While it is still fresh in my head and while everyone is doing their own thing in the house right now I thought it would be good to write a race report.
Woke up at 6 and was surprised that I slept at all. Typically I do not sleep before a race. But this one was different. I have run it before so I knew what to expect. Plus I really did not put any expectations on myself. Sure I had some goals in my head but I just wanted to finish pretty. Not walking and limping my way across the line. So after getting ready and going back and forth on what to wear we were off to my Dad's house. Got there around 7:30am. My father was ready to go. My husband I think had more reservation about this race than any other he has run. His training while ample enough wasn't at a level that he normally does for a race of this length. But I knew he would be fine. He amazes me sometimes. He is able to run that distance whether he runs 5 miles a week or 30 miles a week. He can just get up and run. Not me I have to train really hard to run a long distance event like this. I spent a very few important minutes taping my leg just right in hopes it would hold me up for the 13 miles.
We headed to Cary HS just about 3 miles from my Dad's house. Very convenient. Had about 30 mins to wait before the race. My least favorite time of the day. The minutes you wait before the gun goes off. My mind wanders to the what if. What if I can't handle the pavement? What if the hills are just too much? What if I will be too cold or too warm? What if I can't finish. Never do I feel ready those few minutes. Never do I think, I've got this. I can do this. Keeping in mind that I have not run on the roads in about 8 months only the treadmill can mess with your head. But I kept telling myself I ran a whole marathon with only training on a treadmill back in 2007. So what's 13 miles?
8:35 am we are off. Now the first 3 miles are rolling hills nothing much to speak off. Actually most of it is slightly downhill. So you can bank some time for yourself. By the first 1/2 mile I was running alone without Dad and Dave. I pulled ahead quickly but thought that they were right behind me. Saw the kids, Lori and new pals Chloe and Oreo at mile 2.5. They almost missed me running by. I had my garmin on avg pace and I was at 8:45. Geez a little fast I thought. But the leg felt ok so far and my breathing was in check. Was a bit chilly but I was warming up slowly. So I kept the pace and thought well as long as I don't feel like I'm pushing hard I'll keep going. Miles ticked off and I was able to stay in the 8 min range until mile 6. Some of the hills are brutal. They just go on and on and on. The shin was twinging slightly and what surprised me was that the downhill was just as bothersome as the uphills. I was in the low 9's for the next 3 miles. Then got it back down to 8:39 for mile 9. However, this is when it gets really tough. The worst of the hills are through mile 10 and 11. They ease up slightly in mile 12. Mile 10 was 9:18 mile 11 was 9:07. Trying to recover from that slowed me down a bit mile 12 with a 9:21 my slowest mile. As I was running each mile I watched the garmin's avg pace creeping up. I was thinking if I can just keep it below 9 min miles for 1/2 the race that would be great. Then it was well if I can hit 8 miles under 9 pace even better. As mile 9 passed by I thought, wow I may have a chance at a PR. But I knew that the toughest part was yet to come. By mile 12 the garmin hit 9 min avg pace. Now it was a race......a mental race. Could I get the garmin to go back down to 8:59? Have to pick up pace by about 13 seconds for that to happen. My last mile was at 9:01 but the last quarter mile I hit a pace of 7:48. That's what did it. I got my 8:59 pace and a time of 1:58:43, which is a 5 min PR for me. That is huge! The other race was flat.
This proves to me that I'm on the right track with training. My running is improving tremendously even with shin splints. And who says you can't run all your miles on a treadmill and expect to do well come race day? I'm proof that it is possible. Right now my legs are sore. More sore that 13 miles on a treadmill, but I don't go at 9 min pace nor do I run hills so really I'm not in too bad of shape. Doped up on Advil for now and hope that the shin doesn't keep me up tonight. But I think I'm going to be just fine. Tomorrow maybe I'll even ride the trainer for a bit and hit the pool. The season has just begun...........
Kudos to my Father who surpassed his expectations. His avg pace of 9:45 was about 15 secs faster per mile than expected. And of course my husband who pushed through and as always never gives up. He came in with a time of 2:11. Just about 10 min pace. I remember the days when I would work so hard to get that time and he can just show up and do it with less than 1/2 the mileage I train with. Less can sometimes be more......... I spend many many hours training and a lot of things lately are hard to get done. My husband is patient, helpful, tolerant and understanding during all this. I have another 3 months to go until the "big race" I'll thank him in advance for putting up with all of this. You truly need the support of your loved ones to get you to the finish line. Without them I could not do this. Thanks.
Great job you guys !!!
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