Race Recap: Trials of Miles Elite Women’s Half Marathon.

Just 6 days after running a 5k PR on the track (17:03), I ran the race of my life at the Trials of Miles Project 13.1 — an elite women’s half marathon in Rockland Park, NY.

There, I ran 1:17:56 (5:57 minute mile pace), which shattered my previous half marathon PR by 5 minutes.

This elites only race included a stacked field of Olympic Trials Qualifiers. My training going into it was unique in that I had no specific buildup… I only found out I was racing 4 days before the event took place. I depended on the fitness I already had in my legs to work for me and nothing else.

Alongside Olympic Trials Qualifier, Ana Johnson.

With this new benchmark, all the dreams I ever had for myself seem a little bit more within reach. I still pinch myself remembering that I was the girl who never played sports growing up — not even close — and now here I am running alongside former D1 athletes and elites. I don’t take any of it for granted and feel more inspired than ever to keep chasing down my goals.

I didn’t know what I could do out there other than mimic what I do in my weekend tempos, and it’s safe to say that I did exactly that. I knew that cracking 78 minutes would be a huge milestone given how hard I have worked over the years establishing a base. For that last mile of the race I closed in 5 minutes and 36 seconds — not far from that new 5k pace I had in my legs from earlier in the week.

I don’t know how many opportunities like this will pop up to be able to race in the next few months, but I do know that I’ll be slowly chipping away and will be ready when they do…

Photos by Johnny Zhang