Atlanta Publix Half Marathon - 45th OA

The 2012 Publix Half Marathon was definitely one of the hardest races I have completed (2nd to 2011 Florida 70.3). I had really high hopes going into this race because of my performance on this course last year.

Just like in 2011, I took a cruise vacation to Cozumel and Costa Maya the week prior…however, one thing never crossed my mind. Last year we had returned on a Friday, so I had an entire day to relax and recover from the craziness of Mexico. This year we got back on Saturday, had a 10 hour drive back, finally arriving home at 8:45 pm. With a 4:15am wake up on Sunday, I knew the odds of me waking up very tired were high.

And that is what happened. I felt fairly good through mile one, wanting to cruise the downhill start in 6:10-6:15, but proceeded to run a 5:45. The second mile is when it hit me; my body is not going to cooperate with me today. It also didn’t help that this course is extremely hilly, and they changed the course this year that added an entire extra hill section (roughly a mile running uphill).

I managed to average about 6 minute pace through 4, but then those numbers were not seen again. I would drag myself through the finish line in 1:24:15, an entire 1 minute and 9 seconds slower than last year. But given the circumstances, I can’t really complain.

I think this race was the perfect example of how your mental state is a big part of racing. All I wanted to do was walk/drop out/slow down, but I had a goal to at least get as close to my PR as I could. In the end, I may have not hit my goal, but I learned a little more about myself as a competitor.

Next up: St. Anthony’s Tri on April 29th. First Tri of the season!

First Win in 3 years...La Amistad 5k

Ran in the La Amistad 5k this past weekend and was able to pull off my first race victory in about 3 years; and was able to run my fastest 5k since freshman year of college (6 years ago). I was a big cross country runner in high school, but once college hit, my running shape diminished quickly. Every race I entered in college, I was able to squeeze out 19:00 - 20:00 5k's. And with that came almost collapsing/losing my breakfast across the finish line.

Led this race from start to finish. Pushed the pace from the beginning and no one came with me. I ended up running by myself for the entire course, finishing in a not-that-impressive 17:42; roughly a minute ahead of 2nd place. But to see where I have come from in a year and a half since college, I was pleased.

Next up: Publix Half Marathon. Looking to pull off a 1:19.

Final 2012 Schedule

Going to stay focused on the Olympic Distance this year. Was thinking about sticking to Olympic distance for the first half of the season, then switch focus to Augusta 70.3 to finish the year, but there are a few great races from September to November that I did not want to miss. As my coach Eric put it, "we could do Augusta, but you'd be putting three races on the back burner for one 70.3".

03/18 - Publix Half Marathon - Atlanta, GA
04/29 - St. Anthony's - St. Petersburg, FL
05/19 - Peachtree International Tri - Peachtree City, GA
06/10 - Lake Lanier Sprint - Gainesville, GA
07/08 - Chattanooga Waterfront Tri - Chattanooga, TN
08/26 - Rocketman Tri - Huntsville, AL
09/08 - Tugaloo Olympic - Lavonia, GA
10/14 - Rev3 Olympic - Anderson, SC
11/11 - TriRock Olympic - Clearwater, FL

First Time Blogger

I enjoy reading and following other triathlete blogs, so figured why not start my own. I will use this as a place to store all my race recaps and triathlon related stories.