Winning the Half Marathon!

One of the most exciting things that happened for me this past spring is that I was able to be a part of this amazing organization called First Descents and I ran the Hippie Chick Half Marathon on their behalf and won the race! The two things go together but are great in their own ways so I'll discuss the details seperately. First I'll tell you about the race. After the marathon I ran last October I decided I wanted to give myself a big physical challenge. One that would be hard but attainable. I was trying to train to tackle a triathlon but wanted to run faster. So I got the book "Run Less, Run Faster" from Runners World and set the goal to run a half marathon in a 7 minute pace. That's a finish time of just over 1:30. I knew it would be tough and it was, many early mornings in the dark and the rain out there running my intervals faster or pushing through a tempo run. I also had to keep up on the cross training of swimming and biking. It was a lot but it was working and I was getting faster. As the race approached I was running my long runs in just under 7 minute paces and I knew I could do it! What I didn't expect was to be the fastest runner at the race! I started the race with the front pack and just stayed up with them. After the first mile I was one of the front runners and knew I needed to go even faster to meet my goal. I kept watching for someone to pull ahead but no one did and as I approached the 2nd mile I made the decision to just take the lead and run what I had trained for. I was nervous wondering what made me think I should be the lead runner but none the less I just tailed the lead bike and monitored my pace as the miles flowed behind me. At about half way there was a turn around point that led you back the way you had come for about a mile before taking you down a different path. It was really exciting at this point because as I turned around and ran back I got to see my friends who were also running the race and all the other women who were so excited with the race. Women are awesome and so supportive and we all just yelled encouraging words at each other. I felt like a real celebrity as I passed them. By the time I turned off down the road alone again I was well over half way and knew that if I could just keep it up I would not only make my goal but maybe win the race. I didn't know how far back the next runner was and the closer I got to the end more I got nervous someone would blast past me right at the finish so I pushed on even harder. It was getting pretty hot by this point and I just kept reminding myself that it was nothing compared to all the running in Okinawa and I couldn't let it affect me. The last three miles were tough because by then I had met up with the 10K run/walkers so they were merrily walking along on the right while I had to push past on the left. They were great and encouraging but I felt like I was pushing so hard and going so fast compared to their happy walk that I was dismayed to look down and see my pace at times and know I had to step it up! Luckily, I was able to get back on pace and the adrenaline of wanting to meet my goal and win took over and I powered through to the finish!! It was pretty exciting. Tom, my parents and other family members were there at the finish line. My mom said she felt pretty special when the guy next to her said "Wow, she's amazing" and my mom got to say "Yeah, that's my daughter." :) After winning they grabbed me for a quick interview with the microphone and I was too overwhelmed to really think of what to say. I'm sure I sounded pretty lame mumbling something about the beautiful course. My running friends! The finish line! (You can see some 10K run/walkers behind me) You can see the race results here: http://www.racecenter.com/results/2012/res_p712.htm All around a great race, I felt great and did exactly what I had trained so hard to do. But the success didn't stop there. I entered the race on behalf of the organization First Descents. It helps young adult cancer survivors by giving them a chance to go out and face a fear or challenge other than cancer. They take them kayaking or rock climbing or even surfing. It’s an incredible week for the participants. I understand the need to push yourself physically and the strength that comes from it. It’s free for the participants and in order to do this they need to raise money and get people involved. Entering the race on their behalf meant that I pledged to raise a certain amount of money and then wear a First Descents shirt and represent them at the race to try to raise awareness of what they do. I was able to talk about them the friends on Facebook and through email. I wanted to get involved because First Descents has been a powerful influence in the life of our good friend Shanda. When they gave out the awards after the race I was able to take a few minutes at the microphone to tell everyone about First Descents and encourage their involvement. It was exciting! I'm so glad I got a chance to help support that is so valuable and life changing for those involved! I look forward to doing more. I was featured as the Athlete of the Week on First Descents web page. You can read more about First Descents and my experience and why I got involved by reading this entry from their website: http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2012/fd/hippiechickhalf/stinchfield/ If you're looking for an amazing worthwhile cause to support you've found it!! Check out their website, watch their videos and read about what they do and then figure out who you can involved!!