3M Half Marathon
January 27, 2008
Austin, TX
Executive Summary:
1:45:23
2/73 Athena
~Top 10% AG (32/315)
~Top 10% OA Females (200/2140)
Extended Version:
Pre-Race: I drove down to my parent's house Friday night & had a nice dinner and then an excellent night of sleep - 8+ hours. Saturday, I was up and out for a quick run, which felt great and then off to a manicure with my mom. A couple hours later, Todd, Kym & Jill arrived. Kym & Jill were racing the relay & Todd was there to cheer & transport my parents (aka SuperSherpas) around the course. My dad had gone down to Austin earlier on Friday to pick up our packets - so we didn't have to make that trek and were able to just hang out (did I mention the parents were SuperSherpas?). We had some snacks and our typical pre-race dinner of lasagna, salad & toast, with a glass of red wine. In bed by 10:30 and slept solid until Quincy woke me up at 4:30 to go outside - excellent!!
Race Day: Up for coffee, a kolache and a PowerBar as we headed off the race site. My parents live about 30 minutes away and had borrowed a friend's mini-van, so we were all in one vehicle & it worked out great! My stomach had been rumbling, but I thought I'd gotten it all taken care with the last porta-potty visit just before the race started. As Jill & I went out for a little warm-up jog, I realized I may have been mistaken & my stomach started acting up again. Downed a Gu with some water, said our good-byes to Kym, Todd & the SuperSherpas and snuck into the starting chute, only about 20 seconds back from the mat. Excellent positioning! I've been running well in training lately, had no injuries & was anticipating a PR for this race, but I mentioned to Jill at the start line that the messages my stomach were sending may have just made that plan moot. I hoped once I started racing, it would settle and I'd be good to go. Jill had planned to stick with me for her 6.5 mile portion of the relay, but I went out a bit too fast (not just for her to keep up, but for me to run a smart race), so I never saw her again. I missed the first mile marker, but heard someone nearby with a Garmin say 7:15. WHOA!! That's practically my all out one-mile PR - eeekkk. I backed off a bit and that's about when the stomach started rumbling again. From then on, my entire race was a battle between my brain telling my body that it did not need to stop and me questioning if I just stopped in the little blue box, would I be able to make up that time by running faster because I'd feel better...
As I run by the relay exchange point, I see Todd & my parents - that's always a nice pick-me-up!! Through here at about 50:50, so that's definitely on track to PR, but I am pretty sure that I burnt a couple matches on that first fast mile and won't be negatively splitting today. The first porta-potties on the course were located at this point & I decide that I'm good to go & pass by them. Not a minute later, I am questioning that decision! But, I know there will be more every two miles from here on out & can stop if I need to. I take my Gu around mile 8 with a sip of water & barely even slow down. Although I know I'm not running the 7:40-7:50 pace I'd been planning on, I am still pushing myself about as hard as I can considering the non-stop brain-sphincter battle I'm enduring. I finally see a little blue box at a construction site - there's no line and I decide I'll cave & stop. As I run around to the door, I realize the orange construction fencing is actually wrapped abound the porta-potty & I can't get in. CRAP (literally)!!! So, I take this a sign, that I am supposed to just keep running (and suffering).
I've accepted my fate and buckle down to just get this race behind me. I know my PR is 1:45:xx. As I'm going into the last few miles, the course is downhill & I'm trying to gain some time, but not flying by people on the downhills like I normally do (not sure what was up with that - except that maybe I wasn't able to "let loose" as much due to tight gut). I hit the 11-mile mark, try to pick it up a notch and keep mentally envisioning that the people in front of me have a rope that is pulling me up to them. I don't pass many of them, but it seems to help as they don't really pull away much either. At mile 12, I'm in what feels like all-out sprint mode & am still trying to reel people in with that imaginary rope. I do gain on a few people, although several others are FLYING by me. Based on my watch, my last two miles were about 5 seconds slower than my first two - so I had picked up the pace, but was no where near an "sprint" no matter how I felt. Almost to the finish line & hear my name - look right and see Jill, Todd, Mern & P - I smile & push the last bit across the mat. 1:45:23. Hhhmm, I remember my PR was 1:45:xx....
I FINALLY get my time in the little blue box!!! A few minutes later, Kym comes in and we all head off to IHOP - yum. (Jill & Kym took 4th Masters Female Relay!!)
Later in the day, when I pull up my prior PR - it was a TIE! 1:45:23. How ironic is that? Slightly disappointed in my overall time, but really, when you tie your PR, is that all bad? On a side note, both Kym and I had stomach issues that continued throughout the day, so not sure exactly what the problem there was....
Thanks for reading,
Katie
I didn't look at my watch every time I took these splits, but thought they might be useful post-race.
Lap Time Ave. HR
Lap 1: 15:50 153
Lap 2: 7:55 153
Lap 3: 15:29 150
Lap 4: 16:46 151
Lap 5: 16:12 151
Lap 6: 8:23 151
Lap 7: 8:02 151
Lap 8: 15:55 153
Lap 9: 0:53 156
