Sunday, April 15, 2012

Race Report: Platte River Half Marathon

Fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

All week the weather reports for today, April 15th have been a conflicted jumble of rain/snow/thunder/lightning/zombie apocalypse. Seriously, I went to bed last night unsure of whether I would be running this race. My deciding factor would be accumulating snow. With 7 weeks till my full marathon, I have no desire to suffer a klutz-injury from falling (and I've been prone this winter). After listening to howling wind and snow pellets hitting the bedroom window most of the night, I was very surprised to see clearing skies and snow covered grassy areas, yet clear pavement in my neighborhood. So the race was on!

I had been debating for weeks how to run this race. Conservative as a training run, or race pace. The debate being whether it would be wise to actually "race" this race, with a marathon in 7 weeks, and risk a race related injury. So I asked Hal Higdon himself, whose plan I am following, and he advised me to race it just to test my fitness level leading up to my marathon. My previous fastest half marathon was 2:11:00, which was just about a 10:00 minute mile average, so I decided to try to do a bit better than that this race.
 

Lining up at the starting line, I saw some members of my running group, which was awesome and inspiring! It was a chilly but sunny morning, so spirits were high. As the race began, I started with a pretty solid 9:45 pace, and was able to stick between 9:30 and 9:45 until mile two...the first major bottle neck. And I do mean major. The trail squeezed down to the width of a city side walk, with rails on each side, as we passed under a major road and began to wind along the river. This lasted for at least a half a mile, during one point we slowed down to a 12 minute pace at best. Finally, it loosened up, and we began to spread back out.

About mile 5 the wind began to really pick up, to a full-on head wind for the rest of the race. By mile 6 the clouds came back, and it began sleeting/snowing. It remained cold and windy for the remainder.

For the first time ever, I raced without carrying my own water, the goal being to practice my marathon strategy of using the water stations. The best part was the friendly faces of members of my running group who were volunteering!

I was able to maintain a 9:30 to 9:45 or so pace throughout, until mile 13 when the wind really began to howl, to the point I was holding my hat on! This, coupled with running over the only truly big hill of the race, in the form of the 8th avenue viaduct which crosses over I 25,  slowed me down a bit in the end. At one point while on the bridge, two other runners jokingly asked if I wanted to hold hands with them so we would not blow over the rail, the wind was so strong. Finally after crossing the bridge and turning the corner, the finish line was visible. I finished at 2:08, with an average pace of 9:48 per mile.


I am quite happy with how I did. I am sure that minus the bottle necks and head wind I would have been faster, but improving my time by 3 minutes was good enough (this time).

Based on the McMillan pace calculator, a 2:08 half marathon should equate to a 4:30 full marathon. We'll see, I'll be happy just finishing!

I'm glad I ran the race, even though I wouldn't describe it as enjoyable, nor is this a race I plan to do again. But for a formally fair weather runner, I have seriously toughened up this year. I think God is showing me that my hard training is paying off, and that I am stronger than I think I am, because HE is with me.

Friday, April 6, 2012

First 18 Mile Run!

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. John 19:17

Yesterday marked my longest run to date: 18 miles! To say it was tough is an understatement, but honestly, much of that is the mental aspect of running for over 3 hours. Thankfully a friend from my running group was able to join me for 13 of the miles, and it was a beautiful day.

Considering I had to do this run on Thursday, just 4 days after my usual Saturday long run day (last week was 16 miles), it went well. My legs were a bit fatigued, but not as bad as I feared they would be. The hard cold truth is my schedule is not my own, I have a family and obligations that dictate when I can run. With Easter weekend at hand, it just made sense to get the long run checked off the list early this week.

I LOVE my hydration pack! It seems impossible I can sip my way through 2 liters of water and not have to stop to pee along the way, but that's what happens when you live and run at altitude, in such a dry climate.

The front has two really nice pockets, one holds my I phone, one holds my gels and shot blocks:

The back is pretty compact, and is comfortable for a small woman (well, this small woman...but other small women say the same thing):

As for the run itself, I took it relatively easy with few brisk walk breaks to eat my shot blocks and drink water.  Hopefully race day adrenaline and running at sea level will help!

My next long run is actually a half marathon on April 15, it seems odd that 13.1 miles is considered a 'cutback' distance in my marathon training. Then it's back to 18 miles, and my first of two 20 milers. Marathon Day is 8 weeks from Sunday!

When I was running the last 5 miles alone, I tried to remember Jesus, and the walk He endured up that hill, bearing MY cross and MY sins. Suddenly my 18 mile run through beautiful trails on a 65 degree day didn't seem so tough.