Run Through Redlands 2013: Stubborn Wins

I was not prepared to run a half marathon, yet I was registered and I decided I wasn't going to let it beat me - so this Sunday I ran the Run Through Redlands.

I last completed this race 2 years ago - it has a lot of elevation change so it's not easy, but I enjoyed it. See this post for my race recap from 2011.

I've been doing short runs maybe twice a week for the past 8 weeks, between getting a couple of colds, and having a couple rotations with unexpectedly long hours I did not stick to training as I intended, so going into the race I just planned to run for the first half and then walk the rest.

Then the night before I was about to go to sleep and I thought, "What if I can run the whole thing?" And by the time I started running I knew that the tiny little competitive side of me wasn't going to let me walk it.

In the morning I fueled up with a mini banana smoothie, tea and a whole wheat waffle with peanut butter.

And I noticed that my shoes were all paint spotted from the Neon Run. 

 So by start time I was all set to go.

 Many thanks to my most handsome supporter. He brought a book.

Granted, my pace was similar to those who were walk/running but I surprised myself and it felt awesome. The views were gorgeous and it was really cool because over half of the course was on roads I ran frequently in my training. We ran right past my apartment!

Look Mom a medal! 

After orange wedges at the finish line [the orange groves here are famous], we stopped by the store so I could get some coconut water. I picked the chocolate flavored one. It was awesome.

Later in the day we went to Baja Fresh and I got a bowl with black beans. 

And then I fell asleep for a while. I should be napping more while I still have my weekends.

And for dinner a Mediterranean style plate with pita, hummus, falafel, samosa, and tabbouleh. I didn't really love all of it, but it was pretty good. 

And so that was my Sunday. 13.1 miles and a couple piles of food.

This week I'm continuing my Basic Science elective in pathology, working on expanding the materials for the second year students for next year. It's kind of hard because it's been a long time since I've studied it from that perspective, but it's good review.

I don't have any plans for my next half marathon since I don't really know my schedule after the end of May, but I'm sure there will be another sometime soonish - likely in New Mexico.