Columbus (half) marathon

Race day has finally arrived!  My training for this half marathon has been a bit sketchy. I've been hitting my long runs, but the other runs I between were loosely scheduled based on some plan that I can't even remember the source. I've made it a priority to run the "hills" once a week for the past few weeks. I've felt great satisfaction as my times have improved each week. I ran a 5K last weekend and out of the blue I nailed. 25:05!  Dang, I was so pleased with that. But let's talk about Columbus now.

We got a late start to our trip down to Columbus and we had just enough time to pick up our race packet and make a stop at Target. Alan has had 3 iPod Shuffles die on him due to sweatiness, which is crazy because he keeps them in a ziplock bag when he runs! Regardless, we had to buy him another one. We are getting smart and buying the replacement plans now ;)
It was so fun at the expo because our name was on one of the pickup signs!

I was excited because I scored a hat for running that was on sale for $10, and reduced to $5 as I was looking at it. Deal!

We met a group of runners for dinner at Bravo. Delicious food and great pre race psych up talk!  It was a tough crowd because they were mostly Boston runners and all were much faster than me.  We had our pre race ritual of watching Run Fatboy, Run, then it was time to try and get some sleep.

On race morning we woke up at 5am. I did get some sleep, but 5 was really early. Alan said he barely slept at all so he was pretty tired. We were supposed to leave at 6 am but didn't get out the door until 6:10. The trip in to downtown Columbus wasn't a problem but we had to wait at least 20 minutes to get to the garage. That 10 minute late start made all the difference. Luckily we didn't have to use the port-a-potties because we got to the corrals just 15 mins before the start!

It was just 40 degrees at the start so we had shorts (Lulu skirt), t-shirts, throw away hats, gloves, shirts and of course our new favorite item - sock arm warmers!  I loved this years choice. They matched my outfit fabulously! And I can't forget to mention I was also wearing a Rainbow Loom bracelet that also coordinated with my outfit.... thanks kids for the inspiration!!

Here we are dressed in our throwaways - just minutes before cramming into the race corrals...  I'm not sure if I am thankful, or worried, that I can always find crappy old clothes that I don't care about tossing at a race in my closet!!

 

My race plan was to go 8:30 for the first 6 miles and then pick up the pace to 8:15. The first mile was relatively slow, weaving around everyone. It was 8:58. After that I kept an eye on pace and tried to keep it under 8:30. I did a good job because my average pace was 8:30 halfway. It felt good.  The crowd support was awesome and it really helped me along.

The miles went by so fast, and it was time to refuel.  I was a little late in figuring out when the water stops were, so as I approached one I wolfed down my GU pack.  Then chugged some water.  Blah.  For about a mile I dreaded having done that, but I'd like to think it helped me out.  I just don't have much interest in fueling or hydrating during races.

After that I tried to pick it up, but in retrospect it never made it. I wasn't struggling but it was a challenge, just like a race should be.  In reviewing my splits, there were actually all over the place, but in the end they averaged out good, so that's all that matters!

Here I am around mile 9 I think.  This would have been such a cute picture... if only my eyes were open!  Why didn't they snap a picture when I was wildly waving my arms at the photographer or "raising the roof"?  Kodak moments for sure!

Around mile 12 I knew the end was near. Just 2 more miles up High street and the finish was there!  At that point the course goes uphill and my motivation was lacking. I had considered even walking a few steps at that point, but I talked myself out of it and finished it out. One more uphill, and then a quick downhill trip through the finish line chute. I finished in 1:51:12. Woohoo! That's a new PR for me, so I was thrilled with that.

 

I still have a feeling I could have pushed it harder (need to work on that motivation issue!!), so maybe that sub 1:50 race is still in my future.  Along with that sub 25:00 5K!
Here are my race splits:

1	8:58
2	8:36
3	8:20
4	8:31
5	8:07
6	8:13
7	8:41
8	8:28
9	8:12
10	8:26
11	8:25
12	8:32
13	8:33
14	7:41

I can honestly say though, since my last long races have been marathons, I have never been so happy about being able to turn off and follow the half marathon sign to the finish!!  I kept thinking - "suckers!  you still have 13.1 more to go!!".  That's bad, isn't it :)

 

I hung out in the "Celebration Village" after the race.  Ate the free food: ice cream, yogurt tube, Luna bars, chocolate milk and lined up for the stretching booth from a chiropractor.  Wow, he did a great job.  Too bad Alan isn't trained in that sort of stuff!  Then I made my way to the bridge at mile 26 to wait for Alan.  He came speeding along and I waved at him and cheered him on.  Then, made my way through the crowds to the finish line again.
 The first thing I said to Alan was "you know you have a bloody nipple, don't you?"  Surprisingly he didn't.  He even said the other nipple was the one that hurt! (very attractive)

After the race, and showers, we met up with our runner friends again and shared stories of our races.  Alan ended up with the fastest time out of the group - 3:12.  Great job speedy!! It wasn't a PR for him, but he was still very happy with it because he had a mixed up training schedule with his 50 miler back in September.  A big juicy burger and a beer (or two) were in order.  Cheers!

The best surprise for me was that I placed 25th out of 474 women in my age group! That's crazy! Also, I was 1,638 out of 10,215 total runners. And ironically, Alan was 25th in his age group too!  I surprised myself with this race. Love to have success after my hiatus this summer.