Here is the elevation graph from my Garmin. I'm serious, no straight aways.
The day started off extremely cold - 8c - with the chance of rain! I actually felt like I was back in Canada, that's how cold it was! But I bundled up, and shed layers as needed.
My husband and Daughter in Law |
There were 10,000 runners today. 1,500 did the full Marathon and the remaining 8,500 did the Half Marathon and 10k race. Both my husband and daughter in law did the 10K - their first races ever!
I felt in the two weeks leading up to the race that I was not well rested, and my legs simply felt tired and sluggish. Unfortunately, that's how I ran today. From the start I did not feel comfortable with the race. I planned on a 6:00 pace - but couldn't get anywhere near it do to all the hills. In fact, by 7km I knew that I could not pull off a PR, and would be happy just to finish close to my previous time.
Hard. Simply hard. The climbs seemed endless and it was so difficult to stay motivated. I will admit to walking 3 times, each for about 20 seconds, and I had to stretch my legs at 15km. By the time I came close to the finish, I felt like I did at Tiveria. I was exhausted. Thankfully my hubby came out to run in the last 200 meters with me! Time - 2:18:17 - three minutes slower than last year, oh well!
Crossing the finishing line with my husband |
All in all I'm happy that I ran, and mostly that my family joined in and had such fun. I have another Half Marathon in two weeks, in Tel Aviv, where my son will run his first 10K. Hopefully I'll be more rested.
Post run glory! |
Best,
Jenny