Half Marathon PR {Giant Race 2013}

hi guys! sorry this recap is a bit late, but i just got back yesterday from visiting a friend down in LA. we had the best time eating, going to the fair (and seeing Hunter Hayes for FREE!), hiking, and... you betcha, more eating. i had so much fun hanging out with her, and can't wait to head back down to school in a little over 6 weeks!

anyway onto the race recap! on Sunday i ran my second half marathon. my first one wasn't actually a race, i just decided to train to run a half for fun on my own last summer. (here's my recap).

this summer, i actually trained a whole lot LESS for my race. i fell so much in love with CrossFit that going for a run almost seemed like a pain at times. the longest run i went on during training was a 7-miler, which is only a little more than the half marathon distance. that being said, my main goal going into race day was to finish the race without stopping to walk. my goal that was a bit more challenging was to run a sub-2:00 half, since last summer i ran it in 2:07:16 (granted, it was around 85 or 90 degrees outside at the time).

i did the race with my good buddy Ryan and he was determined to push me to break 2:00, and was secretly plotting for a 1:45 finish. the race started at 7:00am, and we barely made it out of the porta potties a few minutes after the start - one of my complaints about race day: not enough porta potties! #runnerprobs. anyway, i felt really good when we were starting and i was just enjoying the views. the race was along the embarcadero, from AT&T park all the way out to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. it was beautiful!

i had a few jelly beans before the halfway mark, half of my hammer gel around mile 7 and half around mile 9. i felt pretty good most of the time - my leg muscles never actually hurt, it was just my joints. i've always had hip problems and they always act up when i run long distances. it wasn't too painful, though, and i managed to keep a fairly steady pace the entire race <-- super proud of this, especially with the limited training i had! CrossFit is keeping me in really good shape.

Ryan was running in front of me for a good part of the second half of the race and that definitely helped me a lot! i always do so much better when i'm chasing someone down. i have to hand it to him for really pushing me to get my butt across the finish line!

which we did, in 1:49:55 to be exact. a 17 minute PR, and i broke 1:50! i was SO stoked!! average pace was 8:23/mile, which completely exceeded my goals. i also got 3rd place in my age group, which was really cool especially considering the training i had put in going into the race.

finishing in AT&T park was the coolest. i've been going there to watch my SF Giants play ball since i was a little kid and getting to be on the field was surreal. i loved every minute of it!

i will definitely be doing this race again next year if i'm up here in NorCal!

{and a big thanks to my buddy Ryan for all the photos!}

have you run a half marathon before?
favorite race?