Race Report: Fox Cities Half Marathon

Did you ever have one of those races where there was no stress and no pressure and (maybe because of that) you managed to amaze the HELL out of yourself? That was the Fox Cities Half Marathon for me. Amazing, from start to finish.

Backing up a little. I won this race entry from Shannon a while back. Well, in actuality, Sara won it, but since she also won an entry for Fort2Base, a local race that was the same day (hello, FWP), and since she heard about the giveaway from me, she asked Shannon if she could pay it forward to me. Lucky for me, Shannon was willing to play along.

As luck would have it, it fell on the weekend after my wedding anniversary, so after a little wrangling I ended up with a hotel room and a friend willing to take ALL 4 OF MY KIDS for the night (good LORD I have awesome friends) and VOILA! Anniversary weekend getaway plus race. Awesome.

The most stressful part of the whole thing fell early on - Jenna had a volleyball tournament (John coaches her team) all morning and into the afternoon Saturday. We still managed to drop off the kids and make the 2 and a half hour drive north with 45 minutes of packet pickup left. The expo was nice - bigger than I expected - and easy to navigate. I hit the Brooks booth "by accident" and walked out with a new (PURPLE) pair of Adrenalines. I was winning already!

It was SO NICE having John with me. I'm not sure that's ever happened since my first half in 2010. He navigated, found the start line, everything I always worry about (I'm a little, ahem, directionally challenged). After all the logistics, we had a nice dinner, saw a movie (The Bourne Legacy), and crashed by 11.

Race morning was also uneventful. My stomach wasn't exactly playing fair, but that's not unusual. I struggled a little with what to wear - it was 36 degrees at the start, and only supposed to gain a few degrees before I'd finish. I went with capris, my BAMR long sleeve and a vest. And gloves. We were only a 10 minute drive from the start, so I didn't even need to brave the chilly portopotties. I DID run into Rachel who was there spectating for Kim and a few others (I missed the meetup - we had to get out of there quick to collect the kids), and got a hug and a hello...it was nice to see a familiar face!

I still didn't know how to run this. John and Kim were both telling me to go for it - I was pretty sure I could at least PR without much trouble, on a good day - but part of me wanted to take it easy as a training run.

That part of me lost big time, as soon as I started running.

In corral B, ready to go!

The race, like the expo, was bigger than I thought. Nearly 8000 participants, with a half, a full and a relay choice. But it was really well organized and it only took me a couple minutes to cross the start. Unfortunately, I forgot to look at the time when I crossed, so I wasn't sure exactly how long it took me. I'd regret that later.

The weather was perfection and I felt really really good. Still, I started a little easy, and then picked up the pace a little at a time. The town really comes out for this race and the spectators made it a lot of fun. Our names were printed big on our bibs, and it's always a boost hearing your name called out. Around mile 1 someone was blasting, "I like to move it move it" which is a huge favorite of James and I laughed. Just before mile 2 we ran up a bridge overpass, and 2 ladies next to me went into full on CHARGE mode and I raced up with them, telling them they were pulling me. I realized I was having a fantastic time. Goal of the day became RUN HAPPY. (1-9:41, 2-9:26, 3-9:09)

There were several DJs on the course, and it was old school day - I heard Ice Ice Baby, It Takes 2, Jump Around...so many. SO GOOD. Around mile 5, I started looking for John, but I wasn't sure where I'd see him. I got a lot of comments on how much I was smiling. (4-8:59, 5-9:12, 6-9:04)

Just before mile 7, I saw John. He ran with me for a second, coffee in hand, and offered me some. I laughed. Right about here was when I started wondering just what I could do with this day. I was still smiling, but now I was working. Time to get real. (7-8:53, 8-8:53, 9-8:44)

I had tucked in behind 2 girls for the last mile or so, and was trying to hang on. It was getting a little tougher. I was getting a little tired. Just after mile 10, I decided salt and gu was in order. I wasn't sure how my stomach would respond, but I needed it, so I had to try. My stomach did pipe up for a second, but then promptly shut up, thank god. Mile 11 was the toughest of the race for me - I was struggling to hold the pace. I heard g in my head telling me I COULD. I picked it back up. (10-9:11, 11-9:33, 12-9:07)

Right about at the mile 12 marker, I saw John again. I was bargaining with myself here, not sure I could hold the pace necessary for a sub 2 half, but I knew it would be close. I was telling myself that a PR was ok, that I didn't NEED the sub 2. But then I saw John and he started cheering like mad, telling me I was right on pace, telling me I had it!

mile 12, approaching John

I had no idea how close I was - my overall pace showed me I was CLOSE but I wasn't tracking overall time and I didn't know how long it took to cross the start. But seeing John lit something in me, something reminding me how PISSED I'd be if I missed it by seconds and didn't give it everything in me. The problem was, I was having trouble convincing my legs to get on board.

Enter the tall chick in pink who passed me right then. She was hauling, and effortlessly. I tucked in behind her and hung on as we passed people. It was awesome. I crossed the finish line completely spent and gasping. A medic came over, wrapped me in a blanket, and hung out with me until she was convinced I wouldn't keel over. (13-8:29, 0.16-8:04 pace)

But I still didn't know if I'd done it. I got my medal, and made my way over to John who was right there but on the other side of the fence. Just as I got to him, he got the text update, saying 1:59:37! I screamed so loud and jumped up and down so much I scared the guy waiting next to John!

so. fucking. proud. really - no words...

I got my shirt (another race where you had to earn the shirt) and a bite to eat and we made our way out of there. For the rest of the day, John put up with my silly grin repeating my time over and over like Dory and the address in Finding Nemo. Today, my official time is 1:59:38. Not sure what's up with the extra second, but I don't care. I RAN SUB 2!!! ME!!! I DID THAT!

The race itself was stellar from top to bottom. Great expo, great volunteers, great organization, pretty course, I never got bored. I would definitely do it again.

This race taught me the importance of starting a little slow. It taught me that I CAN hit a rough patch and work my way through it. It taught me I can do more than I think I can. Thanks again Shannon and Sara. Thank you!