Austin Livestrong Half Marathon...a PR worth the wait.

Today was a perfect day for a mini-smashfest. The Austin Livestrong marathon and half-marathon takes places in downtown Austin and is known for it's difficult course. Why I decided to race this half-marathon as opposed to the 3M half-marathon which is a net downhill course? Well two reasons. 1.) The 3M half-marathon was on my birthday and I decided to have a birthday smashfest instead (see previous post for details!) 2.) I wanted the challenge of racing on a more difficult course. Hilly courses play to my strengths as a runner so coach Hillary and I set this date on the race calendar as the first race of the 2012 season. It was a great way to test my run fitness going into my first few triathlons of the season. And the verdict? We are right on track with my training.

 

This was my first race as an athlete on PowerBar's Team Elite. Here I am pre-race fueling up with my favorite PowerBar products! Even George approves of the taste and quality of the PowerBar nutrition products.








The week leading up to the race was a regular training week up until Friday where coach had me mostly swimming and biking and off of the legs in order to store up some extra energy to attack the race today. The course starts at the Capitol and heads up Congress Avenue (miles 2-5) creating the net uphill portion of the race. We then turned down multi-cultural 1st Street (miles 6-8) which formed the net downhill portion of the course. After turning onto Cesar Chavez street, which runs along Town Lake, we encountered the rolling hills of downtown Austin. Two nasty hills greeted us at miles 11.8 and 12.5. I'm pretty sure I was making dead animal noises climbing those hills and during the last couple of miles of the race.


From the starting gun I decided to never let my "foot off the gas." I was running "uncomfotable" the whole 13.1 miles, which is how I knew I was on PR pace. I crossed the finish line with nothing left in the tank, the way it should be!

Focusing on maintaining a steady pace my splits ended up fairly nice and even....

6:43
6:38
6:45
6:58
6:48
6:44
6:34
6:44
6:50
7:01
6:58
6:49
6:31
The last 0.22 miles at 5:53 pace

Average pace: 6:46

I ended up 8th in a competitive age group (25-29) and 15th female overall with an official time of 1:29:23.

George looks about as mellow as I feel now that my post-race swim is done, homemade whole wheat crust pizza has been consumed and I've fallen slave to the couch. And check out the legit race shirts. Only a race sponsored by Lance Armstrong would provide technical shirts of this caliber!

Good friends who also had some great races today!

Thank you again to coach Hillary for giving me the tools I needed to attack this race and the confidence to go for it! Thank you to my sponsor, PowerBar, for giving me the nutritional "Power to Push." And most importantly, thank you to Jason, the love of my life, for being here for me every step of the way!

PowerBar Team Elite: The Power to PUSH

As the intensity picks up with training, I'm quickly approaching my first races of the season. It's during these big training weeks that nutrition becomes even more essential to performance and recovery. That's where PowerBar has been my saving grace!

I am pleased to announce that I have been welcomed on to PowerBar's Team Elite! This is my first sponsorship ever and I couldn't be more excited to work with such a reputable company! As a registered dietitian, I value companies that stay true to the sports nutrition principles that create and support great athletes, and I can indeed say that PowerBar shines above the rest! I look forward to representing PowerBar both as a triathlete and dietitian. I hope to be able to incorporate some of my sports nutrition tips into these blog posts on a regular basis. I am, after all, a PowerBar Team Elite....

Nutrition PRO 

(See how I glow with nutrition knowledge?!)

With PowerBar nutrition products at my side, long training days and weeks seem less daunting and I'm able to put myself in the "hurtbox"during my workouts (something I've been doing a great deal of lately!) and come back fighting for the next training session.

There are too many awesome products to highlight in just one blog post but I'll list a few of my favorites, especially during big training days.

                                  Before and during training

PowerBar Performance Energy Bar

Formulated with the C2MAX energy blend, this bar uses a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose, allowing for both optimal gastrointestinal tolerance and absorption. What this means for me as an athlete is more energy for that extra bit of effort in training and racing. With no preservatives or artificial flavors, these bars are ideal when eaten before a training session or during intensive training sessions lasting more than one hour.

And for those sessions where I just can't stomach solid foods (which, thanks to coach Hillary, seems to be more often than not!) and I need that extra kick from carbohydrates alone, I reach for the PowerBar energy gel available in tasty flavors including my favorite, double latte.

Between training sessions

PowerBar Harvest Energy Bar

With 10 grams of protein and 20% of your daily value of fiber for long-lasting energy, these bars are great when I have a short turnover from one training session to the next. Although, I don't recommend them before a hard run, if you know what I mean... ;)

After training sessions

PowerBar Protein Plus

With 30 grams of high quality "tri-source" protein from whey, casein and soy, this bar provides all the essential amino acids, including leucine, I need for regenerating and building powerful muscle tissue. I love the flavors and the fact that no artificial flavors or preservative are found in these products.

I look forward to an exciting year of training and racing with PowerBar Team Elite! From the everyday training sessions.....

...to the excitement of race day.....

PowerBar is giving me the POWER TO PUSH!