2007 3M Half Marathon
I exceeded my own expectations today. Today's half marathon experience was a polar opposite in every way to Disneyland in September. I felt great the whole time, nothing hurt and the miles flew by. It was a great race in every way. I finished in 2:15:05 for an average pace of 10:19/mi. (This is way beyond my expectations.)
My alarm went off at 4:45 AM. I snoozed until 5 AM and then grudgingly got out of bed. I ate a half an apple, a small glass of pomegranate juice and a very tiny bowl of Rice Krispies with soy milk. We headed to the race site around 5:45, arriving around 6 AM. We sat in the car until around 6:15 when we headed over to the start line. It was cold - around 35 degrees outside. I wore running tights, a thin long sleeve tech shirt and a thin tech hoodie. I also had on gloves and an ear warmer headband.
Before the race started we were so cold. There was one heat lamp and everyone was crowding around it. We found the shuttle stop for the second leg relay participants and left Dru there. Roger and I hit the port-a-potties and then huddled in the group of people around the heat lamp. We couldn't actually feel any heat from the lamp, but it was warm huddling in the large mass of people.
At about 6:50, we started to make our way to the starting line when I realized I had to use the bathroom again. We checked the port-a-potty lines, but they were seriously long so we just headed to the start and I wrote it off as nervousness.
The race started at 7 AM, we crossed the start line at around 7:05. I must have lined up appropriately because for the first couple of miles, I didn't run around many people and not many ran around me. I checked my GPS and tried to pace myself at around an 11 minute mile. My legs felt frozen and unresponsive. Finally between miles 1 and 2 I was starting to warm up and feel pretty good except that I still felt like I had to use the bathroom.
Then I just ran. I really don't have much else to report except that I felt good and I so I just ran. Before I knew it, I was at the halfway point. Roger was there ahead of me and had already handed off to Dru. I quickly stripped off my gloves and handed them to him as I ran by. I wanted to say to him that I was feeling really good but my brain wasn't functioning and I just smiled. I still had to go, but the line at the port-a-potties was awful so I kept going.
And so I ran some more. Around mile 8 I was feeling really good and I started to try to pick it up a little. By looking at the time, I realized that I could actually make around a 2:15 time if I could get the last five miles in under an hour. That made me super happy.
And so I ran some more. My feet were starting to get sore (the kind of sore when you've been walking around on them all day and you just need to sit down and rest - totally expected) but I just kept running.
Suddenly, I realized I was at mile 10. Only 5k left! I still had to go to the bathroom, but I ignored that and just ran. I saw Cam around mile 12 and I hollered out "2:05!!" I have no idea if she knew what I meant. I was just so excited at that point that I was going so fast.
I really pushed the last mile hard. Really hard. My heart was pounding as I reached mile 13 and I wasn't sure how much harder I could go for the last .1 mile. I really wanted that 2:15 at that point and so I really trucked as fast as I could into the finish. I looked down at my watch and saw 2:15. I made it!
Roger and Dru were there looking happy. They were excited about my time as well as their own times. Everyone had a good race today.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 10:39
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 10:25
Mile 4 - 10:00
Mile 5 - 10:08
Mile 6 - 10:21
Mile 7 - 10:16
Mile 8 - 10:27
Mile 9 - 10:21
Mile 10 - 10:33
Mile 11 - 10:04
Mile 12 - 10:09
Mile 13 - 9:22
Last .1 - 1:42 (8:36/mi pace)
My alarm went off at 4:45 AM. I snoozed until 5 AM and then grudgingly got out of bed. I ate a half an apple, a small glass of pomegranate juice and a very tiny bowl of Rice Krispies with soy milk. We headed to the race site around 5:45, arriving around 6 AM. We sat in the car until around 6:15 when we headed over to the start line. It was cold - around 35 degrees outside. I wore running tights, a thin long sleeve tech shirt and a thin tech hoodie. I also had on gloves and an ear warmer headband.
Before the race started we were so cold. There was one heat lamp and everyone was crowding around it. We found the shuttle stop for the second leg relay participants and left Dru there. Roger and I hit the port-a-potties and then huddled in the group of people around the heat lamp. We couldn't actually feel any heat from the lamp, but it was warm huddling in the large mass of people.
At about 6:50, we started to make our way to the starting line when I realized I had to use the bathroom again. We checked the port-a-potty lines, but they were seriously long so we just headed to the start and I wrote it off as nervousness.
The race started at 7 AM, we crossed the start line at around 7:05. I must have lined up appropriately because for the first couple of miles, I didn't run around many people and not many ran around me. I checked my GPS and tried to pace myself at around an 11 minute mile. My legs felt frozen and unresponsive. Finally between miles 1 and 2 I was starting to warm up and feel pretty good except that I still felt like I had to use the bathroom.
Then I just ran. I really don't have much else to report except that I felt good and I so I just ran. Before I knew it, I was at the halfway point. Roger was there ahead of me and had already handed off to Dru. I quickly stripped off my gloves and handed them to him as I ran by. I wanted to say to him that I was feeling really good but my brain wasn't functioning and I just smiled. I still had to go, but the line at the port-a-potties was awful so I kept going.
And so I ran some more. Around mile 8 I was feeling really good and I started to try to pick it up a little. By looking at the time, I realized that I could actually make around a 2:15 time if I could get the last five miles in under an hour. That made me super happy.
And so I ran some more. My feet were starting to get sore (the kind of sore when you've been walking around on them all day and you just need to sit down and rest - totally expected) but I just kept running.
Suddenly, I realized I was at mile 10. Only 5k left! I still had to go to the bathroom, but I ignored that and just ran. I saw Cam around mile 12 and I hollered out "2:05!!" I have no idea if she knew what I meant. I was just so excited at that point that I was going so fast.
I really pushed the last mile hard. Really hard. My heart was pounding as I reached mile 13 and I wasn't sure how much harder I could go for the last .1 mile. I really wanted that 2:15 at that point and so I really trucked as fast as I could into the finish. I looked down at my watch and saw 2:15. I made it!
Roger and Dru were there looking happy. They were excited about my time as well as their own times. Everyone had a good race today.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 10:39
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 10:25
Mile 4 - 10:00
Mile 5 - 10:08
Mile 6 - 10:21
Mile 7 - 10:16
Mile 8 - 10:27
Mile 9 - 10:21
Mile 10 - 10:33
Mile 11 - 10:04
Mile 12 - 10:09
Mile 13 - 9:22
Last .1 - 1:42 (8:36/mi pace)
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