Everyone keeps asking me ‘How many half marathons have you done?’.
And this is actually a very confusing question for me right now. I can’t figure out if they are asking only about this year or about my entire life. I also get the feeling that people think I just started running this year. So, I normally say ‘7 this year’ and hope that it answers the mail. Because I honestly didn’t know the other answer to how many I’ve done my entire life.
A few little forgotten details like this have bothered me this year, including the answer to the question ‘What was your best marathon time?’. I’ve done two marathons in my life and am proud of the lobotomy that occurred afterwards. I’ve never even thought of what my time was during those two marathons until this year. I told Coach Bob and my mentor Steven Jenkins that I didn't remember when they asked me about my best marathon time. You would have thought that I grew another head and sprouted a tail. They were completely flabbergasted by my non-remembering response. ‘How do you not remember what your marathon time is???‘ they both very confusedly asked and I just shrugged. It was never very important to me. None of my times ever were and neither was the # of half marathons until this year. I always saw half marathons as social time, mainly with my friend Jenfer. I saw it as 2 ½ hours of uninterrupted time to spend with one of my best friends. No boys, no distractions, just her. And I can only remember all the half marathons that I’ve done by remembering the people I’ve done them with.
So I sat down one day and figured this out. Because I’m tired of shrugging my shoulders.
Marathons: I’ve done two. The first I did alone in New Orleans in 2007 with a time of 5:07 and then 2nd was the VA Beach Shamrock Marathon with Jenfer in 2011 with a time of 5:37. Which I don’t want to talk about. Because I was better trained for the 2nd one and it makes me slightly angry to talk about the 20 min time disparity. I attribute it to age. I’ve got a good mind to rectify the situation after this year tho.
Half Marathons: It took me a long time to do the research on this question. As of today, I’ve done….dunt dunt da dahhh…wait for it….keep waiting…I’m not ready to tell you yet…still wait...ok..16!!!! And will hopefully end up with 21 by the end of this year, knock on some wood! So here is a little re-cap:
2006
· Mercedes Half Marathon, Birmingham – 2:31 This was my very first half and I had only run 8 miles total beforehand. Jenfer kept Carden and I at a steady eddy pace and it was thrilling. Wonderful. I was sincerely hooked. I remember hitting 9 miles and yelling ‘This is the furthest I’ve ever run!!!’. I can honestly say that I owe Jenfer everything for getting me into running long distance. There is always somebody that did this for you, that pushed you to try and she is my person. We made a vow to run a half every year together, which we have so far!
2007
· Mercedes Half Marathon, Feb 11th – 2:32 Talk about a consistent time between years. Again, this run was with Jenfer. But two weeks later I did my first marathon. Looking back on this, I can’t believe this is how it went down…I did two half marathons before attempting a full. What a loon.
2008
· Mercedes Half Marathon Feb 10th – 2:32 With Jenfer again, followed two weeks later by
· Mardi Gras Half Marathon Feb 24th – 2:31 again, how consistent time wise was I?
2009
· Shamrock Half Marathon March – 2:13! BAM, that’s what training does for ya! This would be my PR for years to come.
· Rock N Roll Va Beach September – 3:05 BAM, that’s what only running 5 miles tops before a half marathon will do for you. I hurt for days! Jenfer was a little disappointed in me and I had to sit down b/c I could no longer walk. Yea…
2010 – Let’s call 2010 ‘the year of not training’
· Disney Princess, Mar 7th – 2:47 I was on a roll about not training, mind over matter I say! More pain, the less gain. I did enjoy the race but I’m pretty sure that Jenfer wanted to kill me seeing as not training was beginning to be pretty consistent. And I enjoyed hurting so much that I did it again two weeks later…
· Shamrock Half Marathon, Mar 22 – 3:02 Did I mention that I hadn’t really trained? Oh and I was still hurting after Disney. 2010 wasn’t the best running year. And I stopped running shortly after, you totally get what you put into it...duh.
2011
· This year had started with the Shamrock Marathon. Jenfer and I ran it together and that is another story for another time…
· Divas Puerto Rico 2:49 - this was one of the hottest races I’ve ever done. Although I had trained up to 11miles beforehand, I just couldn’t get past the heat.
2012 - We know these!!
· Jan - Auburn ‘Who stole my Ham’ – 2:45ish
· Feb – Run the Reagan – 2:22
· Mar – DC RnR – 2:24
· Apr – Nashville RnR – 2:23
· May – W’burg – 2:45
· June – San Diego – 2:10 New PR!
· July – Chicago – 2:28
So, there you go…those are my #s! Now you know my deepest darkest running secrets.
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