Location: Downtown (race route map) Distance: 13.1 miles Chip Time: 2:56:29 First Half: 1:23:24 (12:39 pace) Second Half: 1:34:05 (14:27 pace) (!!)
So, here’s my first race report in quite a while. I think my last one was back in April for the Astro’s Race for the Pennant 5K. While the weather at this Sunday’s Half was hundreds times better than the Pennant’s, I also finished this race not too happy with my results. *sigh* Plus today, Extra Strength Tylenol is my friend today. Prerace: Got to the race site just after 6am. There were already huge crowds hanging around the club tents, and lines forming at the portapotties. Ahh, the familiar pre-race scenes. At the chip pickup, I saw Keith, Edwin , Jon and Vic! There were a lot of reasons I was looking forward to this race (my first Half, getting back into running, etc) - but seeing fellow running bloggers was definitely on the top of the list. The pre-race energy was pretty exciting. We stood on the curb, and I started scanning the crowd….and at the other end of the street, up popped Holden’s head! I waved hello, then started looking for my sister. Eventually, I turned to my left and realized that we had been standing 6 inches apart, trying to find each other! Pretty funny. Anyways, after the National anthem and the gun, we were off. Miles 1-2: I had planned to do 5/1s, but V told us to go on so M and I paced together for the first mile. Bob said hello as he passed by, wearing his hilarious “Beer - the other Gatorade” shirt. After the first water stop, M pulled ahead on her own. And since I was feeling pretty good, I ignored the interval beeps from my watch. I even decided to try picking up the pace. Biiig mistake. Miles 2-6: The first 6 miles felt pretty good. My pace was slower than I’d liked, but I was feeling confident. Probably too confident, given that my last long run was 12 miles in early September. Yeah. Just before Mile 6, I felt my right knee tightening up. I stopped to stretch, then kept going. I crossed the halfway mark at 1:23 and thought, “Maybe I can finish around 2:30.” Uh, no. Mile 7: As I headed down the underpass at Waugh(?), I started feeling a sharp pain from the back of my right knee to the middle of my butt. Great. When I exited the underpass, I stopped again to stretch. My knee definitely felt tighter, but I hoped I could run it off. Miles 8-9: Ugh. Well, I fell apart the second half of the race. It’s my own fault. I wasn’t smart about pacing myself from the beginning, given that I hadn’t trained correctly at all for this race. I hardly did any pre-race stretching, and I didn’t do my usual IT band stretches at the water stops. At this point, I’m running 5, walking 2. I spot my sister across the median and we shout “I’m dyiiinnnnggg” to each other. Miles 10-11: I must look bad or something because a few runners ask if I’m OK. IT Band, I tell them. A race safety volunteer rides next to me on his bike. “Give me your bike, and I’ll be OK,” I want to say. Someone on his walkie talkie says something about “the last runners.” Yeah, I’m one of them. Crap. Mile 12: I see the Mile 12 marker, and decide to run (or, in my case, shuffle) the rest of the way in. I pace with a guy wearing a white t-shirt with a huge blood stain on the back. I can only assume it’s from chafing, but I can’t figure out from what exactly. He seems happy, and waves to people on the sidelines. He’s not wearing a watch, so it’s probably not a heart rate monitor. It’s disturbing, but a good distraction. I also pass a woman in tears. She jogs a little, then stops. Jogs, then stops. She’s in tears and clearly frustrated. I would have said, “I totally know how you feel” but I also wanted this race to be over. Last .1: The most beautiful thing on the race course was the Mile 13 marker. After the Finish Line, of course. I looked stupid limping as I came in, but I didn’t care. All I could think was: must….cross….finish….line. I did, and it was over. ugh. Post race: I hobbled over to where my sister, V, M and T (M’s husband) were waiting. I think my sister had finished like 30 minutes earlier. I was so out of it. We then hobbled over to get our t-shirts and some food. I caught up with Holden, Jessica, Keith, June, John and Jon after the race - all of them did great, of course. I was still pretty out of it, so I headed back to the car. Ended up at Hobbit Cafe where we scarfed down omlettes and pancakes. So, next race: HMSA 25K. Nov 19th. Gotta train better for this one.