Iron Horse Half Marathon



Me & Sheri  A sleepy cold morning!

The Iron Horse Half Marathon was Sunday, October 23 in Midway, Ky. I had never been to Midway before the Bourbon Chase (read about it HERE and HERE!!) My third leg ended right in Midway and one of the "chicks" in my van had ran the half last year. So as we drove into Midway I asked her if any of it was the route. We actually didn't go through any of it but she said it was pretty much the same, I had already heard that it was gently rolling so I really wanted to check it out first. Sometimes my version of "gently rolling" is different the the officials version of "gently rolling". It really didn't appear too bad and the main street area was just adorable, I will have to make some time to go back and check out some of the little shops!

Me and my bestest friend/running buddy Sheri (who also has a great recap Here) had signed up for this half a long time ago when early registration was to save some $$. So we have had PLENTY of time for training, did I take advantage of it......NO! Why?? Just a bunch of sorry excuses on my part! We got in a pretty good 10mi a few weeks before and we had the Bourbon Chase (11.5mi for me) two weeks before so there was a few long runs out there :) and I had at least two weekly runs of 4mi every week and a 5k every Saturday, not like I wasn't running at all just not distance! The night before the Iron Horse Half I told the hubz "I so really want to get a 1:59:59 but with the lack of training I think I am really hoping to just be able to finish!" 1:59:59 could I?? The weekend before I ran a trail 4k race which wasn't the greatest idea since I twisted my ankle! Nothing terrible just a little pain.

The weather has been cooler and it was almost perfect race morning. It was a cool but sunny 35ish* it was comfortable running and I passed off my gloves at the half way point. We ended up lining up pretty far back, its chipped timed and we aren't trying to win it just 1:59:59! But I think we was too far back, we did a LOT of weaving in and out and focusing on trying to find a path to get through a little exhausting! Around mile 2.5 there was  a man in front of us that seemed like he had a good steady pace, I told Sheri we should stay with him a little while so she talked to him. His name was Kyle and he was hoping a under 2 as well but we didn't stay with him long. This course was really great! For a sight seeker runner like me ( I lOVE to look around and take in my surroundings :) this course is perfect! And it makes like a figure eight, in and out one way then in and out another which means you are always seeing people!

The worst hill at mile 6

The first half wasn't too awful with the "gently rolling". It was fairly hilly but you pretty much went down hill for every uphill. Until mile 5 - 6, right at the 6 mark it was a LONG uphill! That is when I started to notice my opposite ankle hurting :? I guess I was so worried about the twisted ankle that I favored the other too much! But I keep on slowly falling back from Sheri, at first I was getting upset with myself but had to put in a "pep" talk to me! I still had a decent pace and when I passed the half way point at 58mins I knew I had a couple of mins "banked". I think I was able to keep running until around mile 8 then I took a tiny walk break up the hill, the hills on the second half weren't as nice as the first half they pretty much went up with very little downhill. I could still see Sheri but she was way up ahead of me I was just glad I could still see her. That was about the time that my ankle really started throbbing, it began it hurt so bad all I could think was "I am getting me some ice for this thing as soon as I finish!" When I reached the 12mi/1mi to go I looked down at my watch for the first time to see how close I was, I was at 1:50 something and all I could think is less than 10mins to finish in 1:59:59 I MIGHT just be able to do it?!?! So I sucked it up tried to forget about the pain my ankle was giving and run the best I could the last mile.........

Coming through the finish

2:00:43

Dang just 44 seconds short of my goal!! Disappointed? Yes and No! Yes because I only missed it by 44 seconds. No because that is a great half time for as little training as I put in! Thankfully the ankle wasn't that bad afterwards and I didn't have to ice it afterall! I have one more chance this year to get that 1:59:59, this Saturday I will be running my last (I think anyway) half for this year in Nashville, Tn. I sure hope 1:59:59 or better is in the cards for me!  



Be sure to read Sheri's Post Here to see her finish time!