3M Half Marathon 2020

Ah 3M, one of the best half marathons I've ever run.  The last time I ran this half was in 2018, the same year I was training for the Austin Marathon.  I had an amazing Austin Marathon race in Feb, but unfortunately by May of 2018 I sustained a right food injury and had to take a year off!!  I only recently was able to start running again in Aug 2019 after tons of physical therapy, several cortisone shots and one PRP shot.  I wasn't sure if my foot could handle ramping back up and I was quite nervous.  There were a couple of iffy moments in the beginning where I had to back off on mileage, but thankfully by Nov I was running consistently.  Not fast mind you, I didn't want to risk my foot with speed, so I focused on distance and endurance.  I made it up to a 12 mile run (with lots of breaks) and two 11 milers...so technically I was ready for 3M, technically....The entire time I was training my right foot was never 100%, it would ache after long runs.

The weather for 3M weekend had us all thrilled, it was going to be a cold 40 degree at he start of the race!  A nice change from 2 years ago when it was 60 degrees and humid (barf).  I tossed and turned the night before on what to wear.  I really wanted to wear long sleeves and tights, thankfully I have these blogs that document my thoughts/temps/outfits.  I actually found a comment I had made in a previous 3M post to remind myself to wear short sleeves, arm warmers and crops whenever it's around 40 degrees.  OK!!!  Got it, then that's what I shall do.

Saturday I carb loaded for the race.  Waffles for breakfast, Tex-Mex fajitas for lunch and another waffle w/ PB for dinner.  I did not go to the Beef Team dinner this year as they were hosting a chili cook-off.  Who in the world thought that chili before a race would be a good idea!?   I laid out my race clothes and prepped my race equipment before hitting the sack around 10:30 pm.  Of course I'm always nervous before a race and have a hard time sleeping.  I usually have to take a sleeping aid to get any amount of sleep...and I'll still have restless sleep.

My alarm went off at 4:45 am, giving me a good 40 mins to get ready and eat my traditional toast with PB breakfast and load up on ibuprofen.  I met my friends and fellow Pfelly runners at 5:45 am to carpool to the start.  We sat in the car to stay warm for a good 20 mins before walking over to the potties and staging area.  We were FREEZING!  It was 41 degrees but felt like 35 with the 10 mph wind chill.  At least it was perfect weather for a race; clear skies, 40-45 degrees the entire race with humidity in the mid 40s.  We took some group pics, I ate my Gu, and then headed to the start line at 7:15 am.  I lined up just in front of the 2 hour pacer.

Pre-race group shot, we're freezing!

Ready to run!

I felt great when we started!  The cold weather was a godsend and I was holding a 9 pace for the first 5 miles.  By mile 4 I pulled down my arm-warmers and removed my ear-warmers & gloves.  Around mile 6 I could tell my foot was getting tired so I scaled it back a bit to a 9:15 pace.  I was doing fine until mile 8...that's when my foot went haywire.  I got the worst cramp in my right foot and thought I was going to have to pull over.  I knew I was straining my tendons more than I ever had in any of my training runs, so I slowed my pace again to a 9:25 and that helped to alleviate some of the pain.  I was able to run through it and the cramp dissipated.  Of course the cramp hit my foot again at mile 10, this time in both feet!  At this point I slowed to a 9:45 pace (my normal training pace) to compensate and that seemed to help my feet recover.  I stayed at this pace for the last 3 miles.  Apparently they had changed the 3M course and there were a lot more hills these last 3 miles as well.  So much for a downhill route!  Miles 9/10 and 11-13 had inclines!!!  I was elated when I saw the finish line and picked up speed for a nice finish.  I hit my goal of not walking and finishing this race.  I gotta admit, this was probably the first half I've ever run where I didn't curse myself half way through and wonder why in the world I was subjecting myself to this torture.  😂

finish line

Jenn and I

Capitol pic

My official chip time was 2:02:59 at a 9:23 pace.  My Garmin showed I ran 13.26 miles in 2:03:01 at a 9:17 pace.  Not too bad considering my nagging foot injury and very close to my 2018 time of 2:02:09.

5K 28:06, 9:02/M
10K 56:31, 9:06/M
15K 1:26:06, 9:14/M
Finish 2:02:59, 9:23/M

We all headed to the gear trucks for our bags and coats then jumped on the transport buses around 10 am to take us back to the start.  After changing in the car we headed to NXNW for brunch and our free beer with our race bibs.  Mmmmm BEER!

Unfortunately going all out for this race really irritated my foot and set me back.  I decided it was best not to run the Austin Half (which was 4 weeks later) and sold my bib.  I've taken a good 2 weeks off from running and it looks like I may be back to square one with training.  My next race is not until May, which is only a 5K, so hopefully that's enough time for my foot to recover.

Bib, watch, medal

Avg pace - 9:17 (going off 13.26 miles, Garmin)
Mile 1 - 9:09, Mile 2 - 8:41, Mile 3 - 8:54, Mile 4 - 8:56, Mile 5 - 8:58, Mile 6 - 9:16, Mile 7 - 9:13, Mile 8 - 9:23, Mile 9 - 9:29, Mile 10 - 9:41, Mile 11 - 9:45, Mile 12 - 9:44 Mile 13 - 9:35, last 0.26 - 2:16 (8:42 pace)

Race prep:
What I ate:  Waffles & syrup for breakfast, Tex-Mex for lunch (fajitas & tortillas), waffle & PB for dinner (was still full from lunch).  My traditional toast with PB on race morning.  I wore my hydration vest so I didn't have to stop at any water stops and carried 3 Gu's (1 at start, mile 5 and I skipped mile 10).
What I wore:  Lulu mid calf crops, team beef SS shirt, arm warmers, ear warmers, gloves, hat, sunglasses, Garmin watch, hydration vest, Brooks Glycerin shoes (size 10), wright socks.  Gear checked my lulu scuba.
Other items I carried:  3 Gu's, wireless earphones, phone