big hill in the park is awesome. All downhill and flat into the finish. I honestly felt better running that last mile than I have at this race any other year I have done it. I couldn't have been any more happy and my cheekbones hurt from smiling so much! Crossed the finish line, found Mollie and her boyfriend Jeff, got food, warm clothes and headed home. The funniest part is that when my fiance, also Jeff, got home from work after the race, he was heading out for a 2.5 mile run and I went with him and felt great!

Next up...
5/24- Reston Lake Swims (1 & 2 mile races)
5/31- Reston Sprint Triahtlon
6/14- Eagleman Triathlon (1/2 IM)

And the BIG race of the year....
9/20- Savageman 1/2 IM