Letting the Secret Out - Secret City Half Marathon Recap: Part 1

Jayson, Haylee and I after the Secret
City Half Marathon

There is so much I want to share about my experience at the Secret City Half Marathon (held on Nov. 20) that I don't think I can contain it all in only one post.

Well, I could, but I don't want to overwhelm you with all my thoughts about this wonderful event.

So, because I know you enjoy reading my writing so much, I've decided to split this up into two posts. This first one is about the overall experience of the Secret City Half, while the next one will delve into my inner conflict I faced (and still battle with) as a runner.

Without any further ado, on to the recap!

The Secret City Half is a well-organized event. The course was simple, pretty much a double loop, and the terrain isn't much different than what I'm used to here in southeastern Kentucky. Plus, the price was right. Registration started at $40 and then only went up to $50 after Oct. 20, so it was an easy sell for me.

Geeked Up For Race Day

Jayson and Haylee with me after I finished
my first half marathon.

I am so excited about this weekend's half marathon.

This one feels soooooooooo different than the previous three I have ran so far. I was nervously excited for the my first half in Columbus, Ohio, but that's to be expected. I went into my second half a wee bit overconfident, sure of great success, but the heat and humidity of St. Louis kicked my butt. For my third, and most recent half marathon, I was optimistically confident I would do well and post a solid PR, having learned from my previous mistakes and trusting in my training.

But my excitement for this weekend's half marathon is on a whole other level.

I'm totally geeked up, psyched up, fired up and ready to go for the Secret City Half, and it has very little to do me and my potential performance.

So what, you ask, has me pumped up for this race? Well ... MY KIDS ARE RUNNING TOO!!!

Mission 2:15 Accomplished - Iron Horse Half Recap

VICTORY!!!

Gee whiz, I have been swamped. Finally going to get this race recap done ... only THREE WEEKS after the fact.

Ahhhh, the SID's life!

ANYWHO ... here's the recap

On Sunday, Oct. 23, I ran the Iron Horse Half Marathon in Midway, Ky., and I loved it! And not because I kicked my PR in the butt!

Heading into this half marathon, my goal was to complete the course in 2 hours, 15 minutes - 16 minutes better than my previous PR. Training was going well until late September when life interrupted and complicated things. Travel for work and dealing with some other life issues, getting my training runs in became difficult. 

All of those was going on with less than a month away from the Iron Horse. At this point, I made a decision. I was confident in my training in that I knew I would PR. I've become stronger and my endurance had built up to a good point that I knew I would be able to break my previous PR of 2:31:01. So, I decided to just enjoy the run.