{"id":3404,"date":"2015-02-23T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/?p=3404"},"modified":"2015-02-22T16:01:43","modified_gmt":"2015-02-22T21:01:43","slug":"race-report-donna-5k-and-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/23\/race-report-donna-5k-and-half\/","title":{"rendered":"Race Report: Donna 5K and Half"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Months and months ago, I was talked into registering for the 26.2 with Donna 5K and Half Marathon. \u00a0I had been hearing such amazing things about this race, from the course to the people to the weather, so I knew that I needed to show up and run. \u00a0One thing I like about this race is that it supports Breast Cancer Research, but it’s not another Komen fund thing – there is discussion of metastatic breast cancer. \u00a0Sure, the survivors are applauded and honored, and they should be. \u00a0But it isn’t ignored that breast cancer is more than just a pink ribbon.<\/p>\n

For the 5K, it was cold. \u00a0VERY cold. \u00a0With a half the next day, we all wanted to save our legs, so we walked in a large pack of people and had a blast. \u00a0It was great to be reunited with my running buddies.<\/p>\n

For the Donna half , I wanted to get out and run. \u00a0I was trained. \u00a0I had been working my butt off training, in fact. \u00a0I knew that a PR was pretty much out of reach, but I wanted to run faster and stronger than I had at Space Coast last Thanksgiving. \u00a0I ran that in 2:56ish, so I wanted to be faster. \u00a0My PR is a 2:48:33. \u00a0My real goal was to just stay under 3 hours. \u00a0I’ve gotten a bit complacent with my training, since I know I can finish a half with little training. \u00a0I need to stop that and start pushing. \u00a0I need to make my racing more about quality instead of quantity. \u00a0So my goal is to keep all of my halfs under 3 hours (unless something happens during the race, of course). \u00a0Not that there’s anything wrong with a half that takes over 3 hours, but for me, I know I can do better than that.<\/p>\n

I opted to not plan to run with anyone, simply because I wanted to push. \u00a0I didn’t want anyone pushing me, however, though I had some lovely offers. \u00a0I wanted to just run my race and see what happened.<\/p>\n

My first mile was fast. \u00a0Sub-13. \u00a0Not bad, but I didn’t think I could stick it out the entire time. \u00a0Somewhere between 2 and 3, I picked up Julie and Mark, which was awesome. \u00a0It was nice to have company, but when they stopped for a bathroom break, I kept running. \u00a0It was okay to be on my own, and I was feeling pretty good.<\/p>\n

People aren’t wrong when they say this race is awesome. \u00a0The spectators were amazing. \u00a0The other runners were amazing. \u00a0I think this race is what the runDisney Princess race is meant to be – just a generally positive place to be. \u00a0But co-ed, of course. \u00a0Some of the people living on the course had set up giant bubble machines. Try running through those without a huge grin on your face!<\/p>\n

There were also guys who set up “Free mammogram” signs. \u00a0Crude? \u00a0Perhaps, but I thought it was hilarious.<\/p>\n

There were plenty of people out offering support to the runners in the form of snacks, drinks, and alcohol. \u00a0Some of my friends even hit up a bar while running and had shots before continuing on. \u00a0Had I not been pushing, I might have been tempted.<\/p>\n

The race course goes out onto the beach, and it wasn’t too difficult to run on the sand, as it was well packed. \u00a0It was hard to get onto the beach, but once I got down near the water, I had no issues. \u00a0Getting back off the beach was also a challenge.<\/p>\n

In my brain, I kept thinking that I might have a PR in me, but I couldn’t figure out the math, so I just decided to keep running fast. \u00a0Unfortunately, I was limited by my heart rate. \u00a0I work to keep it under 185 when I run, and my watch kept alerting me that I was over. \u00a0For me, I know that this will only mean I will feel awful later in the day and possibly the next day, so it’s not worth it to push. \u00a0It’s my heart, after all.<\/p>\n

But I still wanted to run fast. \u00a0By the last mile, I knew how close I was, but I also knew that I didn’t have that PR in me. \u00a0I couldn’t push fast enough. \u00a0And that was okay. \u00a0I had beat my goal and well surpassed my hopes. \u00a0When Coach asked me the week before if I thought I would PR, I laughed out loud. \u00a0There was no way I was shaving off that much time from Space Coast. \u00a0Well, I was right, but I was still way faster than I thought.<\/p>\n

2:49:55<\/strong><\/p>\n

That is my third fastest half. \u00a0I set my PR back in early 2012, so nearly 3 years later, it feels awesome to be back! \u00a0I have put on some weight since then, so this is incentive to get the pounds off.<\/p>\n

Also, my three fastest halfs? \u00a0I see a trend in the locations.<\/p>\n