Shattered

What a weird title for a post right? Not so much when the girl writing it is a bit weird. Anyway, last week I mentioned I would do a fall goal recap so here it is. What a perfect way to start off the week too. Back in June I posted what my big fall races were and what I wanted to accomplish at each. 

*Side note: I did NOT do the Fitness 4 miler

Not only did I meet my goals, I most definitely shattered my half marathon time! If you remember, when I went to DC I hit a beautiful wall at mile 9 between my IT Band and the heat. Luckily I was better prepared for this one. 

Last year I ran 2 10K's within a few weeks of each other. It was the longest distance I had ever run at the time and I just wanted to finish! I even ran Rock n Roll without music because I thought there would be more bands on the course. Was not the case obviously. 

Here is what I wrote in June for a 10K goal:

Goal: Under 1:00:00
Time Goal: 57:30:00
Reach Goal: 56:00:00

56 minutes? Clearly delusional and had high hope for myself. According to the FEED computers at the end of the race I finished in 57:19. Under my regular goal and time goal! I'm really proud of that time but not the way I got it. My plan was to negative split, run the first 5K at 10K pace then pick it up for the last 5K. But a PR is a PR right? 

My big race was much earlier than everyone else. In fact, the NYC marathon is next weekend so some haven't even gotten to theirs yet! The goals I wrote for this race were a bit more attainable.

Goals: Under 2:20:00
Time Goal: 2:17:00
Reach Goal: 2:15:00

When I made these I didn't know I would be injured. I had such a great training cycle this time and felt SO prepared, until I got hurt. But I ran my little heart out and completely shattered all of the doubt I had. Before I went to the start line I kept reminding my dad, who kept asking a predicted finish time, that I had taken my time goal away because of my foot. To my surprise, I ran sub-10s allowing me to surpass my reach goal. 

Who knows what next year will bring. After a semi-OK run yesterday on my foot, I can confirm I'm putting my name in for the NYC Half lottery again. Fingers crossed I get in this time! 

What I learned from these races was how strong you have to be mentally. Repeating mantras in your head helps, which is what I did for the last 4 miles of the half. I know this sounds really cliche, but if you think you can do it, then you probably can.

How did your fall races go? Did you set any goals? 

Xo,
Lynette