2012 3M Half Marathon Race Report

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I had no real goals when it came to this year's 3M. The last time I ran it was in 2007 and this year was a different course. I was thinking the course would be a little easier this year, but I didn't really know how fast I should aim for. I decided to try to pace it similar to my half in August in San Diego and see if I could get the 2:10 I missed out there. 

The whole household had been sick during the peak of my training so I missed my longest run before the race. My longest run was 9.5 miles 3 weeks prior, then I missed a week and had a crummy 7.5 mile run the weekend before. 

Pre-race was all smooth. I got a ride in with my friend Dan, which I was grateful for because it meant I didn't have to deal with stashing my key somewhere or pick up the car after the race.  I lined up with the 2:10 pacers, thinking I'd just stay with them and see how it went. We started and it took me about 5 minutes to get to the starting line, then I just started running. 

I lost sight of the pace group right away, but I realized they were behind me. The first few miles I knew I was running a little faster than my plan, but it was downhill and my heart rate was quite low and I felt good so I just went with it. 

When I arrived at mile 6, I was starting to feel a little tired and I wondered if the two and a half weeks of coughing I did leading up to the race was catching up to me. I also was worried I went out too fast for the first few miles. 

Those middle miles around 7-9 were sort of hard mentally. The course was easy so I'm not sure what was going on there. I just needed….something encouraging. Then the 2:10 pace group passed me and I couldn't keep up with them and that was discouraging. I eventually lost sight of them and that was a real bummer. We turned around mile 10 and I knew I should start to try to pick it up. I saw Betsy and soon after I saw my friend Bruce and seeing them was really helpful. 

Then I got to mile 11 and I realized if I could pick it up and run close to a 9:30 pace for the final two miles, I could get close to 2:10 and a PR. So I somehow picked it up. I knew if I could just run faster, I would be done sooner and the pain was only temporary, but I'd never forgive myself if I were so close to 2:10 and missed it. 

Getting close to mile 13 we turned and went up a little hill that felt just horrible and brutal. And I saw the 2:10 pace group again! I never caught them again, but at least I could spot them. Then we turned and could see the finish line. I gave every last bit I had and felt like I was sprinting (in reality, I wasn't). I looked at my watch and saw..2:10:55!!  I just BARELY got to see 2:10, but I was super excited to have a PR by nearly 2 minutes over the PR I had in August. (And 5 minutes faster than my time at this race in 2007). 

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