Last weekend the University of Georgia Women’s Swimming & Diving Team fell just short of their 5th National Championship crown. The Lady Bulldogs came in second to a speedy group of Cal-Berkeley Golden Bears, but I couldn’t be prouder of my alma mater. The Dawgs fought hard to the bitter end, finishing the meet with an American Record setting performance in the 400 freestyle relay. Very impressive!
The Dawgs’ stellar performance was one of a couple things that inspired me during my race at the Publix Georgia Half Marathon on Sunday. The other was the Pease Brothers, running their first official race together. The trio crossed the finish line in an amazing time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, and I know this is just the beginning for Team K-Peasey!
My race was a bit of a surprise. I’ve been working on my aerobic fitness and most of my running has been slower than half marathon pace. Coach Diablo warned me it might take a little while to get my legs going. I fully intended to get to the race early enough to do a good warm-up, but that’s easier said than done. At 5am Sunday morning I was much more interested in finding out who won Saturday night’s NCAA swim meet than getting on the earliest MARTA train, so when I finally made it to the start line I only had a few minutes to spare. I may have been a bit late, but at least this time I showed up on the right day!
The first four miles of the race I was cursing myself for not listening to El Diablo’s long warm-up advice. I hurt so bad I wasn’t sure I could run the full 13.1 miles. But I knew I couldn’t quit. The Swim Dawgs didn’t quit, even when they knew they couldn’t win the meet. The Pease Brothers didn’t quit, even when people told them their efforts were hopeless. My little half marathon seemed so small compared to those battles.
After mile 4 things started to get better, and by mile 9 I was feeling GREAT! I passed a bunch of my Dynamo teammates and friends volunteering and cheering along the race course. It was so fun seeing them! I finished strong in a personal best time of 1:26. I was super excited, especially since I felt so good at the end. It was very nice to find out I had more endurance than I thought!
The half marathon was a huge win for me. It gave me a little confidence boost as I head into the summer triathlon season. I know I still have a lot of work in front of me, and I’m definitely not complacent, but it’s always nice to get a little reassurance that things are moving in the right direction.
My other weekend win came from the Dawgs. While they didn’t capture the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship title, they did manage to trounce Stanford, which means I won my bet with Diablo!!! He already accepted defeat via Twitter:
@diablodelverde: Congrats to the UGA swimmin’ women Dawgs and alum, @haleychura 2nd at NCs and a convincing win over my Cardinal. Time for me to pay up.
Now I’m looking forward to posting some fun pictures of my Cardinal-loving coach donning Georgia Red and Black next week!
