Complete. I can now tick a Half Marathon of my bucket list. And what a morning it was. I was always find post race re-caps so hard to start cause I'm just so excited and there's so much to share but I'll try and do my best not blab on for too long.
The night before a big race I tend to stick to the same routine. A nice big bowl of pasta for dinner, a bath, and sometimes a sneaky vodka as a night cap to help me sleep. But this time, i tried something a little different. I added a few drop of Serenity Essential Oil to the bath which helps calms the mind and relaxes your body. Lets just say, I reckon I was asleep as soon I hit the pillow and had the best sleep I've ever had pre race day. So thankyou to my good friend Raels for opening my mind to these wonderful oils, was the bestest sleep I ever had!!
After such a great sleep the alarm went off at 6am and I bounced out bed. I was so nervous but excited. After a quick slice of toast with honey on it, a banana and a electrolyte for breakky we were in the car and on the way.
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| The Starting line - was just crazy! |
It was a picture perfect morning, and I was getting more and more nervous as we hung around at the start line. Thankfully, I found my friend Hayley and it was almost time to start. A quick kiss good luck from Pete and we were off..
The 1st kilometer flew by and I said goodbye to Hayley as her and her long legs ran off into the distance..... But surprise, Mum had caught the train down and was just around the next corner waiting for me. Big hug from her and then time to re-focus and keep going. As usual I was feeling pretty good during the first few k's, then I randomly bumped into my friend and fellow running buddy Katherine. Who would have thought hey. Was great having the company as we could push each other along.
As we ran down St Kilda Rd, approaching the 5km point we couldn't believe our luck. The front leaders (Ethopians and Kenyans) of the marathon were streaming past on the home stretch already. Cheers went up and they looked amazing. So inspiring as we continued to plod along. About another kilometer down road, and Steve Moneghetti past it. He was competing in the half also and ran an incredible time of 69 mins. Ridiculous.
Mum was awesome, she somehow managed to find us at the 6km / 14km and 17km. She had wet cold towels for us, much to the jealousy of everyone else around us, as by about the 14ks it was starting to get very very warm. Unfortunately, Pete kept missing me. Apparently I was too slow and he kept thinking he missed me and moved onto the next spot. DOH.
I was feeling OK up until about the 15kms ... the last few k's in particular were horrible and I was so glad to see mum around the 17k mark. She ran along side me and told me I could do it and to keep pushing. I was in tears and feeling really overwhelmed but that push was what got me through the last bit.
The last couple of K's were a real struggle. But nothing could beat running up the bridge to the MCG and having the cheers of the crowd and marathoners come streaming past you to push you a long. I broke down in tears again, clearly overwhelmed by the whole experience but so happy we were almost finished. Thank goodness I had the sunnies on !!
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| On the home stretch |
Again, Mum somehow found on the last corner, and we could finally see the finish line. Into the home stretch I finally saw Peter on sideline cheering us through. Katherine and I grabbed each other's hand for the hero's finish. WE DID IT....
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| Hayley, Me and Katherine |
So overall I was pretty happy with how I went. I managed to run the whole race without stopping and only walked a couple of times during the water stations. I was aiming for around 2.30 - 2.40 but realistically thought I would be lucky to get in around 2.50. My nike app said 2.43 but officially my time was 2.48 ...
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| Hayley & Me |
Whilst I enjoyed the experience, for the moment, I don't think I'll ever do a half marathon again. I would much rather focus on improving my speed and working on my 10-15's and subbing the hour.. It's far more realistic for me and at the moment I just wanna enjoy it rather than struggle through half of it.
So on a final note, thank you everyone for all of your support and encouragement, it really got me over that finish line. As I head into the next chapter my goal is to become a healthier, happier and even more fitter Sarah. To just enjoy it and keep on running.
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| Mum & I |
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| Me and Peter - Thanks so much getting up so early on your day off, what a trooper! |
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