Pages

Monday, May 16, 2011

Capital City 1/2 Marathon

I just realized it's been a while since my last post...sorry.

Here is a recap on yesterday's race!

To start off with, my 3 year old has been tremendously sick over the last week.  He had double ear infections and 103.9 temperature.  He was also kind enough to share his nasty cold with his momma before this race.  Friday evening I felt the crud coming on so I knew I was pretty much doomed.

Saturday, my sister-in-law Andrea, came and picked me up and we went to the expo to pick up our racing bibs.  The tech shirts that they handed out are by far my favorite shirts I have received from a race yet.  Red, long sleeved with thumb holes, 1/4 zip tech shirts...AWESOME!  Also, the bag that they came in was a great reusable runners bag.  It's the race's 30th anniversary so they had nice giveaways.  At the expo, I also scored some wonderful new Brooks Adrenaline GTS shoes for $20!  Another bonus :)


That evening, I started my new pre-race ritual...coconut water.  I kept hearing how wonderful it was, tried it last week and loved it.  So I drank a coconut water, carb loaded (like always), took some cold medicine, and went to bed early.  I didn't sleep well because I wasn't able to breathe well but oh well, I never sleep well before a race day.

The next morning I woke up at 5:30am.  The rain was already pouring down (quite the difference from the day before which was 65-70 degrees and sunny).  This was going to be my first race in the rain...and did I mention I was totally sick?!?  I changed my plans on my attire.  Originally, I was going to wear my Half Fanatics shirt and a running skirt.  Instead, I wore my Half Fanatics shirt, capris, a jacket and a hat (which thankfully Erik brought for me at last minute).  I had two pieces of toast, more coconut water and we were off to the race.

I knew going into this race that it was very doubtful that I was going to PR.  I decided early that since I was sick my only goal was to just finish.  I made a deal with Andrea that I would pace her and run with her through her second half marathon (she is also on her way to becoming a Half Fanatic).  I told her that I was there to support her and if she needed to stop, we would stop...if she wanted to run, we would run. 

The lines for the honey buckets before the race were actually wrapped around the street corner so I didn't get my pre-race potty break :(  We agreed that we would hit a honeybucket during the race.  Since I wasn't attempting to PR, I was fine with that agreement.

It was a crowded race start.  The totals showed 1200+ people ran the 1/2 marathon.  I know to most that isn't a lot but for this race the pack never seemed to separate.  Andrea and I started the race with a nice pace.  Nothing to hard.  We were also soaked within minutes from the rain and the other runners splashing water up from the puddles. Average pace: 10'20"/mile. 

Mile 2-3 was the first hill that we came across.  It was a steady, gradual, uphill climb that went on for almost 3 miles total.  We along with many of the runners were laughing about the fact that we were swimming upstream and that this race should really be called a triathlon.  We expected bikes to waiting at the finish line. :)  The one downfall to this whole race was this leg of it.  The portion of the road was open to traffic and people were driving like maniacs.  Not cool man.  Average pace: 10'02"/mile and 9'58"/mile

Mile 4-5 We finally stopped for the honeybucket.  Too bad many of the runners had the same idea!  That little detour took 3 minutes of our time.  Darn!  Still running well and breathing well.  My sinuses finally opened up and I could breath easier than I had the first 5 miles.  Average pace: 10'03"/mile and 14'07"/mile.

Mile 6  Lack of oxygen started setting in (or so Andrea likes to refer to it).  We really started laughing and having fun at this point.  I was running with my iPod on speaker so Andrea and I were rocking out to my "beer/drinking" songs.  We got passed by the 3 lead marathon runners.  Did I mention they were on mile 19 at this point and we were on mile 6.5?  There were lots of cowbells for the next 7 miles and every time we ran by someone with one, Andrea and I would yell out, "We need more cowbell!"  Average pace: 10'17"/mile


Miles 7-9 Still plugging along.  Laughing, puddle jumping, and almost no walking!  Bring on the cowbell!  I really enjoyed running with Andrea.  She is a lot like me in the fact that we enjoy the race.  We take time to thank the volunteers, spectators, and just enjoy the sights.  People were standing out in the rain cheering us on and we would always take the time to say thanks as we ran by.  Erik was amazing through the last half of the race as well.  He joined us at around mile 8.5 and paced us and encouraged us for the remaining miles.  Average paces: 10'38"/mile, 10'29"/mile, and 10'14"/mile.

Mile 10...Grrr...the final hill.  This one took it's toll on us.  We alternated between walking and running up it.  The rain was still coming down but the wind had picked up on this portion of the course and it was not a lot of fun.  Average pace: 10'47"/mile

Mile 11 Fatigue started to set in for us.  The support of the crowd and Erik were so helpful and it really helped push us through.  Average pace: 10'37"/mile

Mile 12 My stupid cold gave me the vomiting feeling.  Stupid post-nasal drip.  Had to walk for a moment but otherwise I was good to go.  Average pace: 10'17"/mile

Mile 13  I was so happy to finish still standing!  We were laughing at a couple of funny things going to the finish line.  There was a woman standing outside her house with her own "volunteer" table set up with a sign and dixie cups that said "Ice Cold Beer"...AWESOME!  As we approached the finish line there was an ambulance waiting with it's doors wide open, which I exclaimed, "Oh good, my ride is here!" Andrea started to slow down a little and I told her, "Come on girl, you got this!  Don't stop now!"  She sped up and finished side by side with me.  It was great!  Andrea had friends waiting at the end of the race with signs up and my father-in-law even showed up to cheer us on!  Average pace: 10'14"/mile

So there you have it.  Another race in the books.  That was #4 for the year.  Sick or not...I am still a smiling runner. =D

I love my amazing family!



My Nike time showed 2:18:51 (I never stopped the clock BTW)

The race results showed: 2:20:43
Overall place: 821/1212
Age place: 88/143
Female place: 427/741

P.S....I went to the doctor today.  Yep it's a sinus infection and possible tonsillitis/strep throat.  10 worth of antibiotics for me :)  It was worth it!

2 comments:

  1. Nice race report!
    I thought the shirts were really nice, too. For the full marathon they gave light jackets and the quality is great. I also like the artwork they pick for their logo / shirts/ bags.
    Adrenaline's for $20.00 - wasn't that a nice surprise? I got a pair, too :-)
    You did awesome! Running a half marathon while being sick is hard!
    Congratulations for finishing #4 this year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, I came across your site and wasn’t able to get an email address to contact you. Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back and we'll talk about it.

    Thanks!

    Mandie Hayes
    mandie.hayes10@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete