Superhero Half Marathon

Superhero Half Marathon May 19th,2013

From the moment I registered for this race on New Years Eve I worried about the weather.  Any race in the late spring has the potential for crazy hot weather I worried it would be gross and I would be slow.  Well as it turns out my worries were not what I thought they would be.  Yes the weather would be less than ideal and by my standards I would be slower than I wanted. But nether for the reasons I originally thought. After the Manhattan Half my running crawled to a hault.  I ran the races I was registered for in February and March.  Was pulled into a 5k at work and added two more just to get running in April and Early May.  My running Motivation had gone. I never did register or commit myself to a spring Marathon so the miles were very low.  I never ran more than 55 miles in Feb-May.  This race was always on my mind but the excuses just kept creeping in.  Baseball season was in full swing and this year my boys were on separate teams.  That meant we were at the ball park at least 5-6 days per week.  It was hectic and running just didn't happen like it had in the past. 

 

 

My son received his first Holy Communion the day before this race.  So the whole weekend was crazy.  How would I do it? Well register for a local 5k three hours before the church of coarse.  (Only way to get the pre-half miles in right)? Two races in one hectic weekend for sure sounded exciting.  Sure to get me excited about running right?  Honestly I wanted to ladies cut purple race T that was associated with the race.  If I had the time I would have run the 10k distance that I PR'd at last year but time was short and I was happy I did something  before my son's big day!

 



Two Drown Rats Post race

But anyway back to the Superhero Half.  I looked forward to not only running but looking the part of the superhero.  I had purchased a batgirl dress at Walmart on clearance last Halloween.  It would be perfect over shorts and a sports bra.  But I needed something else.  Socks.  Socks with capes to be exact! I loved these things.  Well the day arrived at it was raining when  Beth picked me up at 5am.  Raining turned to pouring the whole drive down to New Jersey and it never stopped.  So I guessed it would not be too hot.  I never considered rain.  It would slow to a drizzle and then rain full force.  But what the hell it was going to be fun.  There were so many cool costumes and Superhero's everywhere!  How often do you run with Underdog and Mr. Incredible in front of you?  I had come to grips with the fact that I should have no expectations of a good time on this run.  Only that I run under two hours.  The course was a double loop through a nice NJ neighborhood and into a wooded trail.  the crowd support was great considering the weather and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I finished out with a little energy to sprint in the end and I finished one second slower that my first half marathon three years ago.  I was content even though it was a full six min slower that the Manhattan Half.  Just goes to prove you must work hard to be rewarded with good times.  I had not done that at all.  Onward to the summer and focusing on NYC for the fall.  Getting the motivation back is a must!