Race Report: WI Half Marathon (in which I break up with my old PR)

So I'm skipping a week 12 training report, mostly because I did so very little last week. One 8 mile run with friends, and one little half marathon with friends. Just over 21 miles for the week. Oops.

So, Saturday morning was the big day. I got up at 4 (I have to chill for at least 90 minutes before I leave my house - to some, this may seem a little excessive, but it works for me and my wonky GI system). I stalked the weather, which was still looking good - 50s and it looked like the rain would miss us. I kept looking at the radar. I ate my cliff bar and drank my coffee and enjoyed the silence of my house.

Kenosha is only a 25 minute drive for me, and I know the area enough and there is PLENTY of free parking, so its a very "no added stress" race for me to do. This was my PR race last year, and I was counting on saying goodbye to that old PR. I knew a TON of people that were supposed to be there, so I was looking forward to some meet ups and photo ops before the start.

And then I got in my car and it started to POUR. *sigh*

The good news was that it stopped raining in time for the race start. The bad news was that people were hiding in dry spots, so the meet ups and photo ops were not so much. But I hooked up with my friend Carrie, whose bib I'd picked up, and found Marcia right away. We ran into my running club friend Adam (who ran a stunning 3:24 marathon) but never found any of the blogger peeps we were looking for. We went to line up at the start and found Kim who was running with her brother in law for his first half marathon. And then we were off!

me and Marcia and Kim, ready to go!

Hi Steven! (photo courtesy of Kim's hubs)

I was worried about being too cold, but I wasn't at all. It was humid as hell, but cool. The course winds through downtown and then up the shore of Lake Michigan north of town and back again. Marcia was kind enough to hang with me, and the first few miles ticked off easily while we chatted. We saw Kim's husband several times on the course, and it always gave me a boost to see a familiar face. (9:43, 9:24, 9:26, 9:24)

Running happy!

The miles up the shore are an out and back, so I had fun cheering for people I knew. But at 8 or so when we turned back south, the wind off the lake was strong enough to suck the life out of me a little. It was also kind of crowded here, so it was tougher to maintain an even pace. There are only a few hills, and this year, I barely noted them. I struggled with them much more last year. We also found Jess, who ran the full, in this stretch, and she looked AMAZING. (9:22, 9:52, 9:39, 9:52)

In mile 9, I started cramping a little. First my calf, but I took some salt and that went away. But then my stomach started in. By 10, I had let Marcia go. Let the mental games begin. (9:22, 9:45)

Miles 11 and 12 were my toughest. I thought for a minute I'd have to find a port-o-potty, but it went away. Kim and Andrew caught and passed me, and Kim offered me lots of encouragement. I saw my family right at the 11 mark, and that gave me a huge boost, but I couldn't seem to hold onto it. This dude was intent on NOT letting me pass him, even though I was trying, and he was going TOO SLOW. He kept weaving in front of me then slowing down. I ended up getting pissed and sprinting by him just to leave him behind. Irritating. At the end of 12, I took my time on our final water stop. I had a big cup of water and drank it slowly. This ended up completely settling my stomach down for the last stretch. (9:56, 10:07)

After the turnaround (I was SO HAPPY that I was turning around, and not going straight with the full marathoners) the wind was right back in my face again. But for whatever reason, I got my second wind. I kept getting a little faster and a little faster. I was passing people like crazy. You need to understand, this RARELY happens to me - I'm usually the death march in kind of girl. But right then I was smiling again! I felt GOOD! When I crossed the line, the clock read 2:08, and I was thrilled with that! (9:41, and an 8:01 pace for the last 0.19)

Garmin time: 2:07:05
Official time: 2:07:01
1133/2416 finishers
517/1480 female finishers
88/245 in my age group

I quickly found my family - I was SO happy they came to cheer!

freezing again - just like last year :)

So that's the story of an 11:11 PR. 11 minutes! It is crazy to think how much stronger I am than I was last year. Last year I wouldn't have believed this was possible. I wish I'd have been a little stronger mentally in miles 11 and 12. But I guess if that's the only complaint I have, it was a damn good day.

Later, I got to squish my feet into pretty shoes and go to a wedding (how is it possible that I have a black "toe nail" on a toe that is currently nail-less? Ouch). It was nice to get out and dress up with John, and we had a great time.

After a busy but "training lazy" week, it's time to get back to it. 50 miles up! Let's do it.