Red Coyote Half Marathon

Last month I ran the Red Coyote half marathon. I went into this race thinking that I would smash my goal, but it did not go as planned.

This race course had quite a few hills in the first 4 miles. In mile 4 I knew something was wrong as my hamstring and lower back started to cramp up. I now had to switch to my race plan B. We ran miles 5-11 along the river as an out and back. The head wind was about 25mph the whole race. While the winds were not ideal, the temperature was perfect. I ran in my shorts and t-shirt and my brooks adrenalines. There were a few stops with water and Gatorade along the way. That Gatorade saved me along the river when I was fighting for every mile.

To me this race was extremely disappointing, but it taught so many things. It taught me to remember why I run. It taught me that sometimes no matter how well you train, things don’t always go your way. It also taught me to remember what I can control and what I can’t. I can control how I run, train, fuel, and sleep. I can’t control the wind, the temperature, the course, and sometimes you can’t control the way your muscles react in certain situations. When it gets hard remember why you do it.