Race Recap: National Half Marathon

I ran the National Half Marathon yesterday and I'm happy to say I met my goal of breaking 1:54 (my PR of two years) but came just short of breaking my 1:50 goal.  But I'm not that upset.  I'm actually pretty pysched- especially since the course was long (or I suck at running tangents) and at 13.1 on my watch I was at 1:49.  I know that's not official and I know I will have to run another race to break it, but for now I'll take my 4 minute PR. Corey also pointed out that I had run a 20 miler only 6 days prior...

Now, I haven't really been training at 8:20s pace, but I gained a ton of confidence after my 10 Miler I ran with Corey.  It was after this race that I thought a sub 1:50 was realistic.  It's funny because when I run long or run on the treadmill, I don't think about pace much and I tried to do the same yesterday.  I probably looked down at my Garmin a total of 8X and most of that was in the final miles.  I really tried not to be deterred by numbers on my watch and really run fast and by feel. This method has worked for me lately! Truthfully most of the fast runners I know in my life (my brother, Leah) don't rely on Garmin's to tell them their pace, so I tried to do the same. 

So lets talk about the race, shall we?

My cousin Michele and I woke up extra early 4:40am on Saturday morning but we got out of the house a little later than we wanted.  With the traffic getting to the start, we barely had time to use the port-a-potties before jumping in the corrals. 

 I had planned to run this race with either Bekah or Liz but Bekah was stuck on the metro and Liz and I never connected. At the start, I figured it was now or never.  I jumped into the second corral (it was the first opening I saw), threw my headphones in my ears and was off about two minutes after the gun went off.  I jammed out to music and checked out the gorgeous views of the Capital and the Washington Monument in the first couple miles.  And I watched the sun come up.  The race had some rolling hills but also some awesome downhills.

**Random tangent- a few days ago, I bought a hat at the Bill Rodgers running store in Fanueil Hall.  The guy asked me if I was running Boston.  I told him I was and we talked about the hills.  I told him I had heard that the downhills (in those later miles) were almost as hard as the uphills on your legs.  He said, "Nah, downhills are the only free-ride you get."  I loved that line and I've been using it to my advantage ever since he said it. :) **

Around mile 6, I got a text (I carried a phone) from my friend Leah that she was at Mile 7 and ready to jump in with me. I knew she was planning to jump in with me, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be possible.  I've talked about Leah before on the blog, but Leah and I ran track together in college and both ran the 800 meters.  After college, she went on to qualify for Boston at Chicago in 85 degree weather and then run a 3:11 Boston Marathon.  To say she is an amazing runner is an understatement.  We haven't run together in almost 7 years so it was awesome to catch up.  Leah met me after the only REAL BIG hill on the course.  It was a hard incline, but I'm pretty used to hills.  And plus, what comes up, always comes down!

My first 7 miles:

Mile 1: 8:45

Mile 2: 8:25

Mile 3: 8:11

Mile 4: 8:15

Mile 5: 8:37

Mile 6: 8:35

Mile 7: 8:50

After Mile 7, I definitely started to check my watch a bit more to make sure I was on pace. I honestly thought I had built myself enough of a cushion to break 1:50 but in the final .50 mile I realized I hadn't.  I definitely struggled around mile 11 and then by the time I hit mile 12, I knew it was now or never.  I dug deep but it was a little too late.  However, my last mile was 7:43!!!

Mile 8: 8:22

Mile 9: 8:21

Mile 10: 8:11

Mile 11: 8:09

Mile 12: 8:30

Mile 13: 7:43

.25: 7:20 pace

Garmin Time: 13.25 miles/1:50:43/Average Pace 8:21 min/mile

Official Time: 13.1/1:50:43/Average Pace 8:27 min/mile

 I'm not going to lie, I was a little dissappointed.  I really thought I would have a 49 in my final time.  I kept repeating during the run that I was going to hit my goal time, especially since I never have in the past. (High school goals- break 60 in the 400, came close but never did.  College- to break 2:25 in the 800- never happened). But enough of the pity party- I still PR'd!

My husband Dave got some awesome pictures of me at the end of the race.  Big shout out to my hubby who woke up at 5am and dropped us off at the race when traffic was insane.  I don't think we would have made the start without him! He also waited around with me for my marathon friends to finish!

Another huge shout out to Leah who ran with me from mile 7 on.  As you know, I love running with others and having her to chat with was awesome!  It totally brought me back to college : )

 I also saw Liz at the finish line.  I think we ran around the same time.  Liz, I wish we found each other at the start!  You will have to come up to Boston so we can run races together!

After the race, Dave and I went back to the car so I could change into dry clothes. Then we met up with my cousin Michele (who PR'd by 5 minutes and just missed breaking 2 hours) and hung out with her cute baby.

 I had high hopes of getting out to mile 24 to run Becky home but I didn't know the area at all and it just didn't work out.  But we did stick around to support our friends! While waiting, we saw some interesting characters...

This man on the left jump roaped the entire half marathon and the man on the right ran barefoot.  Crazy!

Pretty soon after that, we saw Lauren!  I wasn't expecting her at all (I should have been, but I wasn't keeping my eye on the clock)... but man she looked fast.  I also barely recognized her because she was in capris and not her signature shorts!  She finished in 3:18 and looked awesome!

After that, we kept an eye out for Becky.  Having no idea when she crossed the starting line, it made it pretty difficult to know when she would finish.  And although Becky didn't meet her goal time, she did PR and ran a marathon from start to finish by herself.  Honestly, Becky, you are my hero and I'm so incredibly proud of you. And your time is amazing and a PR!!  I cannot wait to run a marathon together : )

At the finish line, us three got together for a photo opp.  I'm so soo happy I met both Lauren and Becky and even happier they convinced me to run this race.  I had so much fun this weekend and these girls were a big reason for that.  I'm so proud of both of you!

I have lots to recap with the rest of the weekend, but this is long enough.  In the end I am okay with my time and I know I have more to give... but for now I'm concentrating on the marathon.  I have three more weeks and then it's game time.  I've lived on the Boston Marathon course my entire life.  I can only remember missing one marathon in my 28 years.  It's really an amazing day.  I've run all parts of the course, but I've never run the whole thing or the actual race.  So I can't wait!

Have you ever come ooo so close to your goal time? How did you deal with it?