Running the Austin Half-Marathon

Austin Half-Marathon? Done! I ran my eighth half-marathon and got a PR.

This year, the Ascension Seton Austin Marathon presented by Under Armour celebrated its 28th anniversary. It was the perfect weather for a run, the perfect setting for a memorable event. Keep reading for all the details about my experience.

Half-Marathon Training

This was my eighth half-marathon and the first time I actually focused on training. What?! I know. I’m lucky I’ve never had any injuries and finished most in an ok time. In the past, the longest training run I did was six miles and I relied on my cardio workouts to get me ready.

This time around, I wanted to go all in. Beginners are recommended 12 weeks of training and 10-15 miles a week. My schedule was about 15 weeks and I aimed for running three times a week with a progression up to 12 miles. (I used this training schedule as a guide.) It was hard for me to keep up with my schedule because of the cold weather and holiday/post-holiday laziness. It wasn’t until the last seven weeks of training where I actually wanted to train.

In November, I started the progression from two miles until 12 miles. There were three weeks I missed the scheduled run and ran two miles or took a spin class instead. On only five of the 15 weeks, I ended up running at least two times. Basically, even though I trained for this run, I slacked off a lot, too.

Half-Marathon Number Eight

My first half-marathon back in 2012? It took me three hours and seven minutes to cross the finish line. That’s about a 14-minute mile, basically one of the last runners to finish. I also chose the Decker Challenge as my first half and if you’re an Austin runner, you know that race is the hardest with its crazy hills!

Since then, my fastest half-marathon was the 3M in 2017 where I had an 11:50 pace. If you’re thinking about running a half-marathon, the 3M is the easiest because it’s all downhill! My last race was the Austin Half-Marathon in 2017 where I had a 12:09 pace.

If you’re curious, here are the times of my half-marathons:

1. Decker Challenge 2012; 3:07:17; 14 pace
2. Rock and Roll San Antonio 2013; not available
3. Plano Balloon Festival Half-Marathon 2013; not available
4. Decker Challenge 2015; 2:43:08; 12:27 pace
5. Decker Challenge 2016; 2:39:25; 12:10 pace
6. 3M Half-Marathon 2017; 2:35:15; 11:50 pace
7. Austin Half-Marathon 2017; 2:39:11; 12:09 pace
8. Austin Half-Marathon 2019, 2:17:31; 10:30 pace

Race Recap

Hmm, with training, you get faster. How about that? 😉 I started working out consistently in 2015 (and love spin classes), and I think that has to do with the progress also. My time goal for the race was 2:24, an 11-minute pace, and I ended up beating it by seven minutes. It was also a personal record by 18 minutes!

I ran with my friend Ashley the first eight miles or so which helped me push my pace. Looking at the times for each mile on my watch (included below), I had several miles under a 10-minute pace, though towards the end when I was running on my own, I was in the 10-11-minute pace.

• Mile 1: 10:35
• Mile 2: 10:32
• Mile 3: 9:51
• Mile 4: 10:11
• Mile 5: 9:32
• Mile 6: 9:38
• Mile 7: 9:53
• Mile 8: 10:01
• Mile 9: 11:27
• Mile 10: 10:54
• Mile 11: 10:59
• Mile 12: 11:03
• Mile 13: 11:26

It was a hard run. Miles four to seven were pretty good, and after that, I couldn’t get back into a solid groove, especially with the rolling hills on Enfield Road as we hit mile 10. It might have been hard because I pushed my pace so hard and I was constantly keeping track of that time goal. Towards the end, I was nervous about being passed by a pacer. Overall, it was a fun run, I was so glad it was over when I passed the finish line, and I was surprised about my endurance!

If you’ve never cheered on runners at a half-marathon or marathon, I highly recommend it. As a runner, it means so much to look up and see these awesome human beings with funny signs, smiles, cowbells, and encouragement to help you keep going. I was a part of a cheering line a few years ago and a volunteer at a water station last year (both for the Austin Marathon), and it was so inspiring to be on the other side, watching runners take on the challenge. If you were cheering or part of the volunteer crew this year, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I’m a Runner!?

Most of the time, I don’t call myself a runner because I don’t actually like running. But after nearly 10 years of running races and wanting to train harder for races in the future, I’ll call it what it is proudly. I’m a runner. And I might even like it more than I think. 😉

Of course, I have to give some tips of things I’ve learned and remembered in my training:

• The first three miles and the last two miles are the hardest.
• I like running in new areas instead of running the same loop over and over.
• Good running shoes will take you far, literally! (I’m a forever Brooks fan.)
• Running the night before trash pick-up will be a smelly run.
• Don’t procrastinate. Put your gear on and get out there ASAP!
• I can do hard things. It’s incredible what “impossible” things we can accomplish when we focus and work hard for them.
• Hard things take work, consistency, and showing up. What do I want to commit to?

I can only imagine what results I would get if I stuck to a training schedule! For now, I’m hoping to keep running consistently, maybe run another half this year, and decide soon if I will run a FULL MARATHON next year. I think it will take about a year for me to train for one. I have always said that I could never do it but why not??

What is your favorite race experience? Have any advice about running a marathon?

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