Bournemouth Half Marathon Race Recap

I can't believe I am actually (and willingly) sitting down to write this recap before the Nike Run to the Beat Recap. (Maybe because I have all sorts of angst towards that race and everything I want to say about it sounds like bitch bitch bitch whine whine whine. I probably can't even write it at this point.)

Anyway, on Sunday, the 6th of October 2013, I ran the inaugural half marathon of the Bournemouth Marathon Festival. (There was a 5K and 10K on the Saturday, and a half and full marathon on the Sunday).

Alex and I pre-race! Note to self, race in obnoxious shorts more often!

I didn't have many expectations for this race. Sure, it would be great to PR. But inaugural races could also be quite messy. And I didn't run anything over 6 miles since Run to the Beat. So my expectations were quite low.

And damnit, if my expectations and goals were high I probably would not have PRed, but by golly I did!

Here are the Spark Notes :

1. My previous PR from Brighton was 2:24:45. My shiny new PR is 2:21:07.

2. I am the queen of positive splitting.... But we already knew this.

3. The course was gorgeous! I think this has been my favourite race so far. We ran along the beach side for probably 50% of the race, and also ran around 2 piers. The finish area was packed with amazing spectators.

4. The course was also mostly flat. One short-ish hill around mile 8 I think (you can see a dip in my splits where I walked up 2/3 of the hill. No shame.)

5. This was by far the best I have felt during a half. I remember hitting a wall in Brighton at around miles 7 and 8. And Run to the Beat was just one big freakin' wall in general. But this time, the miles flew by and I felt strong!

Here are the not so Spark Notes :

In Type-A fashion, I had everything set up and packed the night before. I had my obnoxious Lululmeon shorts set out. I had my yummy chocolate Gu in my race belt. I had my 2 water bottles washed, filled with water, and put in the fridge overnight. And in the fridge is where they remained for the entire race. Oops.

Yes, I forgot my water. Fun fact about me : I am the thirstiest person alive. If there is not water within grabbing distance I am panicking. That's just me in normal day to day life, yet alone when I am running.

I didn't panic. I didn't even say anything because I didn't want Alex, his parents, or the dog (yes, the dog came to cheer me on... Or play on the beach... Whatever.) to panic either. I just stayed positive and hoped that there was enough water on the course. And spoiler alert, there was plenty of water along the course. That's definitely a first!

See, does he look worried to you?

I listened to some pump up music at the start and decided to get comfy (as comfy as standing and stretching can be before you run 13.1 miles) since I was in the 2nd to last corral. However, I didn't even get a chance to see how many minutes it took me to cross the start line since I passed it so fast! I've never started a race so freakin' quickly before! Or on time! This was already proving to be a fantastic race!

The first few miles were actually quite spectator-less. I was very sad because I basically thrive off of spectators energy and enthusiasm. I kept thinking that if this was going to be what it was like for the entire race than I was screwed.

My goal (as always) was to start off slower than I thought, but also to not look at my Garmin. I turned the face of my watch to the inside of my wrist so I couldn't even sneak a glimpse. I did actually sneak a glimpse just at the 2 mile mark where I saw a sub-10 minute mile. 'Turn it the eff down, Taylor' is actually what I said in my head except with a more colourful word.

There was an 'out and back' I believe around mile 3 or 4, which a lot of people didn't like because I guess that makes it more daunting seeing people running the other way with no immediate turn in sight. I actually really like it because it makes the course seem more energetic and lively.

I saw the fam at around mile 4. I felt pretty okay since we just passed a water station. I annoyingly kept the water bottle in my hand from water station to water station in fear of needing water. I also wanted it in case I wanted to spontaneously take a Gu but didn't have water. (Although I ditched that idea at about mile 8 when I realised the water stations were actually quite frequent).

Obnoxious shorts, coming through!

 

Mile 6 was around the time we started running along the beach. It was amazing. The sun was shining, but at no point did I feel overly hot or sweaty. It was quite sunny and I desperately wanted my sunglasses, but I never got that uncomfortable 'I'm hot, I'm sweaty, I wish a cloud would permanently block the sun' feeling. It was amazing. And this is where I noticed the biggest difference in this race. These awkward middle 'you're only halfway there but not quite in the double digits yet' miles flew by.

I saw the fam again at about mile 7 and I still felt really good. Apparently I missed a real comedy moment not even 2 minutes prior where Finlay (our dog) pulled Alex's mum and sent her tumbling to the ground. It was really nice to see them so many times throughout the course!

We left the beach area and faced the only hill of the course. I took my second Gu at this point because I was half power walking half trying to get my breath back. It was absolutely disgusting (and for the record, I'm pretty good with Gu. I only really have the chocolate outrage ones now because those are the ones I can tolerate best). I couldn't water it down no matter much I tried. It literally felt like someone put a massive dollop of frosting on my tongue. It sucked.

The good part was that the top of the hill had lots of volunteers who were motivating everything to get going again. It was fantastic. And then we were back on the beach again! I could run on the beach forever I think!

This is a terrible picture from the start of the race, but look at what I'm wearing compared to the guy behind me! Emphasis on WE'RE RUNNING ALONG  A BEACH!!!

I knew I slowed down a bit from the beginning (see, queen of positive splitting) but I knew it wasn't as drastic as when I slowed down during my first half marathon. Mile 10 is when I realised a PR was definitely manageable. And I told myself that if I had a chance to PR and didn't fight for it, I would be super pissed off at myself.

The last 5K was another out and back, and we actually got a glimpse of the finishing line at around mile 10 as well. It was another one of those moments that other runners got really annoyed about but I absolutely loved. Only 5K to go! I can do that in my sleep!

I focused on not going too fast, but staying on target for a PR. I had a 3rd Gu with me just in case I needed more umph, but as my last attempt at taking a Gu was dreadful I decided the time it would take me to choke it down would be too costly. Slow and steady wins the race, people.

The turn around point could not come soon enough. I remember feeling so happy. Yes, this was in fact the final stretch and it was the best I've ever felt.

With less than one mile to go we ran onto the second pier (I can't remember where the 1st pier was... oops!). I looked at my watch for one last time and unless I went tumbling from the pier to the ocean I was definitely going to PR.

The finishing area was packed with the best spectators ever. I didn't even look around to find the fam; I knew if I saw them I would start crying.

Finish line... taken after I finished!

The best thing I ever did was train myself to run on tired legs. I can't sprint at the best of times, but I turn into Usain Bolt (yeah, I wish) when I see a finish line. If any finishing pictures were taken that day I do not want to see them, because I sprinted my way past a number of people to get my glorious time of 2:21:07 and then burst into tears. Happy tears, of course!

Awesome bling!

Not even a month prior to this race, I ran the Nike Run to the Beat half in 2:31:47. Did I really take 10 minutes off that time??! Yes, yes I did!

And when we got home, you would think that Finlay just ran a half marathon instead of me....

Pooped pup....

If anyone is looking for a good race in the south of England, I would definitely recommend this one! I plan on running it again next year!

What's Next?

Lets catch up, shall we?

It has been a while since I typed something that hasn't been oh woe is me, and I'm finally at a place where I don't feel like that either.

Ultimate Birthday Margaritas definitely help.

So what's next? What have I been up to these past few weeks months that justifies my hiatus?

What's next in....

1. Running - This week was the first week I ran. I mean actually ran. Like I used to. And it didn't feel like work. I also got moved up a group in the running club a couple of weeks ago, meaning I'm one step closer to the sub 3:00 marathoner group! Let's be honest, that's not happening. But I can dream, right?

I'm glad running has made me happy again, because I have a hefty (for me) race calendar for the rest of the year. In less than a month I'm doing the Nike Run to the Beat half in London, which I am super excited about! It's going to be the biggest race I have ever participated in!

I also signed up for the Bournemouth Half (inaugural race, and also includes a marathon, 10K, and 5K! I love marathon festivals!) and the Great South Run, which sold out before I was able to sign up for it last year and I'm so excited to take part this year!

What's next in....

2. My career - Sooo... I quit my job.

I quit my job before I had another job to go to. And I wouldn't change anything about that incredibly risky decision.

I remember I was so excited to get a big girl job in England. After months of not being able to work, I finally felt like things were coming into place.

And then it became quite obvious that it was not the role I thought it would be. But I thought I could stick it out for a bit. (Side note, it totally reminded me of Selena quitting her job. So weird that I remember that, but the post really stuck with me!)

And then it just got worse. And don't judge me, but I was actually crying every morning before work just dreading the day that hadn't even started yet.

It didn't just happen over night; I didn't just wake up one morning and say 'I hate my job'. It's definitely been a long time coming.


But after much help from Alex and his family, I put my notice in. I had already passed my probation period, so unfortunately for me I had to give one months notice. Ugh. But my last day is August 30, so I'm nearly there!

And in case the anticipation is killing you, I do have a new job to go to now!

More on this topic later.


What's next in.... 

3. My life - Alex and I bought our own place! Like actually bought! As in, we have a mortgage!

We're moving at the end of the month, and I couldn't be happier!!

More on that later as well; I just wanted to let you guys know!

See, I wasn't lying when I said exciting things are happening on this side of the pond!

Tips For Hot Running

So the title may be a bit misleading. I'm not talking about hot running as in sexy running. Did you think that?? Silly you.

I really mean hot weather running.

I like to think I'm a pro at hot weather running being from south Florida and all. And Lindsay was the one who got me thinking about running in overly hot and humid weather when she tweeted about the insane temperatures for the Princess Half. Seriously, Florida sucks sometimes.

But the weather is getting warmer (for most of the world... Not England... #expatproblems) and soon it will be summer!

So I made a list for all you runners out there! My early days of running were not pretty. It took me a couple of years to stumble upon a majority of these tips, so here you go!

Yeah? Have they tested that theory in Florida summers?

Most of these are for when your training or just out for a run, although some of them can be applied to racing as well! 

1. Stay close to home - Don't venture too far away unless you absolutely have to. That way, you don't have to carry as much with you! Keep your water bottle and a spare towel (for excess sweat) in the shade by your house and make sure your route passes your house so you can stop and cool off.

2. Stop every lap to hydrate and wipe sweat - I always found I ran better when I stopped for water instead of carrying it around with me. Also, I always felt better using a small towel every mile or so to get sweat off my face. I know it's easy to get in a groove and not want to stop; but it's worth it.

3. Avoid bulky items - Loads of people are attached to their iPhone and just strap it on to their arm. However, the best present I ever received was my iPod shuffle. It weights close to nothing and when it's hot outside, I don't have to strap anything to my arm that just makes me sweat even more!

4. Put loads of ice in your water bottle - It'll melt and keep your drink cool! But as I said in step 1, leave it by your house! Otherwise the ice makes it heavy.

5. Have distance or time goals - It's so easy to say it's way too hot and just give up. If you wanted to run 3 miles, run 3 miles. It's hot, you're sweaty, you'll live. Just remember to listen to your body and don't over do it.

6. Absolutely no cotton! - Do I really need to elaborate?

7. Try cycling or breaking up your workout - Cycling is still hard work, but is a good break from running from time to time! I always liked cycling for a bit after a shorter run (if I was still up for it). The wind in my face felt really good. It was less about the 'exercise' and more about the 'just chillin on a bike winding down' feeling.

8. Avoid 'peak heat' times - Don't go out in the middle of the day. It's a rookie mistake that I have definitely made. In summer, I normally went about an hour or 30 minutes before it got dark depending on how long my run was going to be. 

9. Have another bottle of water in the fridge - You'll be glad you did when you get home! Sometimes I've even had to run inside and replace my water bottle with the one in the fridge if it's a really hot day!

10. Keep hair out of your face and off your shoulders and back - Another rookie mistake is the ponytail. Some people with long hair don't mind it. I cannot run in a ponytail if it's hot. Messy bun all the way. I hate the way my hair will stick to my face and shoulders. I'd also recommend headbands to keep frizz away! These headbands are a lifesaver! (Seriously, I don't get paid to talk about them; they are just that awesome!)

11. Be careful - Know your limit. It's genuinely okay to slow down or walk. Another good reason to stay close to home.

12. Make sweatbands your best friend - They're amazing. And cheap! I only wear the wrist ones, but I swear by them, especially in a race when I don't have a towel!

What are your tips for running in hot weather?

Owl Be Sweatin' Across the Pond

You know I love running.

You know I love owls.

Did I ever imagine that it would be possible to combine the two?! No way!

I came across the Owl Be Sweatin' Etsy shop a few weeks ago and was so excited! Not going to lie; the name is definitely what drew me to this wonderful shop, but I am so happy it did! They sell headbands specifically designed not to budge on your head while you run or exercise. Not to mention they are beyond cute!

Let me backtrack here: I'm not really a headband wearing runner. I sometimes would wear the so called 'no-slip' (lies!!) ones that I picked up at Target or a Lululemon one that collected and retained my sweat more than anything else. I was constantly having to adjust them! It just wasn't worth the hassle.

Never again will I settle for lackluster headbands. I promise these Owl Be Sweatin' ones will change your life! (I sound like one of those cheesy sales people you see on TV... I promise I'm not!)

How cute?!

All the headbands come with an adjustable strap, and when I say they do not budge, I mean they do not budge. I've ran outside in them and on a treadmill; they stayed put the entire time! No slipping whatsoever. I even tested them out around the house; it didn't move and didn't give me a headache! Quite the miracle as far as headbands go!

They have a bunch of styles to choose from! I had a hard time picking which ones I wanted to buy, but couldn't say no to the owl print! Typical Tay.

Sidenote, I don't even use those headphones for running. If Owl' Be Sweatin wants to make the perfect headphones too I'd be all over that.

I also picked out this chevron one; isn't the color just perfect for spring/summer?!

Both of mine are the 1 inch headbands, which work very well with my hair. It kept all my frizz back the entire time! They also have 1.5 inch thickness if you need a bit more coverage.

Honestly, if you are a runner or any kind of athlete, these are perfect in every way possible. I mean it!

What do you think?? Are you a headband wearing runner or a headband skeptic like I was?? Visit their shop and see for yourself!

(This is not a sponsored post. I paid for the headbands with my own money; I contacted one of the shop owners Mallory and asked if they would be kind enough to ship to England which was an amazing favor she did for me! All opinions are my own!)

I'm Running Half Of London

Yep, I've got the bug.

I've watched people #RunForBoston while I've been busy and too tired to put on my sneakers (trainers? Yeah I forgot I'm in England.)

I've watched people run the London Marathon for themselves, in a camel suit, because it's their job or because they're proving to themselves that it's possible.

I've scoured the internet for the next big race that I'm as passionate about as Brighton.

Although it's not until September, I'm all signed up and excited to run the Nike Run to the Beat Half Marathon in London!

Remember, day month year! We're in England, here!

And it hit me last week that I want... maybe even need... to do more.

So that's why I decided that I'm running this particular half for charity. 

Over the past few years I've watched one of my best friends run her heart out and do it selflessly. And I always thought "Wow. The patience, the drive, the imagination, the passion she has for raising money for charity. I'm so lazy; I've never even tried."

So I started researching. Before I made my final decision, I wanted to see a list of all the charities here in England that I could run for. They had a search engine, so I just typed in "cancer". The very first name on the list was Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, and I was sold instantly.

I've never done this before. I feel like I can run 13.1 miles no problem! But the raising money bit, I'm going to need to get creative! I'm going to need all the help I can get!!

Have you even to raise money for charity?? How did you accomplish your goals??

I Can't Wait To Run

I know I'm a little late in the game, but last week was quite a week for the running community.

I mean, I can't even begin to speak about the Boston Marathon. I may never cross a starting line or a finish line of the Boston Marathon, or any marathon for that matter. But I cried watching the coverage of the bombing.

And in my head all I could think was "how dare you." I didn't even know who I was speaking to at the time, whether it was an angry group of people or terrorists or whoever. I just wanted to go up to them and say "how dare you." How dare you ruin this moment for these runners and spectators. How dare you ruin some of these people's lives.

How dare you turn one of the happiest places on earth, a finish line, into a crime scene. I always said that running, training, racing, are things that are a part of you that nobody can take away. You can take away any medal or running shoes or even the free race t-shirt. But nobody could ever take away the part of you where running has left it's mark of happiness. And you, whoever you are, managed to do just that. How dare you.

It may not look like much, but it's so much more than a finish line

It's all I kept saying that night. And I realize now how dramatic it sounds. But so many other people who clearly have a much better way with words than I do were saying such amazing things. About the finish line being such a great place. About feeling like someone hurt a member of their family by hurting other runners. About never losing their spirit or faith in humanity.

Whoever you are, how dare you mess with runners.

I'm never this dramatic or ranty. But I just needed that out there.

And then there was the London Marathon. It made me itch with anticipation for my next run. Watching the unconditional respect for Boston, for everyone around them, for volunteers, for people just holding up a sign. While the beginning of the week was all fire and rage, watching the London Marathon coverage was like a breath of fresh air. 

I always said I want to do a marathon one day. It won't be this year and it might not be next year. But one day I'll do a marathon. And whichever one it is, I can't wait to run it.

And whichever my next race is, I can't wait to run that either.

And my group run tomorrow night, no matter how tired I am after work, I can't wait to run that, too.

Eastleigh 10K Race Recap

Hey! I did another 10K!

I thought this as a cool part of the free t-shirt! Gotta love race t-shirts. This does not do the color justice. It looks in the pic that it's school bus yellow. It's actually florescent highlighter yellow. I'm not even kidding.

So I'm a bit late in posting this. I started my new job last week so I took a week off from writing until I could get into a good routine. (Side note, perfect time to start a new job in England. 4 day week. 4 day weekend due to TWO bank holidays. And then another 4 day week. I'm spoiled.)

I'll keep the recap short and sweet.  

Time was 1:04:28.

No PR, but overall I think this was the best 10K I've run out of my 3. I'm counting it as a personal PR (personal personal record? Whatever.) for several reasons.

Even though my time was about a minute slower than the last 10K I did, I think this course was a lot more accurate for distance. Also, all of my splits in this race were pretty consistent. I didn't really negative split, but I didn't positive split either. My splits kind of looked like a bell curve to be honest. (Bell Curve... What a dork... Statistics was always my best subject in high school/college!)

There was a hill between miles 2 and 3 if I remember correctly, and I felt like I conquered that like a champ. It wasn't particularly steep, but it was long and gradual. And honestly, sometimes those are worse. But I powered forward and felt strong going up it.

Oh and not to mention I did this entire race without music! I didn't want to do it; I really like running with music! And I always thought I was so dependent on my music to keep me going. But everyone was saying how strict they were with the "no music or headphones" rule. So I didn't use my iPod for fear of getting disqualified. And I didn't hate it! It's good to know I can run 6.2 miles without some jams keeping me going. 

Lastly, I loved this race because over 130 members of my running club ran it! We took a big group photo before it started. Even though I'm in the slower portion of the club, it didn't really feel like it mattered. And that felt good. Other members were constantly cheering everyone else on, especially at the end. It was some of the best camaraderie I've ever seen.

Do you like running racing with people you know or do you prefer to go at it alone? Do you run with or without music?

Wrap Up & Run 10K Race Recap

I honestly wasn't even going to do this race. I was going to concentrate on PRing in the Eastleigh 10K (which is next weekend) because literally 100 people from my running club are doing it and didn't know if I'd be up for racing 2 weekends in a row.

But oops! I found myself signing up for it because it was super close to my house and I felt like I should take advantage of that. I mean, America finds a race for everything. I kinda miss that.

I wore green even though it wasn't St. Paddy's Day themed! Oh well! #TeamSparkle

The course was about 2.5 laps of the park that I know like the back of my hand. This kind of worked to both my advantage and disadvantage.

My slowest points were definitely when I thought "Ugh crap... I still have to run this exact spot 2 more times..."

And then to top it off, they had signs for every kilometer. So as we passed the 1K marker, we passed the 5K marker about 4 seconds later. That was a bit soul crushing. Stupid laps.

Oh and did I mention it rained poured the entire time?? I know, I'm really painting a fantastic picture of how lovely this race was.... But it down-poured. And it was kind of nice for like a minute. And then rain got in my eyes and my contacts starting cursing at me and that sucked.

Other than that, it was a great race! It wasn't very big, therefore, no big crowds or need for weaving.

Thumbs-upping to Alex, who was a lovely sport and stood in the rain! It looks like I'm going super fast because I'm a blur in the picture. In reality I'm probably like "It's raining, it's cold, and we're at .3 miles right now...."

My last 10K was back in December 2011. So going into this race on Sunday, I knew I had a PR in me somewhere.

I had no idea I had a 10 minute PR in me, though! My official time was 1:03:38!

I stayed pretty positive throughout the race. Even though I didn't train much (read: AT ALL) for this race, I knew how far I had come and felt proud to be a runner.

The worst parts, like I said before, were the parts when I realized how much was left simply by knowing how many laps we had completed. Those were my 2 mental blocks. Anything in between was more like "Yay! Running! This is fun! I'm flying!" 

I sprinted through the finish and was beaming when I looked down at my Garmin and saw 1 hour and 3 minutes staring back at me. It was a good feeling.

What wasn't a good feeling was walking through the mud as shooting pains were going through my knee. Ouch, that was no fun....

But then we went home and made green drinks in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  

Green cider... Why the hell not!

In my lovely college town, they always had green beer for the weekend. But I hate beer. So I never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day. So when Alex said the pubs were making green beer/cider for the first time (that he'd seen), I knew I had to celebrate my PR in style!

Hope you had loads to celebrate this weekend! Do anything fun for St. Patrick's Day?? Race? PR? Pretend to be Irish?

Winding Down

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least, but in a good way!

I feel like I haven't really sat down to unwind in forever. Everything has been go go go go GO!

Yesterday, I had an obligatory rest day. Literally, I felt like I had been hit by a bus! Everything hurt. It was a good hurt, though. A "be proud of yourself, but don't do that again in the immediate future" hurt. And a "have fun standing up or sitting down!" hurt. And definitely a "hahahahahahahahahaha don't even look at stairs today" hurt.

Thanks, muscles.

I realized what I really needed to do was to finally wind down after weeks of excitement.

And these are the 3 things that I turned to! 

1. Post Half Marathon Goodness - Alex was sweet enough to meet me at the finish line with a bag full of Lush products, including this one that I had never tried before! (Or maybe he was just trying to politely tell me something....) It was just what I needed to pamper my poor, tired feet. Alex's dad, on the other hand, knew I'd need some Deep Heat (kind of like Icy Hot for Americans...) and I've been using it like it's about to go out of style!

2. Good Reads - While I'm lathering myself in Deep Heat, I need something to occupy my time. I bought "The Casual Vacancy" the second it came out in September. I read about a quarter of it before I gave up. Come on, JKR! Where are the wizards?! (Kidding, kind of.) But I recently picked it back up with full determination! I'm nearly done. Next on the list is "Gone Girl" which has been popping up everywhere recently! I knew I had to grab a copy. (I have a terrible habit of buying books in the midst of reading 2 or 3 other books... gahh...) I'm most excited for one month from today when "Clockwork Princess" comes out. It's the last book in one of my fave series, and the suspense is killing me!

3. Tea & Biscuits - DUH. I can't sit down for a good book or just some peace and quiet without a cuppa tea. Call me British at heart; I've gotten so accustomed to drinking tea and letting it make me feel warm and cozy on the inside. And don't get me started on Hobnobs. I have a pack by my bedside table (don't judge me) and I think that may explain my strange dreams......

It feels good to unwind finally! Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to start running again and finally start work here in England (a topic for another post). But for now, it feels good to relax!

How you do like to unwind??

Brighton Half Marathon Race Recap

In case you didn't know (sarcasm! I know I've been spamming your Twitter feeds...), I finally ran my first half marathon yesterday in lovely Brighton! It was everything I expected and more!

If you just like stats and don't care about the aches and pains or when I coughed up water at mile 3.5, here's the Spark Notes version:

1. I didn't negative split like I intended..... Actually, I positive split the hell out of this race! But I kind of don't really care about that.

2. Lovely (mostly) flat course! Just 2 inclines towards the beginning of the race that weren't too difficult.

3. I only really announced it once, but I did have a time goal. Most importantly, I just wanted to finish. But I did beat my time goal with minutes to spare (and not seconds like I anticipated!!)

My goal was to finish around 2:30:00.

I finished in 2:24:45!

I forgot to stop my watch at the end!! I was too busy focusing on the pain in my legs and trying to find my hard earned medal!!

See! Queen of positive splitting.... But I'm okay with that.... It didn't ruin my race.

And my Garmin was mostly accurate throughout the whole race which I am super thankful for! The road signs weren't too far off from what my Garmin said. I read this article a day or two before the race and I am so glad I did! It just gave me a lot of insight that probably saved my race yesterday.

With the Spark Notes out of the way, here's how it all went down.

First, let me just say that I don't get nervous.... Ever.... I wasn't nervous to move across the world. I wasn't nervous the day of my wedding. But thinking about running this half was making me nervous. I think it's because my last 2 weeks of training were kind of messed up. When I say "kind of messed up", I really mean "I didn't run for 2 and a half weeks because I was sick and then my family was in England and then I got married".

I thought, "well there goes all my awesome training down the drain..."

(I tried making up some training this past week.... I had to skip my intended long run of 12 miles and just do a kind of taper week instead. Don't follow the Taylor fever wedding training plan; I had no idea what I was doing.)

Yep... Combined 2 weeks of training into 1.....

Needless to say when I woke up yesterday, I felt more confident than I should have. I wasn't feeling as nervous or negative as I was before. I thought of my great 11 mile run (from close to a month ago...) and just said, "If I could do it then, I can do it now!" I forgot to tell myself that I'd need to add on 2.1 miles more than that, but whatever.

Selfies at 5 in the morning!

I wrote 13 on my hand. Taylor Swift writes 13 on her hand when she performs, so I always said when I ran a half marathon I would write 13 on my hand, too. 13.1 miles in the year 2013! How perfect?! (And no, I didn't accidentally wipe the permanent marker on my face or something totally embarrassing... Come to think of it, that's quite shocking I didn't make more of a hot mess out of myself...)

The drive there was nice and relaxing. I ate 1 and a half slices of toast with peanut butter and cinnamon and a pack of fruit punch sport beans.

I thought I had used up all of my weather luck getting perfect wedding day weather.... I was wrong! Yesterday's weather was absolutely perfect! The sun was shining but there was a chilly breeze. Which is why I changed my outfit about 8 times while waiting to start.

Squinty from the sun!

I ended up wearing a tank top and shorts without the jacket, but made a last minute decision to wear leg warmers. (You know, as one does when they think leg warmers are cool...) I definitely could have done without the leg warmers (I ended up pulling them down to look like really awkward socks at mile 11), but compared to what everyone else was wearing, I looked pretty comfortable! Yes I was freezing at the start line. I actually heard people talking about how crazy I was and pointing out the goose bumps on my arms. I wanted to be like "Oh you are so cool, people! Talking about my goose bumps like you own the place!" but refrained... Anyway, the people who were bundled up like we were in the arctic looked like they were regretting their hat, gloves, thermal shirt, fleece jacket, trousers, and electric blanket (kidding about the last one) at about mile 1....

A little past the start line! Not me... faster people...

I started about 9 minutes after the gun went off. I remember it was pretty crowded at the start which slowed everyone down. I remembered the article I read and tried not to weave at all. I knew we would spread out eventually, so I just waited patiently until we got to bigger roads.

The first 3 miles went by super fast. A few times throughout the race I remember going "OMG I'm running a half marathon!" I knew I was going faster than I should (goal was to stay around 11:30 miles... I was doing about a minute faster) but I felt great. There was a water station at mile 3 that had pouches of water called "rip and sip". Best idea I've seen so far in a race! The tops were like fuel wrappers (like Gu or SiS) and they were easy to drink from.... Almost too easy.... Between miles 3 and 4 I ended up coughing up loads of water that just "went down the wrong pipe". It went everywhere. I should have stopped running and pulled to the side, but didn't. Oops! I had already spilled it everywhere; the damage was done.

The first turnaround point was probably one of my favorite spots. I knew that once we got back to where we came from, we'd be about half way. I loved watching the runners coming the opposite direction both before and after the turnaround. I thought that they all looked like they were working so hard. I thought maybe that's how I looked, too, instead of thinking I looked sweaty and disheveled.

I think Alex took this while looking for me between miles 6-7. I could be wrong though.

I saw Alex and his mom and dad around the halfway point. I screamed my head off and was so excited! I still felt really good at that point, so was excited that I was able to give them a thumbs up instead of looking miserable.

The crowds were definitely the biggest at the half way point, which was also close to the finish (so you could see the runners twice throughout the race). The best part was that we had our names on our bib numbers. I would hear random people shout my name or saying "Go Taylor!" (but in British accents, so it was more like "Go Tay-laaa!") and it made me smile and power forward. I don't think I ever want to do a race without my name somewhere on my shirt/bib. It definitely made running that much better.

Pretty pic of Brighton that Alex took

Mile 8 is where I hit my wall. I actually thought mile 6.5 would be where I would tank because we would "only be half way". But no, mile 8 was killer.

The amount of spectators had significantly decreased. It was also one of the first times where most of what you saw in front of you was "one way". Throughout the race you could almost always see runners going in another direction or making turns. This was just straight. And everything was between buildings. I could see runners going the opposite way (towards the finish) in the distance to my left between the buildings, but the turnaround point was nowhere in sight. This was the point that was most daunting to me.

I slowed down a lot. There were no spectators cheering you on. There was no pretty beach side to look at. It was hard.

I skipped the first Lucozade station earlier on in favor of water, but I took a bottle of Lucozade at around mile 9 out of sheer boredom I think. I tasted it and hated it, but just needed something to occupy my time so I just kept it in my hand. I probably only got through a quarter of the bottle before just throwing it to the side. I didn't want crap Lucozade; I wanted a finish line.

The second turnaround point finally came what felt like 7 hours later! Finally, we were running the last stretch of the race all along the beach. The sun was beaming down and it was definitely the hottest point of the race, but it was also quite breezy. The wall I hit was slowly coming down (even though my pace doesn't reflect that).

I had broken the race up into 5 miles, 5 miles, and then a 5K. When we got to mile 10 I thought, "this is it.... Just a Park Run left. I can do this."

I stopped once around mile 11 to pull down my legwarmers and walked a bit to take my last gel.

The last time I ran 11 miles (my longest run before the race), I did it in 2:03:04. This time when I looked I my Garmin at mile 11, I hadn't even hit 2 hours yet.

I decided to stop regretting going out too fast the first half of the race. I knew that even if I did 12 minute miles, I'd still be comfortably under my time goal. And plus, everything after 11 was a new personal distance. I had made it this far; I was not about to give out!

So I just kept going. And going. Seeing mile 12 was amazing. The crowds of spectators were increasing drastically. Everyone was screaming and shouting. I didn't think I'd want to hear the phrase "you're almost done!" at all throughout the race but hearing it was actually kind of spectacular.

They put up signs for how many meters were left starting at 1 KM and decreased every 100 meters (900, 800, 700, all the way to 100). Again, I thought these signs would be an ugly reminder of how little was left, but they were really quite exciting.

I saw Alex and his parents close to the 400 meters left sign. I started laughing and crying and threw my arms up in the air. I don't know what I was trying to accomplish by this. I think I was signaling I wanted a hug, or to be carried across the finish line.

I can't believe I am openly showing this picture to the world! It's dreadful. I swear I'm laughing, not bawling. And there are those cool legwarmers scrunched down like I told you..... And my arms half in the air... Maybe I'm trying to fly?

I didn't even see the mile 13 sign which I'm disappointed about. But I had looked down at the 13 on my hand enough times to remember what my fave number is and how many miles I was running.

I had enough energy in me to sprint to through the finish line. I almost didn't want to stop running. I knew if I stopped, I'd ache. But everyone else had stopped and I didn't want to look like an ass. So I stopped. And ached. I didn't even want a space blanket. I wanted my medal.

New bling!

I knew my time was where I wanted it to be. I dug deep for that. I didn't even care that I went out too fast or that I wanted the second half to be stronger than the first half so I didn't "hit the wall". I didn't care about anything. I just thought, "when can I do this again?!" 

Alex's dad said if I finished below 2:30, we'd have tea at The Grand Hotel, and if I finished over 2:30, we'd have tea at Ted's Cafe. He owes me tea at The Grand Hotel!! (Which we are standing in front of)

And I will do it again sometime soon!

But for now, some thank yous to Body Glide, the makers of the rip and sip pouches, Nando's (which I demolished for lunch), Alex and his/our family, and YOU!

I Want To Wear This Shirt

So I'm a crazy person and signed up for my first half marathon 9 days after I get married. This shouldn't shock anyone because I also mention wedding and/or half marathon in every single post.

Today is one month until the Brighton Half Marathon!

And I really really really want to wear this shirt.

This is the back of it.

It's definitely not the cutest race shirt out there. And I keep going back and forth about whether I should have gotten the blue instead of the charcoal. And I almost wore it once even though I haven't technically run the race yet but we all know how those running gods watch me like a hawk. 

This shirt has literally been sitting in my drawer for months. I don't know why they sent it with my race confirmation info back in September.

But I want. to. wear. it.

In exactly one month, I will wear the shirt.

But I have to run the race first. Duh!

So during my run yesterday, I buckled down and really thought about what I should be doing. What have I done right so far? What have I done really stupidly? I'm on week 13 of a 17 week plan, and I really want to make the most out of this last month.

I know I shouldn't have time goals, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have one in mind. I do have one. Kind of.

Right now, my goal is to finish around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Notice the word around. I'm okay with a potential finish above 2:30. Obviously I'm okay with below 2:30, too.

I'll get into specifics as race day approaches. For now, this is just my "one month to go" ramblings.  

Yesterday's run was the first time I become Garmin obsessed for the right reasons. Normally I check it and just want to go faster. This time, I checked it to make sure I was staying on pace and not going crazy. Because the number one stupid thing that I do is start off too quickly. I've been the queen of positive splitting recently. I'm not proud of that, but it's true.

For my "around 2:30" finish I have to consistently stay at "around 11:30" for 13.1 miles. Yesterday, all I wanted was to stay "around 11:30" for 5 miles just to prove that I could hold back.

Oops.

Not sure what happened at mile four. Probs thinking about eating chocolate biscuits or something.

The point is, I'm not setting super strict goals until I've had a few more double digit long runs. Lucky for me (kind of sarcasm) those are happening for the next 3 weeks. I know I can go faster than this because I was sort of half-assing that whole "hold back" goal. But I know I could (and probably should) go slower, too. My biggest fear is going out way to fast... It always happens...

On the plus side, I bought new gels!

Anyone tried these before?

After my first 10 miler of death (where I was ready to quit half marathon training and probably just life in general) I realized I need fuel. I tried to go without it for so long. But I can't. These were recommended by the guy in my local running store. Not excited to choke them down but excited to do a double digit run with these bad boys on my side! Maybe I can finish without crawling then....  

A few questions: 
Do you run with your Garmin during a race or do you prefer to "run on feel"? 
Do you try to negative split or run at a consistent pace? 
Gel, drinks, chomps, beans, what do you like and why? 

My Running Story

I thought a lot on Saturday when I was out running.

I thought about how it was pouring rain and I was still in the park. 

I saw the other runners as soaked and cold as I was. I thought, "wow, they have dedication!" 

And then I thought that I had dedication, too. For the first time, I felt like a runner. Not just someone who likes to run or who just runs for fun. I felt like a runner. 

And then my Garmin died. Typical. 

Yep, exactly how I felt.

 
But so many people were running on (no pun intended) post-racing highs this weekend that it made me think about that one specific New Years resolution I made 2 years ago that magically turned me into a runner.

Okay, so it wasn't magic that turned me into a runner. But it was one goal I set on a whim and lots of blood, sweat, and tears.

I never used to believe in New Years resolutions in the slightest. Year after year I joked that my resolution was to "get a resolution next year". True story. 

Going into 2011, I knew I didn't want to set a resolution like "be healthy" or "get good grades". Those always seemed to be short lived. 

Randomly, I said "hey, I want to be a runner!" I didn't have any goals in mind. I just wanted to run. How hard could it be, right?

Backtracking across my whole life, I was never interested in running. I tried convincing myself I was a few times in high school. Fit people ran; I wanted to be fit. That seemed easy enough! I started a few "running logs" thinking I would see progress. I never saw any progress. I could fouetté turn and grand jeté for hours on end, or toss a six foot flag in the air and effortlessly catch it behind my back. Ask me to run and I'd probably curl up in the fetal position and cry. 


Truth of the matter was I never had to work out until college. Well, in my mind I didn't have to work out. I doubt that was really the case. I made my way to the gym a few times for yoga and for a boring round on the elliptical. Still no running for me.  

That about sums up college.

So why on earth did I want to become a runner? 

Still to this day in late 2012, I have absolutely no idea. I still don't really know if I feel like a runner even after Saturday's epiphany. I can easily say "I enjoy running" or "I go running often", but to other people I'd probably never say "I'm a runner." 

I get mortified when people ask, "Hey Tay, when is your marathon??" I say "omg, HALF. It's a HALF marathon!" because clearly I think the gods of running will strike me for being an imposter marathoner in training. 

I don't wear fancy compression socks. I don't separate my runs into tempo, hill, interval, easy, or any other adjective people use these days. I have good running days. I have some really fantastic running days. And then I have some really crap running days (and boy do I beat myself up about the crap running days). 

Despite all of that mumbo jumbo, I run. 

I started by walking around my neighborhood in the blistering Florida heat (rookie mistake, people). Then, I'd attempt to run. Of course I'd wait until there were no cars or people in sight (another rookie mistake; nobody really cares what you look like). I would put on an upbeat song and then motivate myself to keep going. I'd say, "run this whole song!" or "run the entire circle; it's so easy!". 

It was actually anything but easy. 

Let me break it down for you. The "circle" in my neighborhood was about .4 miles. Hilariously, I couldn't even run half of that without being winded and defeated. 

I joined a gym and slowly but surely the treadmill became my friend. I didn't really know what I was doing; I'd walk on an incline a bit or do some really awkward speed walking. But my friends were running, so I thought "why not?"

Running inside the gym felt a million times better than running outside. I didn't have to worry about running in the afternoon heat after classes or running in the pitch black night after work. 

Instead of being negative and feeling defeated, I set new goals for myself. I figured  if I could just run a bit longer (even if it was just 5 seconds longer) than I did the day before, it was a good day. So running for 5 minutes turned into 10 minutes, which turned into 20 minutes, which into my friends saying "WTF why can't I run like that?!"

I admit, some days I hit a major wall. I did my first 10 mile run a couple of weeks ago and was ready to quit half marathon training. Yes, dramatic but true. But then I thought about how far I've come. I couldn't run 10 seconds back in 2010, yet alone 10 miles. 

 
What I did 2 years ago kind of changed my life. And if you told me that fact 2 years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed you. 

I have a lot of goals for my future. Or maybe after the half marathon I will despise running. Who knows! But for now, I want more bib numbers on my wall. And I doubt that feeling will go away any time soon. 

Thoughts About Last Year

2012 is officially last year... How crazy is that?!

But that also means that it's time for life to start going back to normal. The Fiance is back to work. No more over eating every box of chocolates that I lay eyes on. The telly isn't playing any more Christmas specials or Big Fat Quizzes of the Year. Major bummer. 

Every year, I think "this is going to be my year". 

In many ways, 2012 was my year. I thought a lot about what I learned in those 366 days (yes, leap year. When you work on a cruise ship, that extra day counts....) and I wrote down a million things like "Norovirus is scary" and "I like guacamole" (yes, I definitively learned I like guacamole in 2012). 

But I'll save you those real gems of my mind and just tell you the important things that I learned.

Sounding British doesn't take that long to kick in - I was speaking to an American friend and she said I sounded so British. My accent hasn't necessarily changed, but the emphasis I put on certain words, or how I finish sentences apparently sounded British! I thought that was funny and scary at the same time. 

Hiya, you alright, mate?!

Don't underestimate yourself - 2012 really taught me how to think more confidently about myself in many aspects. My abilities. My working skills. My writing. But most drastically my running. I'm so quick to say how slow I am. And yeah, I guess when you compare my splits to someone trying to sub-2:00 a half marathon or people who whip out 8 minute miles, I am slow. But I've improved so much since this year started, and that's what I need to focus on.

Don't overestimate yourself - At the same time, I'm only human. I have good days and bad days. Just because I ran a 31:13 5K doesn't mean I will run that or faster every single week. There's a big difference between setting realistic goals and overestimating what is physically possible.

(Pic taken while parasailing in Cabo!)  

You can't please everyone - I feel like I've been relearning this for a few years now. No matter how well you know someone, you find out their hard limits eventually. This year, it was finally moving to England and planning a wedding in another country while my parents ranted about it. Russell Howard said something hilarious recently... "I hate phrases like 'blood is thicker than water'.... Well so is yogurt!" It just summed up how I felt so perfectly. Please the people you need to please. If that means yourself, so be it!

Don't forget to have fun - Make time for fun. It's as simple as that. Fun is a morale booster unlike any other.

Working 14 hour shifts? Fine by me if I can play with dolphins afterwards.

Dreams come true - Cheesy without even elaborating. But it's true. Patience is an amazing thing that I most definitely don't possess. But waiting is worth it when it comes to following what you know is right for you.

Did you have any grand life lessons in 2012? What were they? Any life lesson is welcome, including but not limited to "bananas are gross" or "I don't enjoy Gangnam Style even though most of the world does".