by

Friday Five: What didn’t happen during my last half marathon


It’s Friday so I’m linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five linkup! Join in! Don’t forget to link back to your hostess and visit some other bloggers.

I ran my first half marathon of 2019 last month- the Publix Florida Half Marathon. (Read my review HERE.)

Before the race I posted about 5 things that I wanted to happen. This is a follow-up on that post.

So my Topic this week is: Five Things That Did Not Happen During This RACE

1. Good Weather

Nope. Pouring rain, heat, wind, 99% humidity. UGH!!!

On a positive note, it was the only day of my vacation that I did not enjoy great weather.

2. No pain.

Around mile 5, I started getting a blister on one foot and shortly after, the bottom of the other foot started to ache. And as you know, if you read my blog, the day after, my calf got injured while walking along the beach (could be related to the race … or not)

wet crazed runner in pain with her race belt falling off the whole race

3. Ocean Views

Well, I think there were ocean views.  At least there was water but too cloudy, foggy to see a single thing!!

At least I got a closer look after the race until it started to downpour again.

4. Age Group Award

At my age, this is always a possibility. If I didn’t give up during the second half of the race (6 minutes slower than the first half), I could have won an award. Coming in 4th is frustrating.

5. Finish under 2:15.

Not expecting a PR (under 2:06:52) since I did not train for one. But 2:15 was doable. Believe it or not, my finish time was slower than my super hilly half in November.  How is that possible?

Image result for Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards” – Vernon Sanders Law

Of course there were lessons learned like with every race/experience:

  1.  You can’t control the weather. Just deal with it.
  2. Wear compression sleeves even it is hot because you always do.
  3.  Not all races are scenic.  At least there was lots of music and good food at the end.
  4.  Anything can and will happen during a race. Can’t predict finish times even on the same course.
  5. You can’t win them all.  Even if you run a great race, awards depend on who shows up. If you run a bad race, you may even win.

Next up:

United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon

Happy Running! Do you have any goals for your first BIG race or any race in 2019? If you raced already, did you meet all or any of your goals? What did you learn from the experience? Please share.

31 thoughts on “Friday Five: What didn’t happen during my last half marathon”

  1. Well, finishing uninjured is always a goal. Aside from the blister I was fine.

    I saw plenty of the ocean in NJ but was way too hot to enjoy it. All I saw of the ocean in Cape Cod was the waves crashing over sea walls. At least my last half was faster than both of those races. 😊

    Like

    Reply

  2. Sounds like a race from hell. We have lots of those, don’t we. Haha! But seriously they are character builders and we are stronger because of them. Finishing truly is winning. Even 4th place. Congrats!
    There were many many people in Tokyo who traveled so far and did not finish. I can’t even imagine that disappointment.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes. That had to be awful. I wish you had better weather. Weather is one thing we have zero control over.

      Hope you have better weather for the next one.

      Like

      Reply

  6. Humidity like that is just a killer for running…and add in rain? GROSS. I actually gave up doing a race a couple miles into that kind of weather – it was local, so no big deal, but I’m glad I did. Kudos to you for sticking through the entire race.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Well. I travelled all the way to Florida. I’m glad I did the race this year as my sister in law will be moving back up north.

      Like

      Reply

  7. It sounds like everything that could go wrong did but at least you still have a positive atitude about it. Running in the rain isn’t so bad if it’s not pouring or freezing. 4th place is always the hardest place. Just missing out. Looking great in your Skirt Sports!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. That experience quote is a good one. THe heat has taught me a lot about my running durability, true for both Florida Halfs as well as last summer’s Manhattan 7. I’ll do Florida again because it’s gorgeous but don’t have any particular desire to run the Manhattan 7 again. It’s my regular loop, and life’s too short to be miserable
    I”ve also learned from Lebow that while I’m injured and undertrained, my base can carry me through to a good run

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Every race (as well as runs in general) always give us something to learn AND appreciate (even if we cannot see it at the moment LOL). I especially love your final point about winning or placing. So true. It always depends on who ELSE shows up. One time I ran an 8K, and had a faster finish time than all three placers in the next younger AG …but there were three “old” gals in my AG group faster than me LOL.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Ok, so when I saw the title to this post I thought uh, oh, is Darlene done running halfs? Whew! Although after what you went through, I wouldn’t blame you!

    Like

    Reply

  14. Ugh. it’s so disappointing when a run ends up so miserable, especially a destination race you’ve been looking forward to. Finishing is totally winning, but at the same time, I understand being disappointed in the weather and how things played out. That was a nasty weekend, to my recollection.

    That being said, NYC is going to be incredible!

    Like

    Reply

  16. Pingback: Friday Five – What Happened at the NYC Half Marathon – My First 5K and More…

Leave a reply to debolton Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.