Sudha Bowling

Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon

My third 13.1 mile distance.

The first was ING Georgia on March 21. I finished/hobbled in 3hrs 9min.

The second was 13.1 Atlanta on Oct 3. I finished in 3hrs 2 min 45 sec.

The third was the Thanksgiving Day half on Nov 25. I finished in 2 hrs 59min 49 sec.

My goal was to finish under 3 hours, I achieved it with 11 seconds to spare :)

Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon - Race Report

It was an unusually wonderful start to the day. Temperature in 50s at the end of November! Unheard of! I had on cute new running gear. What more could I ask for :)

I had slight gear malfunction until about 5 miles. It got hot/humid pretty fast, but because of my armband music, I couldn't remove my long T inspite of wrestling with it for a long time. My iPhone went into music shuffle mode and that threw me off. Also, my headphones kept falling off my ears, frustrating me to no end.

2:1 helped me get into a good rhythm. I didn't shy from the hills and I found that they were not that hard after all. Crossed 6miles in Piedmont park at 1:22, doing good time I thought. Long hill near mile 8, but no worries. I took my second Gu and I was doing good. Miles 8 - 10 were breezy. I was enjoying the run. And by my prediction, looked like I was going to get in at 2:55! I was truly excited.

The last 2.5 miles - hills got shorter, but steeper. I wanted water, but the next hydration station was at mile 12! I took a Gu and tried to go on. But around mile 11 - I started hitting the wall. I got tired, my pace started fading really badly. The more my pace faded, the more disheartened I got; and that made me go even slower. For some reason, even after walking, my heart was racing fast. Like panic attack fast. I tried to breeeaaaathe and make it slow, but it was really racing.

Around mile 12 after another hill , I just gave up. Told myself, I didn't care. It was a stupid thing I was doing. What was I trying to prove? I'd never be a proper runner. I'd have been happier watching the Macys Thanksgiving Parade at home. All sorts of negative things.

A good 2 glasses of water the Mile 12 hydration station helped me a little bit. A rocking pep song pushed me along. At 12.5miles my average pace was 13:38, and I knew needed to be 13:36 to break under 3. I was at 2:55 and another 0.5 miles to go. Soooo close but ... , I thought ... Turned the corner up another hill and saw the Olympic Rings in the distance. The finish line was out there.

For a fleeting second, the vision of my failure flashed in front of my eyes. I knew I'd be crying miserably if I didn't get under 3. I was going to regret it very badly if I didn't do it. I started sprinting, giving it everything I had. Passed people walking in a blur. Saw DH and the kids cheering from the corner of my eye. Watched my Garmin every 10 seconds. I felt like my chest was about to burst, but the finish line was there ... and I kept on. I crossed .... at 2 hrs 59 min 49 seconds. My pace for the last 0.5 miles - 9:57 !!!!!

I did it! A sub-3 is a laughable goal for a real runner, but to me it was a very real goal that I worked hard to get to. And I am damn proud of it.

And I earned myself a guilt-free shopping trip :)))

Little Tomboy ... Not!

My little Tomboy is actually a girly-girl!! She loves pretty things.

When we were walking by the Disney store in the mall, she ran in and asked for the Tinkerbell doll. When I didn't get it down, she asked it of a store associate who came by. And then she wouldn't let the Doll go! Pitched a proper fit when I tried to take it from her.

Halloween

The girls exchanged their dress. Sudha wanted to wear the Ladybug dress I had for Sudha. And Brinda loved Sudha's pretty fairy dress.

There were 3 ladybugs that day. The little girl to the left is our neighbor that Brinda adores.

In the spirit of Halloween :)

Guru's Silver Comet Half Marathon

We caught Daddy just in time as he was finishing in 2:09

At school's Fall Festival

Pumpkin

The pumpkin that Sudha carved at school.

Visit to the Pumpkin Patches

PuNkin !! That's how Brinda says Pumpkin.

Enjoying a Hayride

For comparison, from last year.

And for even more kicks, from 2 years ago when Sudha was 18-19 months.

Some extras

She loves to paint

... and to be a goofball

Ocktoberfest in Helen, GA

A wonderful happy moment as we were strolling through Helen.

Sudha was fascinated by the birds in Helen square.

She was brave enough to get the bird on her arm, but when it started pecking her she freaked out.

Pumped up with chocolate covered marshmallow

On the horse carriage ride.

Air Show at Dobbins Air Base

Sisters Together

Sudha's personality - being super silly.

And this is Brinda's personality - Little Miss Attitude

Brinda was imitating everything that Sudha was doing. It was too cute, and I'm so glad I caught pics of it. They were wearing the same dress and it was even more cute!

Little Red Riding Hood

Sudha had Fairy Tales/Nursery Rhymes week at school. They had to dress up as a character on Friday. She wanted to me a Pig from 3 Little Pigs, but I didn't have time to do her costume. Little Red Riding Hood was the easiest costume ever and soo much better than the ones in the Halloween store.