Last winter I set a goal to do a half marathon in my 30th year. At the time, my roommate and some of her friends were training for a 10 mile race, so she and I did some long runs (6-8 miles) together. I was following a Runner's World magazine program I found for free online that included long runs on the weekends, and 2-4 mile runs during the week, many of which included 4 x 100 meter sprints, sprints during the run, and increasing the pace up hills. I trained for a solid 2 months, but struggled to find a half marathon to suit my desire for a local, fun first race. When the Tarheel 10 mile race approached and a racing number was available, I jumped at the chance to run through UNC Chapel Hill's campus with my roomie and her friends.
We had a delicious pasta dinner hosted by a fellow runner and her family, and I went to bed at a reasonable hour. When the alarm got me up before 6am, I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of running 10 miles, but I had some breakfast, a little coffee and was chauffeured the 40 minutes to Chapel Hill by my wonderful husband.
At the starting line, I met up with our group near the back of the 10-minute-mile pace and after a few photos, we were off!
The "10-minute-mile" group
I quickly got my roommate, Jen, to keep pace with me around an 8:20-8:40 minute mile and we started passing people. That became one of my favorite parts of the race - seeing someone ahead of me that I could catch up to and pass. Maybe it comes from my competitive spirit.
The cool temperatures, scenic views, and cheering kept us motivated to keep racing, but the hills made keeping a fast pace difficult. I felt pretty good around the 8:30-minute-mile pace through most of the race, but my running buddy slowed it down a bit around mile 8. With a 1 mile hill incline and 2 miles left, I continued pushing and finished the race in 1 hour and 26 minutes - an average pace of 8:35 minutes per mile. Jen finished shortly after. I felt great at the end of the run and enjoyed some snacks before my sweat turned cold and made me want to go home!
The race finishers!
We both felt like we should have been first place!
Fast forward almost a year, to a 31st birthday and no half marathon under my belt. Getting a puppy in May made training for a race difficult, especially when the vet told us not to run too much with him until he stopped growing. I kept looking for races, but could not commit to one, so I readjusted my plan. Instead of racing a half marathon in my 30th year, I committed to racing one as soon as I could make it work.
I didn't want to have to travel far for a race. I enjoy my home and my bed and I am NOT a morning person! I also didn't want to spend a lot of money for a race. I know people enjoy giving their money to a good cause, and I do give to charities on my own. But, I hate the concept of paying to run!
I set my eyes on two upcoming races. The first was the Tobacco Road half marathon March 18th and the second was the Run Raleigh half marathon April 15. Because the Tobacco Road half marathon sold out very early in the year, I put a craigslist search on my phone to see if someone was selling a race bib. I also checked the Run Raleigh site several times about to pull the trigger on commitment - failing each time. The challenge I had is that my soccer game on April 15th is against a challenging team and I feel as though I will be letting my team down by not being "100%" after a race. I didn't commit to the Tobacco Road race when it was still open because I had 3 soccer games scheduled that day.
As March 18th drew closer and people were posting $40 race bibs for sale on Craigslist, I kept feeling tempted. Finally, two days before the race, when someone posted a bib for $10 and included a parking pass, I could not pass on that deal! My outdoor soccer game was not against a challenging team and we have enough players for the 2 indoor games in the evening. I felt like it was meant to be!
My "preparation" for this race was minimal compared to last year. I've been trying to run 2-4 miles a few days a week, and have done 2-3 long runs (6-8 miles) on the weekends since January. Colin prefers sprint training to long, steady runs, so once or twice a week, we'd do a 1.5 mile warm up run (8:30-9 min mile), followed by 10 sprints (13 second sprints, 1 minute rest). But, honestly, since starting a new job mid-January, I've been sitting on my butt in the office a lot more, eating out more, and just not as regimented as I'd like to be (and as I used to be!).
Going into the race, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't have my typical pre-race spaghetti dinner, instead eating a hodgepodge of leftovers (which were not high carb items - except for the birthday cake!). But, I did instantly fall asleep around 9:45pm. Even with my early bedtime, 5:45am came too early and I soon learned that we didn't really have any carbohydrates for breakfast! That's right - no cereal, no bread, no bagels - I was without my typical pre-event staples. Instead, I had to rely on some won-ton wraps filled with eggs and a cup of coffee.
Yes, it was dark at 6:50am!
Just before 7am, I entered the middle-back of the starting line and wondered again why people do this to themselves. It was still dark, I was still grumpy, but everyone else seemed overjoyed to be racing! I set my watch for a 9-minute-mile (my goal being under 2 hours for this 13.1 mile race) and took off at a slow jog/walk with a packed crowd around me when the gun went off.
It took about a mile to get through the crowd and find my pace. I soon found a pace runner for the 2 hour finish time and felt good passing them. Unfortunately, I soon realized there were several pace runners that indicated a 2 hour finish time. My pace evened out to a 8:20-minute-mile around mile 2 and there it stayed for most of the race. Similar to last year, passing people, cool temperatures, and people cheering all kept me motivated during the run. The mostly flat course was also helpful. Since I didn't have a running buddy this time around, I listened to some podcasts on my mp3 player to keep myself entertained.
Still kinda dark at the start of the tobacco trail (mile 4ish)
I felt great from the start of the race until mile 8 - the only real incline - but I got over it quickly and kept on going.
Much better when it's light and less populated!
I will admit that I had to play mind games for the last 3 miles of the race. The one thing I hated about the race was going out in one direction and then turning around and coming back on the same course. The fast runners motivated me when I saw them going by me in the opposite direction, but there was little motivation once I turned the corner and saw the slower runners behind me. And even though the American Tobacco Trail is pretty, seeing it for over an hour can be boring!
I pushed through the mental and physical challenges I experienced near the end and finished the final mile with my fastest split time (7:55).
So happy to see the end!
When I finished, however, I did feel sick to my stomach - bumming me out that I couldn't eat all the free food available (fresh bread, pizza, smoothies, fruit, juice, etc.). I definitely wish I had eaten more carbs the evening before and a few more carbs at breakfast so I wouldn't have felt so gross at the end.
Overall, I was thrilled with my time (13.1 miles in 1 hour, 49 minutes = 8:20-minute-mile)! It was much better than my 10 miler last year and it showed me I didn't need to do a structured training program to be successful. Some might say that if I had trained more, maybe I would not have felt sick at the end. That may also be true.
I am happy to finally have accomplished a half marathon, since I had set a goal to do it. I still do not consider myself a runner. I don't enjoy getting up early in the morning to run. I don't look forward to a race at the starting line. And, I hate "having to get a run in" for training purposes. When people comment that I run fast, my answer is that I run fast during a race so I can be finished with it sooner! My enjoyable running experiences come on a nice, sunny, spring or fall day, with temperatures in the 60's or 70's when I can enjoy more of my surroundings with a run, as opposed to a shorter walk.
No comments:
Post a Comment