I had been going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to do this race for a while. I had a 20 mile long run on my schedule for this weekend so I wasn't sure if I wanted to run the half plus 7 and all of the logistics that went with that. Part of me felt I should focus on the 20 miles and get it done at once. The other part of me was just itching to race and see what I could do in peak training.
I've never raced an official half marathon (I know!) before so I really wanted to do this. I went friday at noon right when the expo opened and signed up!
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| ZING! |
I decided that in order to really see what I was capable of I would race the half and then run the seven miles afterwards to total 20 miles.
Lets start with Saturday. To make a long story short - my throat started to hurt. This is and always has been my number 1 indicator that I am getting sick. It never fails. I tried not thinking too much about it and kept drinking my water and trying not to feel up lymph nodes every 30 minutes. Cue Sunday morning - I woke up at 1:48 AM to the worst feelings in the world. My legs literally felt like I had just run 19 miles and stopped dead in my tracks. If you ever trained for a marathon you know the exact feeling I'm talking about (foreshadowing - same feeling as the "Aches" that are associated with the flu). I couldn't comprehend why this was happening. Yes, my legs were feeling heavy all week because I'm in peak training but this was just uncalled for. The pain and discomfort would not go away and there was nothing I could do to get comfortable. I tried going back to sleep but it only happened for about 10 minute intervals until I decided to get up and go to the couch a little before 5AM. I felt like a steaming pile of poop. I knew I was sick. I was pacing around the house because A) it was the only thing that made the pain subside and B) I was trying to convince myself that it was nothing - all the while holding back tears of stress and dread.
I pulled myself together and told myself I at least would go to the starting line and see how I felt (giving myself full permission to back out at any time). I had to choke down a mini bagel (usually have to restrain myself from eating 4) and I didn't even drink the cup of coffee I made (unimaginable). Struggles.
It was about 49 degrees and the wind was pretty harsh at the start. I'm not really sure what eventually came over me but the pain and illness subsided. I'll now chalk it up to race atmosphere (love). I watched the full marathon start and I had to get ready for my start. I won't lie - I was terrified. I felt the usual race nerves/nausea but there was this big cloud of doubt hanging over my head and it was awful. I kept having to talk myself down and tell myself that I could go as slow or as fast as I wanted.
The half marathon course was a basic out and back (love) along Onondaga Lake in Syracuse. The course proclaimed that it was fast and flat and it actually was!
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| THIS is fast and flat. |
Goals:
A++ 1:45:00 or less
A+ 1:45:01 - 1:50:00
A 1:50:01 - 1:54:59
B 1:55:00 - 1:59:59
C 2:00:00 and beyond
The original plan was to take it easy in the beginning and ramp up my pace every 3 miles. I like to mentally "chunk" things because it makes the long distance easier to wrap my head around. The new plan was to push at a comfortably hard pace until the turn around at mile 6.55 and then gradually push more (real technical, I know). I knew the average pace I needed to keep for a 1:45:00 finish and a 1:50:00 finish so I kept those in the back of my head but didn't really think about them until the last 5 miles or so.
Here is how it actually went down:
I knew around mile 4 that I might be pushing a bit too hard to hold onto that pace for the duration and could find myself bonking pretty hard at the end if I kept it up. I reminded myself about how I wanted to pick up the pace for the second half so I dialed back the pace in order to save some for later (see mile 5 and 6). I took a gel at mile 7. Mile 8 was fun because you start seeing all the other runners the were behind you and it's entertaining so I picked it up a little without really realizing. I remember that around mile 8 and 9 I was realizing that if held tight until mile 10 at a comfortable but hard pace that I only had 3 left and that was totally doable. THAT was when the pushing would really start. I think I was just really scared of bonking like I did in the Baltimore 10 miler so I would rather err on the side of caution and run too slow.
Once I got to mile 10 I finally felt confident that I was going to finish and I stepped on the gas. Then, I got nervous about holding it until the finish so in mile 12 I dialed back again. It should be noted that for the last 3 miles I was passing runners everywhere. This was new for me. I'm usually the one getting passed in the end. Always. I was not passed once in the last 3 miles (as far as I remember). I felt like an animal.
In mile 13 I stepped on the gas again. 1 mile to go. I got this. When I turned the corner down the finisher chute I gave it every ounce of energy i had and broke out into full sprint. I probably looked insane. SEE SPLIT 14. Also, see Best Pace below.
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| SPRINT finish |
Official Stats:
1:51:02
8:29 min/mile
Female 25-29 13/123
Overall 176/1138
After the race I could hardly walk and I was FREEZING. I visited my mom in the medical tent (volunteer) and I hobbled my way to my car. I stopped at Panera for a bagel and cream cheese and was shaking uncontrollably. I could NOT regulate my body temperature for a solid hour after I finished. I took a hot shower and put on all the Under Armour Cold Gear I owned and a bath robe to try and get warm. I can't say I've experienced anything like that before.
Then it hit me. That sickness again. I don't know where it hid during the race but I would like to put it back there. I knew another 7 miles was completely out of the question. I was still frozen and by the time I got my legs back and functioning I had to leave for class. (Yes, class on Sunday).
Fast forward to Monday and I wake up with a 100.1 degree fever and a feeling of death. I go to the doctor and yes, I have the flu. Awesome. I've got to make up that lost 20 miler this week but somehow that seems out of the question. But that's for another day.
Overall I'm just incredibly happy with how this race went. I give my self an A +++ for effort and heart and dedication. I loved it. I also think I love the distance. I can't wait to sign up for more half marathons and I think know I can totally smash that PR.
Typing this post took all my energy for the day. Will post more pictures as they come up.
