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)

my Livestrong Austin Marathon & Half - Half Marathon Open results

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