Oak Barrel Half Marathon 2016

It has been 2 years since I have run the Oak Barrel Half Marathon and honestly, I wasn't sure how it was going to go.  The longest run that I did was 9.33 miles at the Special Kids 15k in March.  I remembered that this particular race had a huge hill named Whiskey Hill among many other smaller hills.  Whiskey Hill was the hardest hill on this course with a gradual incline at the beginning and a steep incline for the last quarter of a mile or so.  This hill lasted for a mile. Many people that run this race usually walk this hill so that they are able to save their energy for the rest of the course.  With the way my schedule for this year was, I was fortunate enough to be able to run a preview run the week before. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to when they started the preview runs.  It was 7.50 miles and it seemed to have gone pretty good.  I felt strong running the course and my overall pace was 9:24.  I ran up half of Whiskey Hill and walked the rest.  I was very pleased.

This is also a race that is very close to my town so I didn't have to wake up super early to be able to make sure that I got to the start line on time.  Unlike 2 years ago, there were some issues with parking since it had rained pretty good a couple of days prior.  It didn't have a chance to dry before race day.  This made it difficult since parking was limited in some areas.  By the time we were able to get close to the race site, we had to walk about 10 minutes or more to get to close to the start line.  Like always, I had to use the restroom and met up with a some friends that were also running the race.

This is the only pic that I got with some of my friends due to the time that I got at the race and finished using the bathroom.  From left to right is my friend JD and his wife, Mary, myself and my friend Rick.  I look so short compared to Rick in this picture and just now realized it. lol Anyway, not long after this picture was taken we all headed to the start line.  I had a goal in mind that I would like to finish in so before I left the house I made a brand new play list that I had never listened to before.  My goal was to finish in 2:15 or less so the play list was 2:12 something.  My plan was to finish before the music stopped.  If I was able to do that, I knew I would have PR.

After the Special Kids 15k, I remembered talking to my husband about how I felt like I was holding myself back since I kept trying to slow myself down when my body wanted to run faster. So as I approached the start line with hundreds of other runners, I made the decision to run what my body was telling me to. If I needed to slow down, I knew that my body would let me know. So I got my music ready and my Nike + app ready.  As I listened to opening announcements for the race, I could hear my heart start to beat faster and eventually I am not sure what was said other than the singing of the National Anthem.  After that we were off.

I did exactly what my body was telling me so my first mile wasn't too fast nor was it too slow.  I stayed with a group of people for a while and then eventually began to move into a faster group. I was feeling confident and pleased with my run so far.  Right before we came to mile 2, there were some photographers waiting to take our pictures.

This is a screenshot of me right before we made it to the first hill on the course.  I joked with my friend Leslie who does my hair and told her that my hair blends in with the trees.  She just did my hair the day before the race.  After this picture was taken, I continued on until we got to the first hill.  I was prepared for this hill since I ran the preview run the weekend before.  I felt that I did good running up and wasn't using too much energy as I was making my way up.  I have learned through the years that I have been running that you need just look down and pump your arms as you make your way up.  I don't get psyched out as bad if I do that rather than looking up.  I am also not putting unnecessary strain on my neck either.

After this hill, I made it to the first water stop. One of the best things about this race to me is the fact that there is an option for Gatorade or water at every stop.  I believe that this is due to the race being put on by a local running club and that makes a huge difference to me.  I got my Gatorade and continued on down.  The sun was starting to shine more and warming up very quickly.  I was quite thankful that I didn't wear a long sleeve shirt to start the race in and then have to worry about getting rid of it as I got hot.

Then we came to Whiskey Hill.  As I stated earlier, this hill starts out as a slow incline and then gets very steep the last quarter of a mile.  I ran up about .60 miles of it.  Which is an improvement from my run last weekend and the last time I ran the half. After that, I had to walk.  I usually am a little harder on myself than I need to be when I have to walk.  I have learned that it is more important to listen to your body than it is to try and push it.  Ultimately ending an injury that would prevent you from running at all.

Here is a picture right before I made the last turn to go up.  As you can see, it is very steep and the next part wasn't much better.  After getting up, I got my Gatorade at the water stop at the top of the hill and continued on my way.  I met my friend Cindy around this time.  We chatted for a little bit and I was telling her how I excited that I was of being to be run 94 days in a row.  I know that some might not find that as exciting as I do but I had to share my enthusiasm with someone.  I am extremely thankful that she was willing to listen to me.  She is someone that I met through running.

We proceeded to head up the next hill which marked about mile 6 or a little more.  I struggled up this hill a little bit but I kept telling myself that it wasn't Whiskey Hill.  I even told Cindy I was struggling and she was very encouraging.  There was another water stop at the top of this hill and as I have at every other water stop, I stopped to get some Gatorade,  Then I continued on my way.

Cindy and I eventually parted ways and I was on my own.  I was doing good and still felling pretty strong at this point beside running the hill earlier.  I was relieved to come to the nice downhill portion of the race. I saw my friend Paul who cheered for me as I proceeded downhill. For miles 8 & 9, I had a steady 8:50 pace.  I knew while I was running that I was running faster than what I normally was but my body was telling me that it was good so I kept going.

After these two downhill miles, the race started to become a blur. I was letting myself get wrapped up too much into the race.  Especially since my longest run was 9.33 miles at the Special Kids Race and this race was 3.8 miles longer than that one was.  I was beginning to panic. Thinking that I couldn't do it. Eventually I had to tell myself to shut up.  Anyone else ever have to do that?  I also was starting to run for the songs.  I would tell myself to run for the duration of the song that was playing at the time.  Finally, I got to the point that I was telling myself to at least make it to the next water stop and then I could walk while I drank some Gatorade.

Right before I made it to the next water stop I met my friend Mark.  He was doing awesome.  We didn't talk very much since we both were keeping a good pace that was not very conversational.  It was fine though.  We made it to the next water stop and got something to drink.  I walked a little longer through this water stop than I did the other ones. After this water stop, we had about 1.1 miles left to go.  By the time I got to mile 12, I had to once again text my husband to let him know where I was so I could be sure to meet him at the finish line.

I went ahead of Mark.  I was beginning to really struggle around 12.5 miles that as bad as I didn't want to I had to walk a minute.  This continued two more times but I had a nice runner that gave me the encouragement that I needed to push through.  I was also thinking about my buddy and was trying so hard to make him proud along with my kids and husband.

This picture was taken a little bit before I hit mile 13 and saw my friend Becca that goes to the church I use to attend.  My face shows a lot of mixed emotions here.  I was happy that I was almost finished and I knew that I was going to PR. I didn't know how to process how my progress was but it almost didn't seem real.  Then I saw my Friend Becca. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that she took the time to cheer for me as I rounded that last corner.

I am one of those runners that likes to sprint to the finish line.  So as soon as I rounded the corner, I took the opportunity to squeeze on the left of another runner and I sprinted to the finish line.  I saw the clock and started to cry.  This was by far the best half marathon that I have ever run and it wouldn't be until later that I would find out how much of a PR I got.

As you can see, I was extremely emotional. After crossing the finish line, I met up with my husband where I immediately burst into tears.  I was beyond excited that I accomplished my goal.  It felt so good to work as hard as I have been and it pay off in the end. When I met up with some friends, I was still crying a little bit.  I had sworn off half marathons before I ran this race but once I crossed that finish line, I couldn't help but think about the next one that I would be doing. I already had my next goal to work towards. Finish a half marathon in under 2 hours.  We shall see how that goes.

Here I am with my finisher's medal and a grin that I don't think that you could smack off of my face.  Later that day I found out that my official time was 2:03:33 and I PR'd by 14 1/2 minutes from Zooma in November!! Something that I definitely was not expecting but nonetheless extremely grateful. I was extremely sore but so very thankful for the ability that God gave me to run.  He was with me during this race.  If you ever have the opportunity to run this race, I highly recommend that you do it.  It is a beautiful course and you will love it!!

So until next time.