My day started at 5 am when the alarm went off, I groggily got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to make myself some coffee and a peanut butter english muffin. Race mornings I always worry about getting my digestive system going so I don't have to take any unexpected bathroom breaks during the race, unfortunately this doesn't always work out so well, as I learned at Disney Princess 3 weeks ago. I drank my coffee and ate my muffin and then got dressed in my new favorite tech tee (the Disney Princess Half race shirt), running shorts, Injinji toe socks, my good luck sparkly Sweaty Band, my favorite lululemon Ta Ta Tamer sports bra, and my Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 running shoes. I packed my SPIbelt, iPod, and Garmin, along with my Nathan Quickdraw handheld water bottle, and my favorite Chocolate Outrage GU, and we set off.
Last year we drove around for like 20 minutes looking for parking near the race, this year, we zipped right in. Last year, I stood in a port-a-potty line for 15 minutes and started the race 5 minutes late, this year, I found a real bathroom in a park on my way to the race start. What a difference a year makes! So this time I actually got to line up at the start and not be so stressed out. I chatted with some other racers and tried to get my head ready to run a good race and PR.
7:30 a.m. came and we were off! The first couple miles I was flying, I had to keep reminding myself to slow down or I was going to run out of steam. Mile 4 I decided to take my first GU and my first little walk break to eat the GU and refill my water bottle. I was feeling great though, I had conquered the major hills of the course, I had maintained sub-10 minute splits for all 4 miles, and I was right on target for a 2:10 finish. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 my lungs started to bother me and I started having a tight feeling in my chest and the feeling like I wasn't getting enough air. I slowed down, got out my inhaler and used it. The heat was starting to kick in, and the sun was in my face even with my sunglasses on. I could feel it burning. But I pressed on. My lungs continued to bother me on the trek and I again used my inhaler at some point.
I got to Mile 6 and the aid station, I grabbed some Gatorade and more water to refill my bottle. On the opposite side some spectators were passing out beer, I didn't take any, but I thought it was funny, usually beer is reserved for after the race, not during it! Once I passed the aid station I noticed my shoes were coming untied, so I ducked to the side to retie them. I set off again, but then my shoes were too tight, so back to the side I went to adjust. Finally I passed over the midway timing pad (6.55 miles) and according to the official results, I crossed it at 1:07:27, running a 10:18 pace. When I got to mile 7, I told myself, "okay, only 6 more to go." By then though it was starting to wear on me and get pretty hot out. Somehow though, I kept going and I ran next to a girl who started talking to me, even though I had my headphones on. She was nice and she was saying now was when it started to get hard, and I said I know, I really wanted to walk, but I wanted to PR so bad. She told me to do it. That I could and that she'd run with me some. She was awesome! I ran my fastest mile then, 9:06, and took my GU again when I hit mile 8 and the next aid station. I again got some water to refill my bottle at the aid station and went on my way. Mile 9 we entered another park, and it was pretty uneventful except that it's the first time I finally gave in and walked for real a couple times, just for rest. No asthma, just plain tiredness and the feeling like I needed to stop for a little while.
Mile 10 I hit the wall, hard. I always seem to hit it there. But it was so hot, and by then I could feel my face burned. I should have put on sunscreen this morning. I dumped some of my water from my bottle on my face, and it helped a little, but not a lot. I tried to keep my mind off things, I tried to say, only 3 miles left, I tried to look at my watch and remind myself of my impending PR that I so desperately wanted. But my right hamstring was hurting, my left foot was hurting, I could feel a blister, and I just wanted to be done. I was at 10.40 miles and walking when I saw my friend from a few miles back again. She caught up to me and said come on, no walking, it's time to PR! She told me we could push each other to the finish. I was never more grateful to have someone. She told me her name was Ann and she was from Chicago, and it was her first time running this race. I told her about last year's and the horrid weather. We stuck together until we got to mile 11 and then I was feeling good again and she urged me to go on. With 2 miles left I was feeling like I could do it. I was trying to get back to my frame of mind from my training runs, where I always try to zone out for the last 2 miles and just let them click by, but still giving good effort. I managed to do pretty well, until I got to about 11.85 miles, I started getting a chill. It scared me. It was brutally hot out, about 75 degrees, yet I had goosebumps on my arms, and was actually cold. I was starting to think maybe I was getting dehydrated. I walked for a second to see if that helped me and sipped my water some and rubbed my arms. The chill went away and I kept going.
I hit the 12 mile mark and I knew I was in the home stretch now, only 1 mile left and time to give it all I had. I tried to go all out. My legs though couldn't go as fast as I wanted them to, but they kept going. Finally I rounded the corner and I saw mile 13 in sight and all the spectators. My legs hurt so much, especially the right hamstring and the darn left foot. I wanted to collapse. I didn't want to do the extra .1 mile. I started tearing up. The look on my face must have scared some spectators, because they were looking at me with such pity. I seriously was crying while running. But the flood of emotions just came out. I was in pain, but I was also finally breaking the PR I had worked so hard for. I sprinted from the mile 13 sign to the balloon arch and the finish line timing pads. My aunt was there and was yelling "GO, GO, GOOOO!!!" My watch said 2:14:24 as I crossed the finish line. Not the 2:10:xx I had hoped for, or the 2:08:xx I thought I was capable of at the beginning of the race, but still a PR and a decent time. Amazingly, my legs didn't feel like jello after crossing the finish line like they did last year, or even 3 weeks ago. I felt strong. Tired, a tad sore, but not completely flat out. More than anything I just wanted my shoes off. I made my way to the snack table and took 2 banana halves and 2 chocolate sandwich cookies and refilled my water bottle. Ate my snacks, then made our way to the car to finally get my shoes off.
Sure enough, I have 2 black toenails and a monster blister on my left foot. Taking off my shoes and putting on my flip flops never felt so good. My left knee also felt achy and clicky after the race. I made sure to rest and ice it. Overall though, I still feel good! Much better than expected.
Official results:
Garmin Splits:
Garmin Readout:
Some race photos:
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