A "PR" for Mirna at the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon

 Back in February we found out that my dad had an outpatient procedure scheduled at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Since my mom doesn't drive in Seattle traffic, I volunteered to drive them there this past weekend. However, after committing to this, I realized that my marathon training program required me to run 15 miles that weekend. After freaking out for a minute or two, I decided to go on the internet to find some Seattle running groups where maybe I could have some company for the 15 miler-I absolutely despise running by myself more than 9 miles, and I was stressed about getting through a looooong Saturday run without my marathon mamas....

I was happy to discover that the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon was occurring the same weekend! Put on by the Evergreen Trail Runs, it is a fun race with varried terrain best described by their website as the "half-marathon is very flat and fast, and follows the scenic East Lake Sammamish gravel trail along Lake Sammamish in Washington from Issaquah to Redmond, which is very popular with road runners and trail runners alike." The trail actually reminded me a lot of the Centennial Trail in Spokane, only this trail followed Lake Sammamish instead of the Spokane River.

Part of the Half Marathon Route

I had two goals in mind coming into the race:
1) I wanted to be able to run the entire race. I have done 3 other half marathons, but I always fizzled out around mile 10-11 and ended up run/walking the last few miles. I am able to run 10-14 miles with my marathon mamas but didn't know if I could do it at race pace.
2) I wanted to set a Personal Record. My best time was my Leavenworth Half Marathon race back in October, 2010 with a time of 2:10. Initially I thought it would be amazing if I could do it under 2 hours, but I didn't think it was possible...Also I didn't want to put too much pressure/disappointment on myself if I didn't do it. So I decided if I PR'd that would be a great accomplishment.

With my music in place, and my Garmin watch ready to go, we took off...I began running at a comfortable pace and looked at my watch-I was pacing at 8:40/mile. I prayed that I could maintain this pace and tried to focus on the beautiful scenery and the upbeat music. Long story short, when I hit the 10 mile marker around 1:26, I knew I would be able to beat 2 hours as long as I could keep my pace. I quickly took some GU gel and water and with a new found second-wind I kept going. I must admit the last mile was kind of rough, mainly because I was mentally ready to be done and I was getting tired. But I saw the finish line and sprinted ahead and saw that I was going to be under 1:55! I had SMASHED my previous record!

FINISH LINE

We received our medals at the finish line and cute tech shirts...


And I checked my Official time...1:54:08! I also ranked 12th in my age group/category...not too shabby for someone who less than two years ago ran her first 5K in over 43 minutes and couldn't run a mile without walking! I'm so greatful to have these wonderful Spokane Marathon Mamas who motivate and inspire me with every run. I missed running with them today though...

Anyway, today I felt like a runner, not necessarily because I PR'd (although that helped)...but because I was able to overcome mental obstacles, and I know that I ran the hardest, fastest, and strongest that I could!

Mirna at the finish line

P.S. My dad is doing well, recovery back at home. Overall it was a fun weekend visiting with friends and hanging out in Seattle with my parents and Isabella.