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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Austin Half Marathon

This was my first time running the Austin half, and good grief was it challenging!  48 degrees at the start, 50 degrees when we finished, and lots of 'rolling' hills.  The 3M was a breeze compared to the Livestrong course.  

I woke up at 4:30am and ate my usual pre-race meal : toast w/ peanut butter and a cup of coffee.  I deliberated all night and most of the morning on my race attire, 48 degrees (felt like 44) is in-between weather and makes it difficult to figure out what to wear without overheating.  Finally I decided on shorts and long sleeves and finished packing my backpack.  Moni & Jenn picked me up around 5am, followed by Mills and then we were on our way downtown.

On a side note, I came down with pink eye the night before the race.  Of all the things to happen before a big race, blurred vision and crusty eyes was not expected.  Thankfully I managed to get some meds Sat night so that my eye wasn't too bad during the race, just the occasional slight stinging sensation from the wind.
Ready to get our race on!
We found a parking spot and headed straight to the bathrooms, lines were already starting to form!  Luckily the lines went quickly, the coffee did its job, and then we went to find our places in the corrals.  Moni & I lined up with the 9 min/mile pace team, I ate a Gu, and then it was go time!  I didn't even hear the horn go off at 7am, I only knew we started because the lines began to condense.

I was cold at the beg of the race, warm in the middle, and freezing by the end. Go figure. I don't really remember too much about the first half of the race.  I recall thinking it seemed to take longer to run these miles than the 3M did (ha!), and there were many many inclines.  The pace team caught up with me around mile 5.5, I knew I wouldn't be as fast as I was in the 3M so I was OK with it.  Around mile 6 I happened to see Moni out of the corner of my eye, so I tucked in behind her and kept pace with her for a mile and a half, eventually I lost her at a water stop.  I hit my 'wall' around mile 8 (a mile earlier than in the 3M), my legs were aching and sore.

Mile 1 - 9:00, Mile 2 - 8:47, Mile 3 - 8:59, Mile 4 - 9:40, Mile 5 - 9:18, Mile 6 - 9:11, Mile 7 - 8:36, Mile 8 - 9:09, Mile 9 - 9:44


Running - not sure what mile

Check out those hills!

The last 4 miles were the toughest part of the race.  My pace dropped drastically due to the horrible hills.  Mile 11 started with a long gradual climb for about 1/4 of a mile followed by some rolling terrain and then mile 12 had the worst mountain climb ever!  I had been dreading that HILL the entire race; it rises 80 feet in less than a quarter mile, that's 8 stories in a short span!  I knew that hill was coming and when I saw it I just told myself to keep my head down and focus - no walking!  For shits and giggles I looked at my pace while jogging up that hill, 15 min/miles!!  That's hilarious!...kinda, but not really.  I made it up without walking, felt like puking and continued onto the last stretch.  There were a couple more slight hills that last mile before finally crossing the finish line.  According to my Garmin I ran 13.2 miles in 2:06:56, 9:36 avg pace.  My official chip time for 13.1 was 2:06:54, 9:41 pace.  I beat both of my goals; to not walk up that hill and to finish in under 2 hrs and 10 mins.

Mile 10 - 10:32, Mile 11 - 10:47, Mile 12 - 10:53, Mile 13 - 10:34, last 0.2 - 1:47 (8:43 pace)



bib number:18110
age:33
gender:F
location:Pflugerville, TX
overall place:4173 out of 10359
division place:361 out of 1135
gender place:1675 out of 5867
time:2:06:54
pace:9:41
gun:2:13:37
5k:28:10
5m:46:15
10m:1:33:40
12m:1:55:28

Crossing the finish line
My right IT band was shooting pain up and down my leg when I finished, I could tell at mile 8 it was going to be a problem, and once I stopped running it locked up on me.  Funny enough my hip felt just fine.  I hobbled through the finishers area to meet up with the rest of my girls and head home.  Overall I am satisfied with my time, and next time I'll have a new goal to beat!
Austin Half Finisher! 2/19/2012
2 half marathons within 3 weeks of each other, not bad!  The Austin half is extremely challenging both mentally and physically.  And to think I ran this race for fun, just so I could run with my friends...this is NOT a fun race!  I definitely prefer the 3M course.

Surprisingly I'm not nearly as sore after this half marathon as I was after the 3M.  I guess downhill really is harder on the body.  Oh! And no blister this time, the new socks really helped.  :)  My IT band/knee was fine by the next day.

Livestrong Austin Half Marathon 2/19/2012


Race prep:
What I ate:  Spaghetti w/ meat sauce the night before, lots and lots of water!  Breakfast consisted of a piece of toast with peanut butter, 1 cup of coffee, water.  During the race I ate a gu (cliff shot) at the starting line, mile 5 & 10.  I also hit as many water stops as possible even though I carried a water bottle on my belt.  
What I wore:  Shorts, long sleeved shirt, Garmin watch, hat, ear warmer band, Brooks Gylcerine shoes (new - broke them in 2 weeks before the race), my new running socks, and running belt.
Other items I carried:  3 cliff shots, water bottle, ipod, kleenex

Saturday, February 4, 2012

3M Half Marathon

The night before my race I drank plenty of water and went to bed early (9pm) as I had to wake up at 4:30am.  Surprisingly my body was alert and ready to go when my alarm went off!  The hubby however was not.  He had planned on coming out to support me but woke up sick instead, so I was on my own.  I drank a cup of coffee, ate some toast with peanut butter and was out the door by 5:10am. The starting line was at Stonelake Blvd and York, by Baby A's off Mopac.  There was a parking garage for the event just off York and I had my choice of parking spots since I arrived early and beat traffic.  I relaxed in my car for the next 30 mins, checked FB on my phone, and took deep breaths as I was extremely nervous.  Around 6am I noticed 3M had updated their FB status saying "you better use the restrooms now", so I emerged from my nice warm car and made my way to the staging area located directly behind the parking garage.
Staging area - Freakn early in the morning! 1/29/2012

I hung around the staging area for about 15 mins, keeping an eye out for people I might know and having my picture taken.  Finally I started towards the corrals and jogged back and forth between the 2:00 pace spot and the start line to warmup.  Now I had to decide which corral to line up in.  My first goal was to finish in under 2hrs and 10 mins (my last 1/2 marathon time from 2005).  I calculated my projected race time from one of those fancy websites, which said I'd finish in 2:03:17.  Based off that, my stretch goal was to finish in 2 hours.  So I placed myself right in front of the 2:00 pace team and figured if I could stay ahead of them I'd be golden.  Everyone started inching up towards the start line and then the horn signaled the beginning of the race.  It was go time!
Somewhere around mile 6 - yeah yeah I know I look funny
Most of the race is a blur, although I'm able to recall one thing about each mile (except mile 1)  :P.  I remember around mile 2 noticing that the sky was starting to lighten up, come on sunrise!  Around mile 3 people were beginning to walk.  Mile 4 was the first bathroom stop and lines were already forming.  Thank god I used the restrooms before the race so that I didn't have to break up my run.  I finally started warming up around mile 5, off came the gloves and I ate my first Gu.  I began looking for my husband around mile 6, just in case he felt better and made it out.  Alas I didn't see him, I did however see one of the brightroom photogs.  I waved and smiled at them for my big moment, but obviously that's not the picture they captured above...sigh...I look dorky.

Mile 1 - 8:51, Mile 2 - 8:47, Mile 3 - 9:06, Mile 4 - 9:12, Mile 5 - 9:14, Mile 6 - 8:55
9:00 avg pace for miles 1-6
Official 10K time - 56:20, 9:05 pace  (my Garmin showed the mile markers to be a bit off)

All of a sudden I was startled by the 2 hr pace team yelling behind me, they were literally right on my tail!  Oh no!  I thought I had been making excellent time, but they had caught up to me.  Grrrrrrr!  Miles 6-9 was a constant battle between us.  They'd take me over for a few mins, then I would speed up and pass them.  Mile 6.8 was the relay exchange so I was fighting fresh new runners as well.

It was here that I saw my favorite supporter sign:  Love your stamina...call me!  
2nd best sign I saw:  Way to go you random person!

By mile 9 the pace team over took me, I felt like I had suddenly hit a wall and was slowing down.  :(  I was feeling down and beating myself up that I let them get away when I realized I was doing just fine and I was still on goal.  Heck yeah, take that pace team!   

Mile 7 - 9:00, Mile 8 - 8:57, Mile 9 - 8:59
8:58 avg pace for miles 7-9

Then came the big 1-0, I was finally in double digits!!  The end was near.  I ate my second Gu and tried to pay attention to my surroundings as I was finally downtown, 45th and Lamar.  At Mile 11 there was a supporter yelling words of encouragement, "You're sub 2 miles from the finish, push it!".  Oh yeah baby, only 2 miles away!  I can totally do 2 miles.  There was a banana boy waving and jumping around at mile 12.  However it was also at mile 12 that I began impatiently looking at my watch every 15 seconds.  I should have NEVER done that...  Why wouldn't this last mile end!?  This is taking forever!  Where the heck is the finish line?
Coming in hot
Finally I heard the cheers from the crowd at the finish line.  I turned the last corner and to my amazement there were my parents!  They were looking around and seemed a bit lost so I yelled to get their attention.  They did a double take, smiled and waved and frantically held up the signs they made for me.  My mother was so excited that she held my sign upside down.  ;)  At this point the finish line was in my sights, no way was I stopping for hugs or high 5's, so I waved and sped on by them.

I was on the last stretch.  It was now or never, every little bit counted.  I sped up and crossed the finish line at 1:59:02 according to my Garmin.  My official chip time was 1:58:58!!!  Totally rocked it!  I was ecstatic - holy crap I beat 2 hours and felt great!  I managed to take 11 mins off my last 1/2 marathon time (2:10).

Mile 10 - 9:19, Mile 11 - 9:14, Mile 12 - 9:00, Mile 13 - 9:05, last 0.16 1:21 (8:37 pace)
9:03 avg pace


Almost there!

Tiptoeing across the finish line!

Conquered 13.1! 1/29/2012

I must say the 3M course was awesome and made for PRs as it's mostly downhill and/or flat.  Race conditions were great!  I was worried about it being too cold at the start, 39 degrees, but thankfully there was no wind and it ended up being perfect weather for this distance, 49 degrees at the finish. It was great having my parents there to support me at the finish line.  I told them all about my experience while they drove me back to my car, thankful that I didn't have to ride the bus.  :)

My hip, which was my biggest concern, didn't bother me at all during or after the race.  I did end up with a massive blister on my right foot, probably due to all the downhill running.  My calves were super sore as well for about 4 days.  All totally worth it.  :D

On the mend 1/30/2012 - nice calluses
Blister after the race 1/29


Race prep:
What I ate:  Spaghetti w/ meat sauce the night before, lots and lots of water!  Breakfast consisted of a piece of toast with peanut butter, 1 cup of coffee, water.  During the race I ate a gu (cliff shot) every 5 miles (mile 5 & 10), I also hit as many water stops as possible even though I carried a water bottle on my belt.  If I'd had one more gu I would have taken that right before the race started.
What I wore:  Long pants, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved undershirt, gloves, garmin watch, hat, ear warmer band, Brooks Gylcerine shoes (that need replacing), and old running socks (that desperately need to be replaced), running belt (will rethink this next time as it bounced around all over the place and tore up my shirt).
Other items I carried:  Cell phone, 2 cliff shots, water bottle, ipod, kleenex, car key