Spirit of Survival Recap

This past Sunday was the Spirit of Survival! I was so excited for this race because it raised money for a great cause, and because it was what our training group had been working toward. Saturday morning our training group had our final session which was just a simple 1 mile (I think, I didn't have my trusty Garmin) walk followed by a celebration breakfast. After training we went and picked up our race packets and hit up the expo which was put on by a running store called Fleet Feet that drove down from Tulsa. Andy picked up some 110% compression for his knee, which he is loving, and I stocked up on Nuun (I finally found watermelon!!!) and some new Balega socks, the best!

Sunday morning rolled around and we were out of bed at 5:40 to get to the start around 6:30. We arrived on time and checked our bag. Gear check was a good walk from the start so that was a little bit of a pain, but not the end of the world. We were waiting in the very long line at the port-a-potties when we finally gave up. We walked down to the start to find more lineless port-a-potties! Then it was time to line up at the start!

They had it set up by pace which was nice. Right at 7:30am the gun went off and the race began. I started off feeling great. I had good pace and was moving along. Then the wind picked up, that darn wind. Tell me how the wind can be at your face for the whole race, when it is an out and back course?!?! Anyway, the wind was killer and slowed me down a bit, but I kept on keepin' on. 

There were water stations at every mile (which I knew there would be ahead of time), so I left my hydration belt at home. That was a good idea and I stopped at all of the stations. There was also music at each station and people cheering along the whole route, which was awesome! I had a blast and wish we could do the race again next year (we will be leaving Lawton in February, finally got our Request for Orders for our next duty station, but more on that for another day).

My goal was to finish in under two hours, knowing that I would be run/walking, which is how I trained. I completed the quarter marathon, which per my Garmin was actually 6.62 miles instead of 6.55. I ran about a third and walked two thirds and I ended up finishing at 1:45:33, which is no records but it made me happy. I know I am not and will not ever be the fastest out there, but hey, I am still out there! Andy's goal was the finish the half marathon in two hours, and he did just that, coming in at 2:00:43! So proud of my awesome husband and pretty proud of myself for finishing as well! 

After the race we got our medals, hit up the finishers tent for water and snacks and got massages! It was such a great race and we had a blast. 

You know how they say races are addictive, well they totally are and now I am on the hunt for a half marathon to train for! It is much better when you are signed up for a race because you have something to train for and work toward. I cannot wait to start training for a half marathon and get my pace more where I want it to be!