So for those of you who were wondering how Sunday went, it went really, really well. It actually went better than I ever could have expected or hoped for given it was my first effort at the half-marathon. The only thing I was really concerned about going into the race was how I was going to contain my adrenaline since that was an issue in the Mercer Island race last month, and I knew there would be no way I could maintain that same pace for 13.1 miles. Lesley offered some tips on how to keep focused and relaxed, but the one thing she said that I should keep in the back in my mind is that I should believe in my preparation. And there was no doubt I felt ready after the last couple of long runs and the crazy Precor session.
Marc and I had the opportunity to drive the course the day before the race. Even though I knew where the hills were and made a "cheat sheet" for the race, this was a big help. Knowing certain landmarks to look for ended up being HUGE for me on race day. We also scoped out where Marc would be cheering me on to make sure I was eating and drinking at the right times. We were ready!
The day before the race was in the 70s and gorgeous, but we knew that it was supposed to rain late morning and be much cooler on race day which I welcomed. We had mid 40s and clouds at the start of the race, which is actually perfect race weather. And there was a slight hill at the beginning of the race, so that warmed you up right away. I was glad I wore shorts. There were 5 hills, and the 3 worst ones were essentially in the 2nd half of the race. Grrrr…. But I knew what to expect and tailored my fueling strategy so I could attack the hills with some gusto.
At around the start of mile 4, another woman comes up next to me and just says, "hey, we can run at the same pace" but she was clearly joking because she was way taller – as in 6ft 1 in. So she ran ahead and as I was working my way passing people on the worst hill of the course in mile 6, I saw her ahead. My mission was clear – take her down, in a figurative sense of course. J So I get up alongside of her and yell, "Hey 6-1!" She was clearly amused and said she would get me on the flats and downhills later on. No issue there as good natured chatting helps relax things. But I noticed that clearly my training on the hills of Seattle was paying some serious dividends. Lots of people walking. Not me.
So I saw Marc, re-fueled again, drank some Tiger Woods Gatorade (hey it was the Sunday of the Masters and Tiger normally does well on those days so I was going to take any karma I could get, and yes I wore a red Nike shirt), and continued on. I was so pumped that I ran so well on the toughest uphill that I went after the downhill pretty hard. As I started the next uphill, I started to feel "that same downhill" in my knees and quads. I knew I would be fine, but I also knew that I was too aggressive on the downhill. Lesson learned. And wouldn't you know it, I caught "6 1" again on the hill and stayed ahead of her for the rest of the race. There were a couple of other women who I kept pace with and we joked later on in the race that red wine/red meat was in order later on (more on that from Marc).
As I hit the final hill in the final mile, I was looking for Marc and sure enough at 12.25 miles, there he was! He ran with me for about a ½ mile, which was cool because it made me forget about the hill. Marc then left to get the car ready as the finish line was going to be chaotic. I told him that he should get the ice bag ready for my knees. He ended up having to jog in between stations to catch me! What a guy. Marc was beyond supportive as I trained for this event. I'm a lucky gal, but I'd like to think I knew that before Sunday.
And I kept my heart rate in check pretty much throughout the race by thinking about my nephew's birthday party in New York that was going on at the same time. While I was sad that I was not there, I knew he must have been having a great time so that kept me relaxed and smiling.
Oh yeah, I finished the race in 2 hours and 11 minutes. This comes out to a smidgeon over a 10 minute mile for the duration of the race. And Lesley looked at my stats (I capture everything on a heart rate monitor) and noticed that my pace per minute was within 10 seconds of my 10k time (1/2 the distance essentially), which was awesome! Seriously, I was really pleased. It didn't hurt that I finished about 5 minutes before it started raining either.
Anyway I would be remiss if I didn't give a big shout out to Bruce, my father-in-law, for inspiring me to get my running sneakers on. About 3-4 years ago, Bruce ran his FIRST marathon in his life. He was 60 or 61 years old at the time. So if Bruce could do it, I knew that I had no excuse to get out there and give it a go. Thanks, Bruce!
Thanks to everyone for the warm words and encouragement along the way. All of the advice and cheers definitely helped, particularly Michael's post-race treatment (yes, it involved the steam shower – Harv will be proud).
The day before the race was in the 70s and gorgeous, but we knew that it was supposed to rain late morning and be much cooler on race day which I welcomed. We had mid 40s and clouds at the start of the race, which is actually perfect race weather. And there was a slight hill at the beginning of the race, so that warmed you up right away. I was glad I wore shorts. There were 5 hills, and the 3 worst ones were essentially in the 2nd half of the race. Grrrr…. But I knew what to expect and tailored my fueling strategy so I could attack the hills with some gusto. At around the start of mile 4, another woman comes up next to me and just says, "hey, we can run at the same pace" but she was clearly joking because she was way taller – as in 6ft 1 in. So she ran ahead and as I was working my way passing people on the worst hill of the course in mile 6, I saw her ahead. My mission was clear – take her down, in a figurative sense of course. J So I get up alongside of her and yell, "Hey 6-1!" She was clearly amused and said she would get me on the flats and downhills later on. No issue there as good natured chatting helps relax things. But I noticed that clearly my training on the hills of Seattle was paying some serious dividends. Lots of people walking. Not me.
So I saw Marc, re-fueled again, drank some Tiger Woods Gatorade (hey it was the Sunday of the Masters and Tiger normally does well on those days so I was going to take any karma I could get, and yes I wore a red Nike shirt), and continued on. I was so pumped that I ran so well on the toughest uphill that I went after the downhill pretty hard. As I started the next uphill, I started to feel "that same downhill" in my knees and quads. I knew I would be fine, but I also knew that I was too aggressive on the downhill. Lesson learned. And wouldn't you know it, I caught "6 1" again on the hill and stayed ahead of her for the rest of the race. There were a couple of other women who I kept pace with and we joked later on in the race that red wine/red meat was in order later on (more on that from Marc).
As I hit the final hill in the final mile, I was looking for Marc and sure enough at 12.25 miles, there he was! He ran with me for about a ½ mile, which was cool because it made me forget about the hill. Marc then left to get the car ready as the finish line was going to be chaotic. I told him that he should get the ice bag ready for my knees. He ended up having to jog in between stations to catch me! What a guy. Marc was beyond supportive as I trained for this event. I'm a lucky gal, but I'd like to think I knew that before Sunday.
And I kept my heart rate in check pretty much throughout the race by thinking about my nephew's birthday party in New York that was going on at the same time. While I was sad that I was not there, I knew he must have been having a great time so that kept me relaxed and smiling.
Oh yeah, I finished the race in 2 hours and 11 minutes. This comes out to a smidgeon over a 10 minute mile for the duration of the race. And Lesley looked at my stats (I capture everything on a heart rate monitor) and noticed that my pace per minute was within 10 seconds of my 10k time (1/2 the distance essentially), which was awesome! Seriously, I was really pleased. It didn't hurt that I finished about 5 minutes before it started raining either.
Anyway I would be remiss if I didn't give a big shout out to Bruce, my father-in-law, for inspiring me to get my running sneakers on. About 3-4 years ago, Bruce ran his FIRST marathon in his life. He was 60 or 61 years old at the time. So if Bruce could do it, I knew that I had no excuse to get out there and give it a go. Thanks, Bruce!
Thanks to everyone for the warm words and encouragement along the way. All of the advice and cheers definitely helped, particularly Michael's post-race treatment (yes, it involved the steam shower – Harv will be proud).