Our Daily (G)races: RunGirl 13.1 Race Report

It is hard to know where to start. I did not have a really good plan for this race for a couple of reasons. Since I have been sick I did not know what my body would give me today. Despite recovering from my illness I still ran 30 miles this week, which is pretty many for race week. Finally, it was going to be warm and humid. I am not a good warm weather runner. I knew I would do my best, but I had no idea what that would be and that was really strange.

I arrived in plenty of time for a mile warm-up. I decided against the planned 2 miles pre-race and knew I would just have to run 3 miles after the race. I was fine with that. I felt pretty good. My foot, which has been quite achy, felt good. I decided to line up with the 8 minute milers and see what I had to give.

The race started right on time, which I love. It was especially important today because of the temps and the lack of cloud cover. It was probably 65 at the start and humid. Last year it was 40 degrees and freezing cold at the start.

My first mile was way too fast and although it felt good at the time, I did not feel confident that was the pace for me today. It wasn't. I had trouble finding a good pace for the first four miles. It was way too varied.

Mile 1 - 8:09
Mile 2 - 8:27
Mile 3 - 8:12
Mile 4 - 8:25

I took my first GU at mile 5, but had to wait almost a mile for water. I had decided not to carry water today and use what was on the course. I could not remember the water mile stations so this was not good. I don't like having the GU taste in my mouth for that long, but I managed. I brought a straw with me to drink the water. I usually spill more water when drinking and running at the same time. Having the straw was genius. I actually drank more water than I spilled on myself.

I finally settled into a more consistent pace for the next 6 miles. But, each mile was tough. I was not feeling it. I was very hot. I drank at every station and drank a lot...way more than I normally would. At the turn around point between mile 5 and 6 I really wanted to stop. I hated knowing we had the longer loop to complete. It was just a mental battle for almost every step.

Mile 5 - 8:20
Mile 6 - 8:32
Mile 7 - 8:33
Mile 8 - 8:33
Mile 9 - 8:27
Mile 10 - 8:39

I took my second GU at mile 10 and just wanted to die. I knew I would not PR and was really okay with that. I needed serious motivation to keep running so I decided to try to pick off the women who had been slightly in front of me. We finished running up our last hill at mile 11 and I caught some of them there. I always power up hills whether I want to die or not. I want the hills to be over and I also like to pass people going uphill! I knew water was just at the top of the hill and I would be fine. I was also completely angry with my mile 11 time. I knew I was better than my splits today and it motivated to try to run harder.

Mile 11 - 8:52....I can't put into words politely how jacked I was about my splits slowing

I knew that I was exhausted and my calves were cramping, but I decided I could do anything for two miles. I also knew if I tried to run faster I would be finished sooner. I just looked at the ground and kept telling myself to fight! It worked and I finally caught a lady who had been way ahead of me.

Mile 12 - 8:47

The last mile was HARD. I could see the finish, but it looked so far away. I was determined to finish with all I had. "One Foot" by Fun started on my iPod. I thought it was perfectly timed. The song has nothing to do with running but there is a repeated lyric that says "I'll put one foot in front of the other one" and I just concentrated on doing that.

Mile 13 - 8:29
Mile 13.1 - 7:56 pace

I moved as fast as I could for that last mile and especially the last tenth. I did not want to be passed and I wanted to leave it all on the course. I was not passed. I had nothing left to give. I was proud of my effort and proud that I did not quit.

I finished 5th in my AG - 5/135 and I was 33/650 women runners. That is pretty good for not coming close to my half PR.

So, what does any sane dehydrated woman due after a gut busting 13.1 mile. She runs 3.2 more miles. Trust me they were SLOW! After that I felt a little overdone. I had some more chocolate milk, another banana, and two more bottles of water. I was so thirsty! Just out of curiosity I wanted to know how warm it was....75 on my phone...yikes!

Completed overdone!

A little bit of sweat on my watch...so gross!

My very pretty medal...I earned this puppy today!

I have to say that Drew is awesome. First, he got all four kids to church today with no complaints. Then he was okay with me taking a nap this afternoon. I needed 30 minutes so I could make it through the rest of the day. What a glorious 30 minutes! I am exhausted which tells me I gave it my all today. It also tells me that I need to hydrate more before the marathon. I have had trouble with hydration three times this fall. I know the race day temps played a part in that, but I need to prepare better. Still, I am going to hope for winter like temps for a 1/1/13 marathon....please!

I was proud of my effort today and very happy to attend our church's Christmas Choir Concert this afternoon. It was truly a lovely program that was food for my soul. I was glad Drew was well enough to sing! It was a good way to end my day!