Get in Gear Half Marathon Recap

Given the imminent weather conditions (rain, cold and a chance of sleeting), I had to re-design the race day outfit.  It involved sourcing a pair of running leggings (which have been on my to get list), and yes, wearing the shorts over, because I don't have a spibelt (or similar) to carry small things like my clif shot blocks.  The fuel belt or "bat belt" as Tony calls it is simply too much to carry on race day as far as I'm concerned.  I really like to go with the bare minimum if I can.  The shorts also proved to be the only semi-waterproof element of my outfit.  (Note to self: waterproof running gear could be a wise investment).  Unseen, are my compression socks, under the leggings.  Later, I added a fleece to the mix as well.  My new garmin also made it's race day debut.  

Mile 1 was tough.  The rain took some getting use to, I often don't mentally get into running until at least a mile in (guess that's what makes me a distance runner), and my "pain issues" were most noticeable during this part.  Also, we were with the 10Kers for the first 5 ish miles and the path was very crowded which is partly a lot of fun, but also can slow you down a bit.   During mile 2 the pain I felt subsided (or I numbed myself to it), the crowds broke up a bit and I had my fastest split!  I didn't feel any "hurting" again until around mile 12 ish.  

I held very close to 11 min miles for most of the race and with the help of the garmin's pace calculator, I could see that I was gaining on my goal.  At about 9 miles in I was actually 4 mins ahead of my goal time.  Huge mental boost - I have to say.  While it takes away some of the suspense of whether or not I would make it, it was nice to run a more "secure" race.    

My mom asked if the running in rain was "exhilarating", and I think I've experienced that in certain circumstances - last summer on the super humid days - a little sprinkling could be really nice.  However, somewhere around mile 11.5 the wind, rain and cold started to get the best of me.  I had literally stepped in more than one puddle at this point and was getting tired of sopping tennis shoes and the feeling of being undeniably, down to the bone, wet.   I had to walk some during mile 12, but was careful not to lose too much on my "lead".    

Only a few courageous cheerleaders made it out on this race day, but I do have one shout out for the "Orange jacket guy" who was valiantly biking and stopping to cheer several times along the path.  He must of been cheering for someone who finished near me and we started recognizing each other!   At 12.5 ish he yells "only a half mile left!" and "Next stop is the finish line"... it's silly but it was just enough to remind me this was almost over, and I could run the rest.  

Finishing strong

So completely to my surprise - I made my goal and finished at 2:28:12

It's more than I thought I could do and I'm feeling really validated for the work I put in, the playing it safe with pain, and the added cross-training.  I also feel really encouraged about future races especially the TC marathon in the fall.  More than just a nice time, as I walked off those finish mats and my legs were super sore... I really felt that I did everything I could to make this race happen.       

And the garmin data.... (note: I actually ran 13.23 miles, so the garmin data is slightly different than my official race time) (need to be on blog site to see)

Tony was a great supporter and even volunteered with the sweat check for a while (for which he was awarded a T-shirt) dutifully took pictures, and gladly bought me lunch post run.  My mom couldn't be there physically, but was a great virtual support by sending me texts before and after the race! Also, a round of thanks to more people than I can mention in the running community and via twitter for being a part of this journey in so many ways.  

Frozen, but happy