Race Report- 1/2 Marathon this time...

[Urlea]

I know this is the triathlon section of the discussion forums, but I figured you might enjoy seeing how triathlons have made me stronger and faster in the aspect of my running endurance. Full race report with pictures on my blog.

http://stubborntriathlete.blogspot.com/

Finally got the last tri's race pics too, I'll put them together in a collage and upload that here in a bit.

[spindizzy]

Great race report and fabulous pictures. I wish I could have such a high kick when running.

[alpinerabbit]

Cool, Urlea!!
No aches & pains? How long are your longest training runs?
I wish I could run so far, right now I'm too scared of aggravating my shins.
In fact I'm giving them 6 weeks or more complete rest (from running that is - I'm not sure if biking doesn't also aggravate them).

I'm resolving to massage heavily for trigger points in the near future.
I'm on a post-season whole-body maintenance program right now, yoga twice a week, more core stuff before swim practice once a week - and no running.
Then we are getting some tech practices by the best runner in our tri club. Looking forward to that.
Re: tech - the high kick is nice (consider this is the finish line sprint...) but I'm sticking to the "low profile/don't waste energy" technique I've been taught.

[Skeezix]

Congrats! Great report and photos!

You are totally making me think that I could do 1/2 marathon! Inspiration!

[colby]

Awesome! You look great.

I love the paisley pants picture on your blog, too.

[teigyr]

You look fantastic! You also look like you are having so much fun too.

You DID make it look so easy. Perhaps there will be a lot of half-marathon converts after reading your blog

[Urlea]

Thanks!

Some of you may say I made it "look easy", trust me, it wasn't. Especially dropping close to a minute off my mile which made everything after mile 6 a strong test in determination. My body was very much hurting the next day and the day after that, but it's worth it. I have a new appreciation for being able to walk down stairs pain-free now.

I figured it would be more difficult considering my longest runs leading up to this 1/2 were only 7miles. That's the best I could manage without burning myself out. (I had back-to-back sprint tri wknds and the **** Beardsley 1/2 the next wknd after that.) Thankfully my training for the first 1/2 in May held up.

As to the "high kick", the only time you will EVER see me with one is when I'm sprinting at the finish. Otherwise I have a short gate and really don't lift my feet all that high.

Anywho, If you're thinking about doing one, go for it!! There's no reason (if you're training) that you can't do a half.

Now I'm getting geared up for my first trail run race of the season. The "filthy 5k" that they purposely make muddy and give awards out to the dirtiest runners. Should be fun.

It's getting cold though so I'm digging out the flattering spandex pants. Still trying to figure out what to wear on my bike, fall is such a perfect season for riding here.