RR and Finally off season

Finally I have had time to get to the race report. I was hoping to run between 7:55 and 8:10 pace for the race and was doing well until about mile 6. I had skipped almost all of my long runs because of work and other conflicts, and really hadnt run any hills or off the treadmill except for once a week, so I wasnt sure what to expect. And good thing I didnt expect too much. I have never hit a wall so early in a race. Literally I passed the 10K mark and immediately started to see my turnover slow down, and I couldnt do anything about it. It was like they were full of lead. My pace slowed down almost a minute and a half per mile for the last 5 miles and all I could do was laugh at the end. I think my face says it all here.


I now know what I need to work on - strength training here I come! Lungs wise I could have gone all day, but my legs werent having it. The race was fun as always. I saw lots of friends on the way thanks to the pink arm warmers, and had zero stomach issues. Thanks for the suggestion on Hammer Perpetuem Beth and Maggs- it worked wonders! I have now ordered a huge bin that I hope my mom remembers to smuggle over to me next time she visits. I wanted a much faster time, but squeaked in under 2 hours (nothing to brag about I know). At least now I know what I need to work on for next year, and where I will be starting from. Chris, who ran a total of 5 times this year (3 in races), came in at 1:37 in his first ever half. Maybe I'll try his training regimine.
Now it is 2 weeks off of running which I havent had in over two years, and I must say I quite enjoy it. Im sure next week I will be itching to get back, but for now it is nice. It also couldnt have come at a better time because we are all in Cancun for our 2010 kickoff meetings, and running is the last thing on my mind. Here is a little taste of what we are doing :). Life is rough!