Positive Results by Sabrina

Avenue of the Giants was the race that I’ve been dreaming of forever. And because there was a marathon taking place at the same time, it was officially the first half marathon that I’ve been able to run by feel, legit party pace and have a great time. An experience that I will cherish forever and I hope more athletes can experience. 

Every Half I’ve run up until now had roughly a three hour time limit that I had to beat. So I’ve never had the opportunity to allow my body to just run the race and see how I feel.

Technology is Your Tool

As athletes, we have to learn to regulate our bodies and budget our energy during a race. Athletes who started running before smart watches had to learn this on their own. Us newer runners have been spoiled by technology. We have the option of technology on our wrists, chest straps and more, that allow us to see our current paces and heart rates and we use that technology to pace ourselves toward our final goal. When I ran my first Half, I didn’t know about run/walk intervals like I do now. I ran until I was exhausted, walked as much as I thought was safe and then ran some more. I beat my overall time goal by a few minutes and I’ve been chasing it again and again ever since.

Going into Avenue of the Giants, I knew my main goal was purely to soak in all of the love from the redwoods and crowd. What I didn’t plan ahead of time was not to look at my pace or the time after my first mile. I chose not to turn on my intervals during the first mile because I wanted to let my body warm up and get a feel for the crowd. I jogged conservatively and walked when I needed to. When the crowds started to thin out, I turned on my intervals and changed my watch face so that the interval timing was all that I could see. Leaving it there wasn’t intentional but it was perfect.

Driving home after the race I realized that the only time I remembered glancing at the clock was as we got close to at the turn around but that was to see where our girls were in regards to their goal. After the 10k split, I stopped watching for friends to pass us and started watching for the friends that were going to be ahead of us to come back. Sam and Lisa were chasing a big goal and I couldn’t wait to yell my Coaching wisdom as they zoomed by. Ingrid and I started to get concerned when we didn’t see them and I know I looked at the clock trying to do the math. And that was the only time I remember looking at it. 

Running Free

There is something magical about allowing your body to do what it wants to do. Those of us who got into running later in life and who aren’t natural athletes, often feel like we’re playing catch up. We run by other people’s standards, we chase other people’s goals, or race times. This is the first time I’ve run a half while a marathon was also going on so with it starting 45 minutes before us, I knew we had five hours to run. I translated that to no limits. I wasn’t the only one. Plenty of athletes were able to walk the 10k and half marathon due to the generous time limit.

I never thought I would become the type of person who could call 13.1 mile fun. Those 13.1 miles were a freeing experience that I hope other athletes can enjoy. I try to teach athletes not to fall into the comparison trap and then I find myself doing it too. Practice what I preach, and all. The thing is, many of us are entering races and groups that aren’t set up for us. We’re working hard to beat cutoffs and finish workouts so that our friends aren’t waiting for us. We turn down invitations and remove ourselves from situations because we know we can’t keep up. I work hard as an Endurance Coach and back-of-the-pack athlete to foster the spaces that make everyone feel welcome. I continue to be the bridge that helps people get from day 1 to the day that they feel comfortable enough to call themselves athletes. I continue to celebrate the events that make me come alive as an athlete and share them with every woman who will listen. 

Today you might be wondering how you’ll make it through your first mile. Tomorrow it’s race day. We can get you there. You’re not alone. Endurance is for every body!