RnR USA Race Report

Rock n Roll USA - You were kind to me!

 

This race has always been one of my favorites as I love not having to really travel or drive my car to a race. This year they had a new course with that start line starting by the Washington Monument and ending at RFK stadium. I thought this would be a hassle, but it really worked out perfect. And walking home from the finish line was the best. 

We took the metro from Eastern Market and were by the start line in no time. I wanted to try to go to the bathroom one last time before starting, but the lines were impassably long, so not bathroom breaks, we just made our way to the start. I gave M a kiss and wished him good luck as we were starting in different corrals. I was in 3, he was in 10. I actually really liked how they started the corrals with a minute or so in-between. Made for no running into people and bumping elbows. I was happy.

 

My goal going into this race was a 1:40:xx - which would be a 4 minute PR for me. I didn't have high hopes for myself and decided I was just going to run at whatever pace.

 

Miles 1 - 3: 7:20 - 7:06 - 7:24

Weeee.... this is fun and I'm feeling good. I wasn't really paying much attention to my pace until I ran over the 5k timing mat. I thought I should maybe slow down, as may pace should be around 7:40 but I was feeling good and I knew the big Calvert hill would kill my pace anyhow and I needed to make up the time somewhere.

 

Miles 4 - 6: 7:23 - 7:35 - 7:30

This is the new section of the course that runs on Rock Creek Parkway. I thought it would be boring, but it really didn't bother my much. I found a guy running in a bright yellow shirt and decided he was running a nice comfy pace and that I would stick right behind him. I no longer wanted just a 1:40, I wanted a sub 1:40 and I was feeling so good I thought for sure I could do it.

 

Miles 7 - 9: 8:33 - 7:46 - 7:31

Calvert Hill - Aka Death Hill. Just as suspected this hill was a beast! I was really looking forward to seeing team rage as they were standing near the top cheering everyone on. It put a small smile on my face when I saw them. Best cheering squad ever :) I actually don't know what mile the hill as at though? I feel like the 10k timing mat might have been at the top of hill, which means I actually still held a 7:30 minute mile going up the thing. Which would also explain  why I felt like I might die when I got to the top. My next mile I could barely move my legs and I was breathing hard. I tried to keep up with yellow shirt but he kept getting farther and farther away from me. Watched beeped: 8:33. WTF. I thought about giving up. Could I still get a sub 1:40 with this stupid 8:33 mile? I didn't want to give up. I wanted to try so I kept running. Next mile was a little better at a 7:46 and then a 7:31. I can do this!

 

Miles 10 - 13: 7:27 - 7:46 - 8:06 - 7:23

Once I crossed the 10 mile mark I started during the math in by head. I can get 1:39, but then I start slowing down..... whomp whomp whomp! I don't know why but mile 12 up the small hill on 13th street really killed me. I thought I was going faster than what I was and was really upset when I saw my watch beep at an 8:06. I knew this was going to be near to impossible now because I had no seconds to spare on my watch. I gave it my all the last mile for a 7:23 pace but it wasn't good enough.

 

On my watch: 13.23 mile = 1:40:46 for a 7:37 pace

 

Official time: 13.1 miles = 1:40:47 for a 7:42 pace.

 

Thoughts 

I got a PR! I made my goal! But, I was still disappointed. I felt so strong most of the run and just let it slide away from me in the last couple of miles. A couple seconds here or there and I would have an a 1:39. I guess better luck next time and I know I should still be happy.

 

Side note: Jason also got a PR by 7 minutes and went a sub 2 hrs with a 1:59 :)

 

Happy Monday All and I hope everyone is enjoying the snow

B&A Half Marathon Race Report

I went to bed early the night before around 8:30ish. But I couldn't exactly fall asleep even though I was pretty tired. I didn't sleep that great and tossed and turned all night. I wasn't really nervous about this race, so I'm not sure what was up? My alarm went off at 5am and I just splashed my face with some water and proceeded to get ready. I was car pooling with Carly and she met me around 5:15ish as I continued to scramble around my house making sure I had everything needed. We were out the door by 5:30 on our way to Severna Park MD.

 The start/finish line was at Severna Park High school which was nice because we had a warm spot to hang out in! Plus there was plenty of bathrooms and a real toilet always wins over the porta-potties. We meet up with Victoria in the HS and hung out stretching and talking before the start of the race.

But, poor Jason... Carly and myself were so forgetful and he had to go back out to the car three times to get stuff for us! And the big thing I left in the car was my timing chip! Hello racing without an official time. I don't know what I would do without him.

We headed outside about 10 minutes before start time and lined ourselves up. It was a small race with a total of 1000 people between the marathon and the half. We wished each other good luck one last time and before I knew it I was running across the timing mat. 

Miles 1-3 ~ 7:26, 7:40, 7:58
I really went out a little too fast. I was trying to find my happy pace and I was really just trying to find some room to run. When I looked down at my watch after the first mile, I thought oh Shit! I'm running to fast! Since most of the half was run on the B&A trail the course was a little crowded at first. I ditched my gloves at the first aid station, but kind of wished I hadn't because I wanted them later. I keep seeing a guy in blue running near me for the first couple of miles and near the end of mile 3 I asked him what pace he was shooting for. We had the same goal in mind (8 min pace) so yes! I had a running buddy for the rest of the race.

Miles 4-7 ~ 8:11, 7:58, 7:51, 7:58 

Somewhere during these miles I think we ran over two wooden bridges! Let me tell you about these bridges, they were scarey. They bounced all over the place and I got really light headed while running over them and thought I might pass out. Since it was an out and back course I really was dreading running back over them. I also saw my co-worker at about mile 6 and it was a nice surprise to see her out there cheering. We had another co-worker running the full and he finished in 3:09! Anyhow, most of the course was pretty flat and I think around mile 6.5 we ran down which seemed like a pretty big hill. I thought wee...running down hill is fun, but I knew what goes down must come back up. I saw Victoria as I was running back up the hill and could barley catch my breath to cheer for her. But, really the hill was not that bad and it was pretty much the only one on the course.

Miles 8-10 ~ 8:10, 8:05, 7:56

As soon as we hit the turn around we really started to run into a head wind. I actually felt cold and wished I had my gloves back. As I mentioned the course is ran on a paved trail so there wasn't much crowd support. I think I would have gotten pretty lonely out there if it wasn't for my new friend and running buddy. We talked through out the race and helped keep each other on pace for the most part. I thought it was funny that he told me the only reason he runs is so he can eat cheese burgers. Other than that I can't really remember much about these miles besides the fact my hips were starting to hurt a bit at mile 10. I thought about eating some of my honey stinger chews but ended up not eating any of them and only drank from my water bottle a couple of times.

Miles 11- 13.1 ~ 7:54, 8:01, 8:07

I looked down at my watch as mile 11 beeped at me and I was happy to see a little higher than a 7:50 pace. I started to try to do some math in my head, but yeah it wasn't working and at this point I really just wanted to have my last two miles go sub-8. But, noo.... my legs started to really die on me! I knew it was only two miles and I could push myself for two more miles, but I was really struggling. I really started to slow down as I entered mile 12 and as I started to drift farther and farther away from my new friend he stopped running, turned around as he was waving his hand and said: "Sarah lets go! We have ran this race together and I'm not going to let you fizzle out with only .7 left to run." So, I put my big girl pants back on and caught back up to him. It really helped me to have someone out there to push me along. I'm not sure if I could have kept pushing myself if I wasn't running with him. Anyhow, the course spilt for the full marathons as the half marathons made their way back to the HS. I wished my friend good luck with the rest of his race as he was running the full. As I made way to the finish line I attempted to do a small kick even though I thought I might toss my cookies.  

I then spot Jason and Doug and gave a quick smile and wave and continued to run and pretended like I was having fun...

"Almost to finish! Keep Going"  Jason yelled!

Finish: 1:44:13 (7:57 pace)

Once I crossed the finish line I looked for the closest open grass spot and leaned over as I thought I was going to vomit all over the place. Luckily I did not and just dry heaved a bit which is just as nasty. Jason came and found me and got me some water. 

After catching my breath I went back over to finish line area and joined our cheering section so I could cheer on Victoria and Carly as they finished.

Overall:

This was a great little race that was organized well. I will def. come back again because I love this time of year to run and I liked the mostly flat course. On my own performance I did PR, but I only PRed by 43 seconds. I could have pushed myself harder at the end and wished I did. 

But I guess a PR is a PR and I can officially join the PR party that was going on for the day :) 

Happy Monday All :) 

Freedom Half Marathon Race Report

Before the Race -

I have wanted a sub 1:50 since last spring when my knee gave me issues and my goal slipped out of my hands at the National Half as a hobbled across the finish line in pain. I felt like I missed my chance again this fall when I messed up at the San Jose RnR half. Going into this race I didn't feel like I was prepared or trained to run a sub 1:50 and wasn't expecting much other than a fun run.

When the alarm went off at 5:10 I hurried up and got dressed and we were out the door by 5:30. I went with classic USA colors as this was the Freedom Half to support wounded soldiers. And I am happy to say my sparkle skirt was the perfect for this outfit! GO USA!



red, white, & blue + some water

I ate my bagel as soon as I got in the car to give my belly a full hour and half to let my food digest. I was not going to let my stomach be the reason I failed and suffered through yet another race.

We had given ourselves an hour to get up to Norfolk, but it ended up only taking a half hour with no traffic, better safe than sorry, right? So, we just chilled out in the warm car for a half hour then made our way to the start line at 6:30. I really just had enough time to wait in line for the bathrooms and then make my way to the corrals.



Umm...why didn't I get out the car sooner?

It was pretty start line and right on the water. It was a smaller race of about 1200 runners and we weren't assigned corrals so I just put myself in corral 5.

I went to start up my garmin 405 and it was frozen with 5:42 on it. The exact time I had locked the bezel in the morning. WTF.THIS.IS.NOT.HAPPENING!!! But, yeah it was! Yet another race without a watch!! This stupid 405 is the worst watch in the world!!! The last 5 races it has failed me! I would have been nice to know my splits, etc, etc, etc. I was in panic mode, but really there was nothing I could do about it and the gun had just went off.

all I want for x-mas is a garmin that works!

 

The Race -

Once we were all running, I remembered that this was just a fun race and that I didn't care about my time anyhow and told myself to just relax. There are worst things in the world than running a race without a watch on. But, within seconds after crossing the timing matt I called BS on myself: "I don't want to run this just to run another 13.1 miles, I want to run this under 1:50."

Mile 1 - 2.5
All mile markers were only spray painted on the road, I actually didn't see any of them the entire race.

I knew I couldn't really pace myself without my watch, so in a split decision as weeding through people (why did I put myself in corral 5?) I was on a mission to find the 1:50 pace group. I was sucking wind hard as I passed the 2:15 group. I continued to run which felt like a 7:00 minute pace and caught up the 2:00 hour pace group. I knew I was running too fast and would burn out soon. Where the heck was the 1:50 group??? Oh yeah there wasn't one. I continued to hall ass until I finally saw the 1:45 pace group! Thank god! Once I met up with them I slowed my pace way down and holding a 8 minute pace felt easy. My heart was much happier with me.

Miles 3 - 7

The pace felt great and even though I was over heating a bit (long pants, why?) I wasn't too bad. I kept thinking in my head that I could run a 1:43 because I started the race before the 1:45 pace group and had caught up to them. I don't know where I came up with 1:43 as my new goal instead of simply wanting to run 1:49, but I loved the idea and started writing my blog post in my head. It was also great to run in the group and chit chat and make new race besties that made the time fly by. It actually didn't feel like I was running a race at all, it felt like I was on a Saturday group run or something. Plus I was feeling really good, no stomach issues and my legs were happy. The guy leading the group - thank you so much - called out our split at the 7 mile mark - 58 minutes I believe. I got excited and knew this was totally doable with only 6 miles left.

Miles 7 - 11

I stuck up a conversation with a guy in the pace group who was wearing a Conte's shirt. We talked about all things triathlons. He had done 3 Ironmans and was giving me all kinds of good advice. Before I knew it, we were at the 10 mile mark! I had missed our pacer yell out the splits at miles 8 and 9 so I was pretty excited to find out another 2 miles had gone by. Now usually the 10 mile mark is were I start to fall apart in a race, but I was still feeling great!!! OMG ..1:43 you are so mine! The group at this point started to break up as some people sprinted ahead. I had thought about trying to negative split, but really wanted to wait until I was two miles out. Then something happened at mile 11... a hill... not even that big of a hill, but never the less I lost the pacer ... and I couldn't catch back up to him. NO!!! This is not happening!!

Miles 11 - 13.1

Yep. It was happening. This race was no longer rainbows and kitty cats ... I was no longer feeling strong and the group was gone. WTF, I had stayed with them the entire race and now I couldn't hold an 8 minute pace for 2 crappy miles. I started to get mad at myself, I started wishing I had my watch for the first time that I started so I could push myself when I looked down and saw a slow pace. I think I pretty much had a pity party for myself all of mile 11 and every time I tried to pick the pace back up my stomach started to turn and twist. Actually I had no clue when mile 11 ended and mile 12 started, but I stopped feeling sorry for myself and kept pushing myself as I could see the 1:45 pacer in the distance. Then, I rounded a corner and could see the finish line!!!!

Thank goodness, I was almost there. I saw Jason and Jill cheering for me and found my last bit of energy to sprint to the finish line and smile like I was having the best time in the world. I looked up and saw 1:45:53 as I crossed under the arch.

I was happy because I knew I didn't start at the same time as the clock and knew my time would be faster than that. A PR and under 1:50 !!!! finally after almost a year and 5 half marathons later!! I guess the new saying should be the fifth one is the charm, not the third one.

 

After the race -

I wanted to jump up and down because I was so excited, but the only thing I could do was look for a trash can... great... I couldn't find one and just leaned over the gate and puked! I guess PRing by 6 minutes makes you puke? One of the volunteers asked if I was ok and I said I just needed some water than I made my way over to my cheering section and cheered on some of the other runners as they made their way to the finish line.

 

This is also the nicest looking medal I have ever gotten at a race :)

 Official time: 1:44:55 which got me this: overall 142/1204, division: 5/80

Thoughts -

Since I thought this race was going to be a joke, I didn't stress for weeks over what the time on the clock might read. I loved this course and the weather! I think the two combined together is really the reason I did so well. Plus, lets not forget about the pacer. I had never ran with the pace group at races before but it was the best experience ever! It was nice to run with a group and it really helped to pace and motivate me. I think I will always find the pace group now to run with during races. It was so much fun. It also helps that I had a great support group! It really means a lot to me to have my friends out there and my M cheering for me!

I am so excited that I PRed, but at the same time I feel like I could have pushed myself harder those last two miles and had an even better time. Which leads me with one question: "Are we every happy with ourselves or do we always want more?" My goal was to run a 1:49 and I ran that with minutes to spare. Why in the world am I also disappointed? I shouldn't be and I'm not really, but I still just am not satisfied with myself. Never the less I am excited to end my half marathon season with a great race!