Shamrock Half Marathon: A PR in Wicked Weather

Today's Shamrock Half Marathon was truly a breakthrough experience for me, in many ways.

At the expo

The weather conditions have been described by many as "brutal," "torturous" and even "horrendous." But in spite of that, I still managed to set a significant PR, after just having set a massive half marathon PR last fall at the Richmond Half. The weather for Richmond was near ideal-- low 40's very light winds and party sunny, and when I ran it, all of my training was geared specifically to the half marathon distance.

With Shamrock, the race came in the middle of Boston Marathon training, on semi-tired legs and a marathon-specific workouts as the buildup. I did have a mini-taper, but considering I had come off of a 68-mile week (my highest-mileage week ever) I wasn't sure how my legs would fare.

I had high hopes, however, and set my sights on running Shamrock 5 seconds per mile faster than Richmond, at a pace of 7:10. My workouts indicated that this pace was realistic for me, so I went into the race with a good bit of confidence. Earlier in the week, I had run a set of 6 x 800m + 3 x 200m. The 800m's averaged 3:12, and I felt like I could have done a few more of them.

Daily runs leading up to the Shamrock Half Marathon

The Day Before the Race

Pot of gold!

Greg and I drove down to Virginia Beach yesterday morning, encountering quite a bit of traffic on 95 due to spring break. I had half a pack of Sweet Tarts and some Skittles on this road trip, which I am including as a note to myself: it's okay to have candy the day before a race! When we arrived, we had lunch with one of my best friends who lives there, and then headed to the expo. At the expo, I purchased one of those medal racks with hooks to display race medals. I currently keep all of my medals on a shelf, but it's starting to look cluttered. This one is a chalkboard with a place to write all of your PRs, and also to clip your bibs to! Once it's up and running, I will share a photo.

I must have checked the weather about 30 times yesterday! But it wasn't with the same attitude/mindset of my former self. I wasn't stressing. I wasn't getting anxious. I wasn't feeling cheated. I knew that I was going to run the best race I possibly could in preparation for Boston. I kept looking because the temperature kept changing (from 42-48) and the amount of rain kept changing. These types of things would determine my wardrobe decisions.

The below screen shot shows the forecast as of 4:00pm yesterday, and it ended up being somewhat accurate. The actual temperature was 45 and with the rain, it felt much colder. Greg and I met up with some friends at dinner, and my friend Lexi and I debated over our outfits. Long sleeves? Or short sleeves with arm warmers? Hat? No hat? It would be a game-day decision.

Race weather

Wardrobe
When I awoke on race morning, I checked the weather one final time and decided I would go with short sleeves + arm warmers. My long sleeve shirt was a bit bigger and I didn't want it to be flopping around all wet. The short sleeve shirt had a tighter fit, and the arm warmers were much more substantial than sleeves. Note: there is no need to pay for expensive running arm warmers. Mine were $3 socks from Walmart and I cut off the toe area to turn them into arm warmers. This meant I could toss them at any point in the race. They were super comfortable the entire time, and kept my arms relatively warm and dry.

I was a little bit worried about my hat flying off in the wind. I wanted to wear a hat with a brim to keep the water off of my face, but I've been in windy races where the hat keeps flying off and it's annoying. So I used about 8 bobby pins to keep the hat securely on my head and it didn't budge.

Nutrition
As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I have been training exclusively with Generation UCAN. I am now an official UCAN ambassador, so if anyone wants a 10% discount code, be sure to use this link and the discount will apply.

Two hours before the race, I had about 3/4 of a bagel with peanut butter. 30 minutes before the race I drank one packet of lemonade flavored UCAN mixed with 8 oz of water. I brought some chews with me in case I started to feel low on energy, because I have never raced a half marathon with just UCAN. But, I never needed them! UCAN was truly a savoir here because my hands were numb for pretty much the entire race, which would make taking a gel or chews rather difficult. So, I didn't have to take in any additional fuel during the race. The pre-race drink was all I needed to feel energized throughout.

As for hydration, I filled a water bottle halfway with warm water because I knew the bottle would soon become to cold to  hold.

Strategy
I had my strategy all mapped out, and I was focused on executing it more than anything. My plan was to start with the 1:35 pace group and stay tucked in with them for the first half, which would be a headwind. Then, once the headwind was gone, my plan was to speed ahead of them and come in somewhere in the 1:34:xx range.

Start Line
Greg and I left the hotel 20 minutes before the race started. When we got outside, it was a rude awakening. It was pouring rain, the wind was slapping us in the face at 23+ MPH, and it was really cold. Instead of focusing on that, I focused on executing my plan. I immediately began my warm up which included running 7 blocks to the start and then back and forth on the course a little bit. I ran for 10 minutes, and then got into the corral. During the warm up, I had to keep my head down to avoid rain flying in my face, and I tried not to think about the fact that I would be racing in these conditions. It was also dark, which made things even more difficult.

With 5 minutes to go, I handed my jacket to Greg. Brrrrr!!! It did not feel good getting rid of that jacket. I found the 1:35 pacer and I asked him if he was planning on keeping an even pace throughout, or running slower through the wind. He said he was going to try to run an even pace. That's exactly what I wanted!

There was definitely a unique camaraderie at this start line as we were all getting pelted with cold rain. The speaker system kept going in and out, and we were worried we'd end up with no announcer. During the National Anthem, the sound kept cutting out, which was kind of cool because at the end, when it cut out, the entire crowd sang "and the home of the brave!" The energy was contagious. My spirits were high and I felt ready.

Miles 1-4
The race started and I told myself to stick with the 1:35 pace group. It was dark and quite crowded, so the actual pacers got a little bit ahead of me, but I was still well shielded. I realized that I have not run in a "pack" like this since I was a much slower runner and the pack was due to crowding. I realized liked "pack" running. It's like what you see at the NYC marathon or Boston when there's a pack of elites running closely together for the first half. I just pretended that was me and enjoyed it!

Even though I had filled my water bottle with hot water, it got cold very quickly, so I decided to ditch it during the third mile. I figured it would be good practice drinking from cups later in the race.

The wind was the worst during these early miles because it was a direct headwind. But due to being in a pack, I didn't feel all that much resistance. We were also running a pace that was slower than what I would have otherwise started at, so it felt relatively easy. We turned a corner after the first three miles, and the wind was no longer as brutal. The pacer sped up, and I heard someone behind me yell out that it was too fast as we hit the mile 4 mark.

Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:17
Mile 3: 7:16
Mile 4: 7:04

Miles 5-8
During the 5th mile I wanted to hit a tangent, which required me to break away from the pace group. It came at the perfect time because the pace group pace was feeling a bit too easy for half marathon pace and I was ready to pick up the pace. I didn't notice much wind during miles 5-6, I think it must have been to our sides or our backs. It allowed me to dial in a nice, strong, pace.

Mile 8, brutal winds!

I felt awesome! When I hit the halfway point, I realized that it wasn't even feeling hard yet! My spirits were high, I felt light on my feet and I kept passing people. I knew that miles 7-8 would be back into the headwind, so I was mentally prepared for that. And when I got to those miles, I was amazed at how well I managed. I drank a tiny bit of water from cups during this portion. I knew I needed the water, even though I wasn't thirsty, and I really did not want to slow down.

I ran this race in 2014 and the wind during miles 7-8 kicked my butt. Not only did I slow down significantly, but I also got really upset and had a negative mindset. I was determined that no matter what, I would keep strong and stay positive! This was partially a revenge race for me. Two years ago, pretty much everyone I knew running the race set a PR except for me. I hadn't set a half marathon PR in 4 years and I was frustrated and upset. I got over it pretty quickly, but I didn't want any of that negativity today.

During the windy part, I encouraged other runners, and I got outside of my own head. I was running with one girl for about half a mile and just having someone next to me was energizing.

Mile 5: 7:12
Mile 6: 7:07
Mile 7: 7:10
Mile 8: 7:17

Miles 9-13

Mile 13

I knew that these last 5 miles should be a tailwind, or least not such a nasty headwind. With that in mind, I executed on my plan of really gunning it home. I started passing a lot of people and I felt like I was flying. I remembered feeling like death two years ago at this point and I was so happy to be feeling strong!

At mile 9, my Garmin read 7:11 for the average race pace. I wanted to bring that down to 7:10. So I told myself to try and run 7:07 or faster for the rest of the race. Turns out I had even more than that in me! As I got closer to the finish line, and saw my average race pace slide under 7:10, and I knew that I could break 1:34.

Many runners say that they do better when they don't look at the Garmin and just run by feel. For me, it motivates me to run faster if I'm feeling good.

Mile 9: 7:05
Mile 10: 7:01
Mile 11: 6:58
Mile 12: 7:02
Mile 13: 6:56
The last 0.14: 6:03 pace (thanks tailwind)

The Finish
Once I realized what I had just accomplished, I could feel tears coming to me as I walked through the finish line chute. I had overcome my demons. I did not let the wind get me down. I ran a half marathon at a pace of 7:09 and I qualified for the New York City marathon. I DNF'ed the Shamrock full marathon in 2010 and 2012. That's two DNFs at the same race. And here I was, on a day when the weather was arguably as bad as it's ever been for this race, with a huge PR by one minute and 32 seconds.

I'm so happy with these results! I was elated when I ran Richmond in 1:35:08, but to pull this off in the middle of such an intense marathon training cycle with bad weather is not something I expected. I knew I had the fitness for a pace of about 7:10, but I wasn't sure if it would actually happen.

I think so much of my success today was mental. Of course I wasn't thrilled about the weather conditions, but I took them in stride, and accepted them. I had a strategy for dealing with the wind, which worked, and focusing on that made the race seem a lot more approachable.

Up Next: BOSTON!!!
I'm feeling more and more confident about my ability to run well in Boston. Even if it's windy, I think I can manage. I do hope it's not hot though, particularly with that 10:50 start. According to the McMillan Calculator, this race predicts a 3:16:59 marathon. I would be happy with anything under 3:35, and I'm planning to shoot for somewhere around 3:25. (Boston is just a wee bit hillier than Shamrock.)

Now I am going to focus on recovery so that I can run a strong workout on Thursday, and 22 miles on Saturday.

News Headline

Greg made me a PR cake!

Shamrock Half Marathon: Breezy, Brutal, Beautiful

This morning I ran the Shamrock half marathon in Virginia Beach. And it was hard.

I had fond memories of this race from 2009, where I surprisingly smashed my PR by over 4 minutes. I was hoping for some Shamrock magic this year too.

Preparation
I went into this race well-trained and optimistic. I had been logging 45-55 mile weeks for the 2 months or so, with some quality tempo run thrown in there. Due to weather and travel, I hadn't been able to access a track so my intervals were lacking, but I figured those weren't as important as tempos for half marathon prep. Based on some of my workouts, I was very confident in my ability to PR, and hopefully even break 1:40.

The biggest unknown going into the race was my hip. For the past three weeks, it has felt sore toward the end of long runs, and finally last weekend it really kicked in. I felt it just three miles into a recovery run and decided I needed to rest it. I did zero running Monday-Wednesday, and did a 2-mile test run on Thursday. It was fine on Thursday, but then it acted up again on Friday's 2-miler. So going into the race I didn't know a) if my hip would be okay or if it would hurt and b) if missing a whole week of training directly before the race would impact my fitness.

My mental preparation was fairly strong. I got plenty of sleep in the week leading up to the race (well. . .except for two nights before-- but that wasn't due to pre-race jitters). I felt calm, cool and collected at the start line. I didn't even check the weather every day leading up to the race like I used to do.  Only a few times, and I certainly didn't worry about the forecast. The morning of the race, Greg's weather app indicated 15 MPH winds, but I chose to ignore it and I told myself it wasn't going to be that bad. Thus, I wasn't mentally prepared for wind.

I used to go into obsessive mode the week before a race, but this week, I just felt normal. I made sure to eat well (with the exception of the large piece of s'mores pie on "pi day" at work) and hydrate, but I didn't obsess over these things.

Before the Race
On Friday, when I went for my 2-mile "test run" my Garmin stopped working. It had been acting up for a few days with the battery indicating a full charge, but then going to 0% by the end of the run. Classic symptoms of a dead battery. So on Friday, I stopped into my local running store to purchase the Garmin 220. I know you aren't supposed to do anything new on race day, but I wanted to have a functioning Garmin, and I figured I had enough time to learn how to use this new model. Previously, I had the 405.

I played around with it, and adjusted the screens to the data I like to see when running. I like the "lap pace" to be displayed largely, because I think that's the most important metric when racing, so I gave it its own screen. On the other screen I displayed distance, total time, and total average pace.

Greg I drove down to Virginia Beach on Saturday morning and got to the expo just after 10:30. This race is

At the expo in my bridal shower attire.

notorious for never having the shirt size I reserve. I always request an XS, and it's always gone by the time I get there. And they are not gender specific, so a men's small tends to be too large for me. Anyway, when I walked up to get my shirt, they said "the XS shirts are running small, so would you like a Small instead?" I said no, and looked at the shirt, and it was plenty big. Greg then later theorized that they probably realize that they always run out of XS, so they try to get XS selectors to take the Small size instead. Ha. Didn't work on me. :-)

One of my friends who lives there was conveniently having her bridal shower that day, so after the expo, I dropped Greg off at the hotel and headed to her shower. I found myself fully engaged in the conversation at the shower and focused on the bride-to-be and not at all thinking about the race. I think that previously I would have been so nervous that I might not have enjoyed the shower as much.

The morning of the race, things went as they always did. Bagel with peanut butter, plenty of water, bathroom, getting dressed, attaching the bib, etc. We left the hotel about 30 minutes before race start, and walked just a few blocks to the start line.

It was windy and cold (45 degrees) at the start line. Greg and I shivered in the corral and ditched our throwaway shirts a few minutes before the start. I still wasn't worried about the wind. I knew that the wind would be coming from the northeast, which meant it should be easy for the second half. What I didn't realize was that there would be a 2-mile portion of the course at the curvy turnaround that headed directly into the northeast. I saw a few of my teammates on the other side of the corral but decided to stay put as I like to run my own race.

Miles 1-4

My race strategy was to start out in the low 7:40's for the first three miles and then speed up from

Happy first mile, photo by Cheryl Young

there. However, I didn't want the Garmin to run the race for me-- I wanted to run based on feel. The first mile was a little slower than expected, but I didn't worry. I figured that I didn't have a warm up, so it would be good to ease into the race.

Everything felt great, as it tends to do at the beginning of a half marathon. I was confident in my plan and my preparation. The hip was pain-free, and I was so relieved that I didn't have to deal with that. It was unfortunate that I missed a week of training, but at least I was able to run without it hurting.

The course was flat and not windy. The temperature felt good. Everything was going according to plan and I was excited. The new Garmin was working great and I was happy with my choice of display screens! I took my first gel at mile 4 and it went down well.

Mile 1: 7:54
Mile 2: 7:49
Mile 3: 7:43
Mile 4: 7:39

Miles 5-9

OUCH!

I had this nice, gradual acceleration going and I felt like I could keep accelerating and feeling strong. Mile 5 was faster than mile 4, and mile 6 was pretty good. Mile 7 started out great. But then-- boom! At the end of the 7th mile we turned directly into a 15 MPH headwind, with 25 MPH gusts. I figured I would just draft off of other people, but they kept running too fast for me. I noticed that my pace had slowed down significantly and most people around me were passing me. I think that's what was mentally the most difficult thing about this race. Nobody else seemed to slow down here, or at least not to the extent that I did. I didn't have anyone to draft off of because there were going to fast. I tried and pushed hard, but it was a really tough battle.

I just felt like this tiny little body, fighting this huge force and failing. I tried to keep a positive mindset. I told

LOL- people drafting off of ME!!!

myself to just keep running, no matter what, keep pushing, and that it would eventually end. I started feeling like I was just going to bonk and they wave of "I feel horrible" overcame me. Which is not good news during mile 8!  I decided to take my second honey gel, mainly so I could drink water with it and then toss my water bottle (I always carry a disposable hand-held during races). With my water bottle gone, I figured I would feel more "free" to push and really exert myself.

Slowing down to take the honey was a bad idea. I lost my momentum, I didn't get all of the honey in my mouth, my hands got all sticky. I was jut in a bad place. I poured water on my hands, wiped them on my skirt, ditched the water bottle, and realized that a curve was coming that would hopefully put an end to the wind.

Another thing that just sucked was that my foot fell asleep. It didn't go numb like it has in the past, but it had that tingling-falling-asleep feeling. And it was very difficult to run like this. I was hoping that it was just because of the cold wind hitting it, and that once I got out of the wind, my foot would wake up. My foot was asleep for just over a mile until it finally returned to normal.

Mile 5: 7:36
Mile 6: 7:40
Mile 7: 7:53
Mile 8: 8:07
Mile 9: 8:08

Miles 10-Finish
Once I turned a corner and was out of the wind, I resolved to stay strong and run my fastest. I refused to believe I was "bonking" and that I was just going to get progressively slower. I knew that a PR was probably unlikely, but I was going to salvage this race and run the rest of the miles as close as possible to goal pace.

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Young

I was really proud that I turned things around mentally and my speed picked up. I kept reminding myself that I had many high-mileage weeks behind me which meant I could endure at a decently fast pace for a long time. I kept reminding myself that I was physically capable of running in the 7:30's or 7:40's for the rest of the race, so I should do that.

Miles 10 and 11 were smooth sailing, but I started to feel a bit like death during miles 12 and 13. The last mile had some turns where we ran directly into the headwind again, and I felt like it stopped me dead in my tracks. I did not feel good during these miles and I just couldn't wait for the race to end.

About half a mile before the finish, we turned onto the boardwalk. The turning point featured a very strong wind gust, but once I was on the boardwalk and could see the finish, the wind was no longer there and so I gunned it. I was so determined and I felt very strong. I was fighting back for the time I lost in the windy section. I only had about third of a mile left and it wasn't windy so I figured I needed to make the most of this time.

Mile 10: 7:39
Mile 11: 7:38
Mile 12: 7:47
Mile 13: 7:48 (this mile started out in the 8:20's!)
The last 0.1: 6:45 pace

The finish and beyond
My final kick was pretty hard, so I felt destroyed after crossing the finish line. I easily found Greg and some other friends of ours. I ended up crossing in 1:42:24, which was better than I had expected at mile 8!

Greg and I took a very cold walk back to our hotel where we looked up our times, showered, and talked about our races.

Once I started thinking about my time, I felt a pang of disappointment. I really thought I was going to PR. And probably break 1:40. I was in great shape, the weather wasn't hot, I had slept well, and I felt relaxed. Meanwhile, most everyone I know who ran it set a PR. I know, I KNOW I am not supposed to compare myself to other people. But the notion that PRs are extremely rare at my level was totally proved wrong. And, most all of them had negative splits. I felt like I was the only one with a positive split. Everyone else had sped up throughout the race, but I slowed down. And on the windy part, I was passed by tons of people-- it just didn't seem to affect them the way it did me.

I felt very discouraged. I do realize that wind can be tough, and without seeing other people's PRs or the people passing me during the windy sections, I would have been very satisfied with my performance. But I wasn't. I felt like most everyone was able to push through and PR except for me.

My half marathon PR is over three years old. I've done SO much training since October of 2010-- and I

Photo by Cheryl Young

know I am in better shape now, both physically and mentally. Very frustrating that my time isn't budging.

I later had a text message exchange with a friend of mine who totally understood where I was coming from, and reminded me that yes, it can be tough when everyone you train with out-performs you. But she helped me focus on what was important-- that I ran a strong race and pushed through after having that whole hip issue to deal with.

Greg was also very supportive, reminding me that the "old me" probably would have gotten so discouraged by those 8:08 miles that I would have given up. And that previously, if I had run the race with the same level of fitness, I might not have gotten as much sleep, or been as relaxed, or had the mental strength to keep pushing after the wind had taken so much out of me.

Ultimately, yes, I do realize that I have a lot to be proud of. And now, 10 hours after the race, I am "over it" and no longer feel that sinking feeling of disappointment. I know I am capable of running faster, I just didn't do it today. There will be other races, other opportunities.

Here is what I did do:

- After years of not being able to sleep well in the week leading up to the race, I slept straight through the night almost every night.
- I didn't obsess about the race or the outcome beforehand. It was just "what I was doing" that weekend.
- I didn't give up after the windy miles. I pushed hard and got my pace back down to goal pace for the next two miles.
- I had a nice final kick.
- I enjoyed the race. I high-fived someone during the last mile, which I usually never do. I laughed (internally) at a funny spectator comment.
- I ran my second fastest half marathon ever.
- I finished 163rd out of 5,500 women, putting me in the top 2.9% of female finishers.
- Even though most everyone I knew PRed, and it made me feel badly about my race, I worked through the feelings (relatively quickly) and resolved to not let it overshadow everything else. This was probably the hardest part about the day. Harder than the wind even-- overcoming that automatic feeling of disappointment when others around you seemingly out-perform you. It's not easy, and I will continue to work on it.

The "beautiful" from the blog title comes from my custom-made shoes matching my singlet perfectly. And the bib matching the "zebra" verbiage of the shoes.

Finally!!!!

Background
If you've been following my blog then you know that I have been really packing on the miles. Beginning last July, I started to run 50+ miles a week, and just recently had my highest mileage week ever at 61.

I've remained injury free throughout all of this training, but I've also wondered if maybe I wasn't training fast enough. Everything that I have been reading has been telling me to do most of my runs slowly, with speed work just once a week. The only PRs I have seen from this are an 8-second PR for the 5K (November) and a 2:00 PR for the half marathon (November). I was very thankful for these, but considering all of the other races I have run since June, I was disappointed overall.

Everything changed today.

Race Mindset
My original goal for this race was a 1:46:43, because I wanted to PR by exactly 2:00. My previous two PRs had both been by 2:00 exactly, so I wanted to continue the tradition. I thought this was a stretch though, and told myself that I would be happy with anything in the 1:47's. (Previous PR was 1:48:43)

I have a new running partner who I met at the gym a few months ago. We've been doing all of our long runs together and running next to each other on the treadmills. She ran the National half marathon yesterday, and said she was going for a 1:52, which would have been a 6-minute PR. She called me after the race and told me that she ran a 1:46:29! I was thrilled for her! And at the same time, it opened my mind to the possibilities for me. She was only going for a 1:52, and she ended up with something much faster. She totally surprised herself. I really wanted to have the same thing happen to me so I told myself I would just believe in my training and run based on "feel" and not based on a particular goal pace.

I had dinner with a group of "Big Cats" the night before the race. I told them that my goal was a 1:45. I wanted to get myself in the mindset that I was even faster than I thought I was.

Race Morning
The weather for this race was 39-42 degrees and sunny with no wind. PERFECT! I was wearing a skirt and a tank top, with gloves and arm warmers. I threw the arm warmers off about a minute before the race started, and ran the race in just a tank, a skirt and the gloves. I overheat very easily and I definitely made the right choice by not wearing a long-sleeved top.

My iPod was 80% Fall Out Boy and 20% Anberlin. Every 5th song was Anberlin and the rest were Fall Out Boy. I have just been so obsessed with them lately and I really thought that they could keep me pumped for the entire race.
I was extremely jittery at the start line. I had two friends with me and we were all in the first corral. The 1:45 pacer positioned himself about 5-10 feet behind us, and I began to worry that maybe I was starting too close to the front of the pack.

Miles 1-3
The first mile is always tough because there is no prior pace "feedback" to go off of. I did not wear my Garmin for the race because I know I am good at pacing longer distances. I decided to just go with what the pack was doing, and I ran the first mile in 8:04. This was a little to fast for my 1:46:43 goal, but perfect for the agressive 1:45 goal.

Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 7:56
Mile 3: 8:07 (slowest mile of the race)

I was actually quite surprised at these paces. After the first mile, I decided I would run based on "feel" and run based on what I thought half marathon pace should feel like. I didn't want to back off of my 8:04 pace, I just wanted to use instinct to pace it.

Miles 4-7
I took my first pack of sports beans after passing mile marker 4. They were hardened from the cold and not easy to chew. I told myself to "relax" while chewing them so that I wouldn't choke, but to not slow down. Eating these beans was one of the biggest challenges of the race because I am a mouth breather and my mouth is wide open when I am running at a fast pace. I ate about 2/3 the pack and tossed the rest.

I didn't take much water during this race. I knew I didn't need as much as I would on a hotter day, or during a marathon. Plus, I had pre-hydrated for the past two days. The water stations were always near mile markers, so it was annoying to be drinking water AND hitting the lap button on my watch.

The 1:45 pace group had caught up to me at about mile 3. I kept the pacer in my sight for about two miles. I knew that the pacer would probably get them in just under 1:45, and that if I ended up with a 1:45, it would be a 1:45:59. So I told myself to not get discourged if I couldn't keep up with the pacer. I never want to "use" the pacers to pace my race, but I like to have an idea of where they are.

I crossed the 5-mile timing mat at 39:59. Just under 8:00! I was thrilled.

Mile 4: 7:53
Mile 5: 7:57
Mile 6: 8:02
Mile 7: 7:57

Miles 8-10
This half marathon course is the second half of the Shamrock full marathon course that I ran last year. So for most of the race, I was "re-living" that marathon experience. I came up to marahton mile 21, and I remembered that this was where I found Brent walking on the side of the road. And then I remembered watching the 3:50 pace group slowly fade away in the distance.

I kept wondering when I would "bonk" or when the 1:45 pace group would catch up to me. I knew that running these sub-8:00 miles was unrealistic for me. My fastest 10K was a pace of 7:57, so doing that in a half marathon just seemed unrealistic. But I pressed on. It was "comfortably hard" but I didn't get to a point where I started to hate the race. I told myself that I had so much time "in the bank" that if my last few miles were rough, I would still make my 1:46 goal.

Mile 8: 7:58
Mile 9: 7:56
Mile 10: 7:49

Miles 11-finish
I crossed the 10-miler mark in 1:19:45. This was a new 10-mile PR for me (previous was 1:21:23). And it

was at this point that I realized I was averaging sub-8:00 miles. And that if I wanted to average 8:00 for the race, I had a 15 second "cushion".

I honestly just kept thinking I was going to bonk. I really didn't think I could keep up with these paces. It wasn't that the paces felt to difficult physically, but mentally I just didn't think it was possible for me to be doing this. I decided to keep pushing and not slow down, telling myself that if I did bonk at this point, I would still get a good PR.

The last two miles of a half marathon are typically very painful, but this was not the case with me. My legs didn't hurt and I didn't feel like I was dying. I guess this was a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing because it means I could have run even faster. And a bad thing meaning. . . why didn't I run faster!!! :-) I just wanted to press on at that sub-8:00 pace which felt perfectly do-able.

Hitting the "lap" button at my watch at mile 13.

Mile 11: 7:46 (fastest mile of the race)
Mile 12: 7:51
Mile 13: 7:54
Last 192 yards: 0:48 (pace of 7:20)


Finishing
I did a sprint to the finish line and got my medal. I felt awesome! I went to get my bag and my runner's high was quickly shot down because they couldn't find my bag. But they eventually did (after I almost panicked) and I got my cell phone out to start calling and texting people. My fingers were numb (even with the gloves) so that was tough. I made my way back to the car and was just in shock over the whole thing. I still am!
Official Finish Time: 1:44:04
Pace: 7:56

31 of 614 in my age group, beating 95% of them

165 of 3662 females, beating 96% of them
679 of 6285 total runners, beating 90% of them.
This is a PR by 4:39.The McMillan Running Calculator Predicts a 3:39:29 marathon, giving me 1:30 "wiggle room" to qualify for Boston.

This is one of the most significant milestones in my running career. I think the only one that rivals it was my 3:56 marathon, which was a 9-minute PR and my first sub-4:00.