Race #231
Half Marathon #84
2024 Race #10
2024 Half #5
I went into this race with a plan thanks to my coach and the determination to follow that plan to the best of my ability even if the predicted warmer temperatures got the best of me. I also struggle with confidence in my ability to meet and carry out these paces, especially in the very low 8s. (That is gradually changing.)
We started with our warm up, originally 2 miles but cut to a mile and a half simply because of logistics. Mom and I finished with enough time to use the restrooms in the ball park and make it to the start. I started further up than Mom although I did not move up there until we got a pre-race selfie with the sunrise in the background.
Once the race officially started, I made the last minute decision to switch to my music at the start rather than listen to my audiobook until the final 10k before switching. Something about racing doesn’t feel right unless I’m listening to music.
I settled in, running the first two miles controlled as prescribed. (It might have been the first three but I could not remember what the plan said while I ran.)
I felt a little nervous as I dropped into my marathon pace range of 8:10-8:20 but quickly and easily fell into a groove that had me making sure not to dip even faster than that. The ease at which this pace felt provided a much needed motivation boost.
Mile 1 – 8:28
Mile 2 – 8:27
Mile 3 – 8:16
Mile 4 – 8:12
As the mile 4 marker approached, I glanced down at my Garmin to check my mileage (not just my pace) and completely forgot that I had an additional 1.5 miles of distance on that total because I didn’t start a new activity; I simply hit the lap button at the start to sync the miles. Thus I became quite confused when I saw 4 on the mile marker and wondered how the distance had gotten so off. It took a little bit to reset my mental calculations.
At mile 5, I took my first gel. I used the credit I get at the feed.com as part of my training package to get some Precision products since they will be the official hydration and fuel at CIM. Since chewing while running faster paces rarely works for me, I decided to try the gels which have 30g of carbs and 100mg of caffeine. I don’t have a perceptible energy boost from caffeine in daily activities but I wanted to give it a try. While I would not say that the gels had a particularly pleasant or unpleasant taste, I would not say that I liked the flavor. Thankfully, I did not dislike the flavor either. It took a little bit of time to consume the whole thing which I washed down with my Gatorade.
The next mile and a third took me to the turn around point. I had started counting the top females as they passed going the opposite way, not intending to count until I reached my own placement. Then I saw how relatively close I was to the front. When we turned around a mile 6.3, I was 44th or 4th (I may have missed one or two). That got my competitive brain going. I made it my new goal to climb the ranks as much as I could, at least cracking the top 40.
Miles 5 – 8:11
Miles 6 – 8:12
Miles 7 – 8:08
Miles 8 – 8:11
Somewhere after mile 8, I realized how energized I still felt. Could the caffeine have provided a welcome boost? Sure. Could this pace be well within my current fitness capability? Also possible. Getting enough carbs also probably helped.
I decided to take my second and final gel a few tenths of a mile before miles 10 so I could spend the final 5k focusing on dropping my pace below 8 minutes.
Miles 9 – 8:11
Miles 10 – 8:06
Once that final 5k came, I started to feel it. I got my pace below 8 but not that far. Now I just had to hold onto that for as long as possible on the part of the course with the steepest incline, aka the final mile. Oh! I forgot to mention that way back around mile 4 when I mixed up the mileage, I switched my watch display to lap distance which worked really well. I could check my pace without getting excited that I was closer to the finish than reality. On that final mile though, I did not look at the watch. I focused on making it up the two-part hill and finally around the corner so I could head back downhill and into the ballpark. Once in the ballpark, I found it a little more difficult than I remembered to run on the loos dirt of the warning track but I kept pushing all the way to the finish where I grabbed my medal (identical to last year’s which I discovered when I hung it up on the medal rack when I got home) and checked the website for the official results.
Mile 11 – 7:54
Mile 12 – 7:54
Mile 13 – 7:52
Overall – 1:45:57
Not too shabby! I met my A goal of sub 1:50 – with ease – and come close to my stretch goal of 1:45.
Mom came in a few minutes later with 2:09:22. She came in leading a group and looking so strong! She ran away from them!
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