I left off in my recap with Andrea and I turning in for the night. We both had successful nights without any dogs waking us up... just our respective alarms going off at 4:00 AM sharp! Andrea likes to eat 3 hours before race start, and I figured I'd follow suite, as I was awake anyway. I had a half of a bagel, a banana and a bowl of oatmeal. We planned on doing our warm-up mile run to the race start at 6 AM, so we hadn't even set out our outfits the night before (knowing that we'd have plenty of time in the morning). The next two hours were spent chatting, watching the latest weather reports and deciding on what to wear, and verifying that we were actually going to be going at the pace that we'd decided on (okay, that last part was just me... I was still kind of doubting things LOL!).
As for what to wear, we both decided on tanks, shorts and arm sleeves with our compression socks. The temperature at race start was going to be in the upper 40's, with a decent 10 mph wind from the north. Definitely not cold enough to wear long sleeves or even capris. We donned a few layers of sweatshirts and sweatpants for our throw-away clothes, and took off at just before 6:00 for the race start. On the menu was a nice easy mile to get warmed up a bit, and that was accomplished (about 10 minutes/mile pace). We both felt quite silly in our baggy outfits, but got several well-wishes from the volunteers who were already on the course ready for the race to start. When we arrived at the race start we checked our gear, made use of the wonderful rows of porta-potties (a few times LOL), and did dynamic stretches and chilled out till around 6:45. Then we shed our throw-away clothes and did six strides of about 50 yards each. My legs felt pretty good... not perfect, but not awful. I wasn't cold, and for that I was happy. We saw a dad running strides with his speedy looking kiddo. We chatted with them for a minute--he was looking for someone to pace his son to the 12-year-old half-marathon world record of 1:19:26. Blake ended up going a 1:22... not too shabby for a scrawny little kid LOL! After talking to Blake's dad we turned around to head to our corral and noticed a super-fast looking woman in a bra-top and shorts that looked more like underwear than anything LOL. "Polina" her bib said, and wow did she look impressive. Of course, looks can be deceiving, but she ended up wining the women's half in a 1:14. We realized after seeing these two fasties that this race attracted the speedy ones, that's for sure!
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| Pre-race selfie! Sporting my new shamrock Hippie Chick headband in honor of the race. |
The plan was to run the first mile at around an 8:08, mile 2 at 7:53, and continue our progression downward through the opening miles. 39:00 was our 5 miles split goal. I felt very controlled during mile 1. I loved just looking around, watching the other runners, and relaxing. Our pace felt comfortable, and mile 1 clicked in at 8:06. Pretty much perfect. We seamlessly transitioned into a bit of a faster pace during mile 2. Still feeling good here! 7:52 was the time for the second mile, and I was amazed at how Andrea was able to just dial into a pace and run it. I felt like I was just along for the ride. It was during mile 3 that I started to get a bit nervous. The pace was continuing to pick up, and I have to admit, I was concerned about maintaining our current speed for 10 more miles, let alone getting even faster. Mile 3 was a 7:45. We had been running on Atlantic Avenue, which runs parallel to the beach. You really can't see the ocean that well from this street, due to hotels and beach houses, but you can catch glimpses if you try.
At the mile 3 marker, though, you turn left and head away from the beach on a street called Shore Drive. It's a fairly big street (2 lanes in each direction with a median) that is lined with trees on both sides. We had driven this part of the course and figured that it would be pretty desolate as far as the cheering crowds went--and we were right. This was the first point in the race that I really got "into my head". I was second-guessing myself and my abilities to do what we'd planned, and Andrea knew it. She was running just a foot or two ahead of me, and she turned to me and said, "Imagine this is all Shrek's land." I said, "Umm, Shrek, like the giant??" She responded, "Yes, to keep your mind off of things." I smiled and immediately thought of Donkey from Shrek, and felt my mind relax. Damn, is she ever good! The forest was pretty and I let my thoughts wander for the next mile. Mile 4 clocked in at a 7:46. I knew that the only true "incline" on the course was from miles 4-6.5... all of 15 feet uphill over the 2.5 miles. Andrea later commented that this part of the course was the most windy, but honestly I didn't even feel it when we were running. Side note: My favorite sign of the race was around this point--"Run like your ex is chasing you!"
I happily realized that my first of two scheduled GU's (fuel) was to be at mile 4.5--only a half-mile ahead! I don't love the taste or consistency of GU, but I do love the surge that it gives me, and it allows me to break my run into shorter chunks as I anticipate it. I was able to easily eat and take in some water at the 4.5-mile aid station. The 5-mile marker came up quickly (7:42 mile split), with our 5 mile split a 39:12 (pretty darn close to the 39 that Andrea had hoped we'd be at!). At mile 5.5 we turned right off of Shore Drive and into a military base, Fort Story. We had been unable to drive this portion of the course the previous day due to military restrictions, so we were both wondering what we'd encounter. There were military police lining both sides of the course as we passed through the gates--pretty cool to see! I started to feel the affects of my GU and was getting excited... we were almost to the halfway point! I'm a pretty mental runner (duh LOL!) and I love reaching the halfway point of any race, as I tell myself it's all downhill (figuratively) from here. The anticipation of this, and probably the GU, led to a 7:36 split for mile 6. Things were still feeling good... hard, but good. I was anxious to see my 10K and quarter-marathon splits so I could truly gauge where I was at. I was excited to see a 48:28 at the 10K mark; this was definitely faster than I thought I'd be, and while I knew I had a lot of the race to run still, I was feeling strong! I knew my Columbus running peeps were at the start line for their own race (most were running the 10K or 15K at a local race), and I smiled inside thinking of them. My quarter-marathon (6.55 mile) time was a 51:00 exactly. My math mind took over here... 51 doubled is a 102... 102 minutes is 1 hour, 42 minutes... so I just needed to double what I had already done, and I'd be right there! Mile 7 clicked off at 7:34, and I was awaiting that surge that I typically get at this point in a half marathon.
Well, I waited... and waited... and waited. I finally realized at around mile 7.5 that it wasn't going to happen. I think Andrea realized that I was definitely not doing well again mentally. My feet hurt. My calves felt "twingy", like a cramp was going to come. I was tired. This pace was not fun. She pulled a few yards ahead of me, and every now and then would look back to check in. She later told me that I looked so very serious at this point. I told her that was because I was scared to death! Andrea was very motivational, though--she would tell me to do a quick surge, or would remind me that I'd trained hard for this. I can't recall all of her words, but they were exactly what I needed to hear. The guys running around us felt the same--they loved how positive she was being as she tried to get me to pull my miles down even further. I knew that wasn't going to happen, though. I needed to have some legs at the end of the race, and if I dipped down to the 7:30/mile range as I think Andrea wanted us to, that wasn't going to happen. Mile 8 was a 7:37. At mile 8.5 I specifically remember Andrea calling back to me from about 10-15 feet ahead, "Only 1.5 miles till we get to race!" There were a few men running together just behind her, and they turned to each other in disbelief. One said, "I thought we were already racing!" I had to laugh (inside my head, of course... there was no laughing out loud at that point!). Our plan was to race the final 5K with whatever we had left... however, I didn't know if I had anything left! Around this time, the song "Brave" came on my iPod. This is one of my favorite songs, and it came at just the right time. I realized that I need to be brave if I was going to finish this thing. I needed to trust my training and what my body could do.
When I had checked out the course map, I made a mental note of the water stops so that I would know when to use my GU. GU requires water, and it was important that I fueled when there would be water available, since I wasn't carrying any with me. I had thought that mile 9 would have a water stop, and I was in high need of a boost, so I fueled at mile 8.8. I kept thinking there'd be a water stop up ahead... unfortunately, it didn't come until mile 9.5. I had sticky yucky GU mouth for 0.7 miles (about 6 minutes), and it was NOT FUN. Mile 9 was another 7:34. Thankfully I got my water at 9.5 and we exited Fort Story at that point as well. I was so happy to leave this part of the course behind. We headed back out onto Atlantic Avenue for the final leg of the course. The slower half-marathon runners were running towards us on one side, but we each had two lanes so it wasn't crowded at all. The best part: the cross streets on Atlantic are numbered, and counted down as we ran. 90, 89, 88... every 0.08-0.1 miles, there was a sign. I loved seeing those numbers get lower!
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| The only decent mid-race pic that was taken of me... I kind of look weird when I run LOL! I think this was around when a dog ran across the race course--yes, another dog! |
At mile 12 we turned off at Atlantic Avenue and headed towards the boardwalk (a nice paved stretch along the ocean). I was overjoyed to finally make it to a spot where I could see the beach as I ran! I somehow found it in me to pick up the pace a bit more on the 13th mile. I kept looking at my watch as the screen showed me running an average pace in the 7-teens (7:15, 7:17, 7:14). This was my 5K race pace. What the what?!! We turned onto the boardwalk and I could immediately see the finish arch. It seemed so very close but I knew that this was deceiving. At around mile 12.8, I checked my overall time on my watch. 1:38. It was then that it actually registered to my brain that I was going to run a 1:40-something. O.M.G. I couldn't believe it, and I started to feel the tears well up. I needed to get across the finish line! Mile 13 was a 7:13. I did a quick math computation and realized that I wouldn't be able to go a 1:39-anything, but that I would for sure get a 1:40.
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| This was about 0.2 miles before the finish... |
Happily content, I finished the final tenth (really 0.16 by my Garmin) at a 7:17 pace, not accelerating any more than I was already doing. I watched Andrea finish about 10 seconds ahead of me, and ran straight to her under the arch. Oh the tears... the ugly tears!
Sweet, utter relief at being DONE with this race. Amazement at what I had just done. A 9 minute PR?!! I'm getting goosebumps right now just typing about it.
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| Splits recap (official time was a 1:40:31) |
A volunteer approached me as I fell into Andrea's arms, unable to even walk another step. She was concerned, but I wasn't... this is how I finish a race. I give it my all, 100%, and it takes me a few minutes to recover enough to actually move on my own. I was definitely done crying and in fact was smiling for the post-race pictures :)
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| Just a few yards from the finish. Kinda faking it still here, I was shaking! |
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| Post-race selfie! No more tears... happy ladies! |
After we got our things, we stretched, pulled on warmer clothes, and took some pictures by the beach.
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| My favorite one :) |
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| Ringing the PR bell... I was so so happy! |
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| One last selfie... had to get that beach in the background! |
The rest of the trip was a blur... we got our things, checked out, and were on the road just before noon. The drive back to Ohio was filled with conversation about the race (of course) and more sharing about our lives. One of my favorite parts of this trip was learning more about Andrea. She's become one of my closest friends in a short period of time. We just kind of click.
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| Beautiful mountains of West Virginia |
We arrived at my house just before 9 PM. Just like that, the trip was over. I could hardly believe it. The weekend and the race that I'd looked forward to for so long was... done. I was happy to see my family, but I knew that life would start back up again, complete with school work, laundry, etc. Being away for the weekend was such a great mental break for me. I need to do this every year, I've decided, just for myself.
So, in sum? There's nothing else left to say (I did just blog several thousand words about it, after all LOL!). In one word, this race was monumental for me. I feel like it's my breakthrough race. I proved to myself that I could push beyond what I ever thought possible. I have gained some much-needed confidence for what is coming up... my marathon on April 26. My mind is now on board with what's to come!
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