Azalea Trail Run 2013

Saturday, March 23rd was the 36th annual Azalea Trail Run. This was the 2nd time I have run it. The first time was in 2011 and I decided last minute to run it. I also did not do well coming in at an hour and 20 minutes and so many seconds. At that time, that was my second 10K, the first being the Crescent City Classic in 2009 where I ran the 10K in one hour and 13 minutes. Both times I was very disappointed in my times, but it was completely my fault. This year I knew I would do better on this race because I have run many miles over the past 8 weeks. So, my goal was to run this 10K (6.2 miles) in under 1:06:00. The closer it got to the race I felt I could do it in 1:03:00 or better. This was my new goal, one hour and three minutes or less for the 6.2 miles. In my runs that included 6.2 miles (which includes a 7, 8, 9, and 10 mile run) I ran the 6.26 miles (what I actually ran on Saturday) in 1:05:05, 1:07:55, and 1:07:16. I do not have my splits for my 9 mile run since it was on a treadmill, but I believe I was close to these times. I have noticed that the longer I run, the slower my pace; which is not necessarily a bad thing! 

So, Saturday March 23rd I ran 6.26 miles in 1:03:57! I did not beat my goal of 1:03:00, but I was faster than I originally planned and ran this distance faster than I had in previous runs. You can view my route here. I was very proud of myself! The only part that kind of sucked was that as of mile 5 I could see the finish line. This made for a long last mile! I felt like I was never going to get there! I highly recommend racing in a rather large race so that you can get perspective on how to maneuver through a crowd. It took me a good mile or so to get my bearings and regulate my pace. I am getting super excited about this half marathon. I am continuing to remind myself that it is OK to a) walk and b) run it in a slower pace than I hope for. My ultimate goal is to finish. I would LOVE to finish it in 2:30:00 or less, which is very attainable! 

Here's to the next workout! Until then...

April :)