I don’t think I could be happier, well, ya, I could. I didn’t realize how close I was to a PR. Unofficially (by my watch) I was 2:18:01, my PR is 2:17:47.6 at Rock the Parkway. During the race I thought it was closer to 2:17:00. Had I known, I think I could have made up 13 seconds in the last mile.
Here is how the day went down.
I couldn’t sleep last night. At about 11:30, I decided to take and Advil PM. Not the best move (race-day decision), but I couldn’t get to sleep. My alarms were set for 5:15am. I tossed and turned most of the night. I woke up surprisingly focused, but still droggy from the Advil PM. I was hoping not to take a 5-hour energy before this race, but I decided today wasn’t the day to change my pre-race routine. So for breakfast was a 5-hour energy, a carrot cake Clif Bar, and a V8 Fusion – Pomegranate.
I packed my back with body glide and my Garmin 310 and HRM. Before I left, I thought it would be a good idea to put new inserts into my new shoes. Again, this could have been a horrible race-day decision, but it ended up alright.
I parked about three quarters of a mile away from the starting line so I could at least loosen up. I had called Steve M. on the way and was planning to meet up with him and the Runners Edge Group at the Crown Center. So I jogged in and while I was jogging, I realized that I had left my timing tag at the house. I had taken it off of the bib before leaving the house. So now I worried a little bit, I watched my heart rate go up a bit. Luckily, the event staff was totally awesome. I was able to get a new number and tag before the race. Yay!
I was able to relax before the race and I was able to stay loose. Once we made our way to the starting line and the pace groups, I started to get excited again. I heard coach Eladio tell the entire group to move back one pace group. He went over a great game plan for the hills. Steve and I had both been talking about starting with the 2:20 pace group and seeing how we felt from there. We met in the 2:20 pace group, heard Eladio talk, and the we decided to move up to the 2:15 pace group. What were we thinking? Eladio just told us to move back. Well we agreed that we weren’t going to push it for the first 3 miles. Steve had ran the race last year and had been giving me tips on all the hills all week. We wanted to at least start with the 2:15 group, and if they were too fast, we would just slow down to the 2:20 group. Again with the race-day decisions…
We had a great first 3 miles. I know that I’m slower going up the hills. I’m bigger. I have to expect that. When the pace group leaders are 5 foot nothing, and 90 pounds wet, there is no way that I should get up the hills with as little effort as they do. I remember all of my physics classes. In my head I’m doing calculations F=MA and W=FD and I’m trying to determine if I can catch them on the downhill mathematically. What pace would I need to catch up to them if I’m going 13:30/mile right now? I was NOT going to race up the hills. We even walked up part of the first set up hills.
After the first hills, I was feeling great. I could still see the pace group about 150 yards in front of us at the top of the hill. Some of the other Runners Edge group had found us. Steve was still running at a “conversational” pace. I wasn’t there. My legs felt good but I couldn’t talk at that point. I looked back to see if Steve was going to try to catch the pace group and it looked like he was going to settle in. Now I’m on the downhill. I have a slight advantage going downhill because of my weight and my long legs. I had been working on my downhill speed quite a bit this year thanks to Coach Eladio and Coach Ken (MTC) so I was feeling great. In fact, the fourth mile was the fastest mile of the race for me. I got back with the group and stayed with them until the next hill.
I was using every aid station. I was listening to my body. I was getting a Powerade and 2 waters at each of the first stations. I drank one of the waters and poured the other over my head to keep cool.
By mile 5 I had my race figured out. I’m going to take it easy as I can going up the hills and I’m going to get as loose as I can going down the hills. I was keeping my eye on the pace group but I wasn’t worried about it. I was basically losing them going up the hills and catching them down.
I started to get really hot around mile 10. Luckily there were handing out ice cubes and orange slices. I think it was the “Race To Remember” group, but I’m not positive. I put a handful of ice in my shorts and grabbed a slice of orange.
At about mile 11 I saw Coach Eladio. At that point I was starting to worry if I had enough to finish. I was fighting off heat and my legs were telling me that they wanted to cramp. But then I heard Eladio’s voice in my head “the best runners don’t have any wasted movement” and I was bouncing. My shoulders were bouncing up and down on each stride. I made a change right there. I remembered Steve’s advice about “putting your hands in your pockets” while you run for a good stride. I have been practicing this on our lunch runs for about 4 weeks. Those two voices in my head gave me quite a little boost. My arms felt lighter and I wasn’t bouncing. I felt efficient! I felt like I had enough to finish strong!
The pace group was out of sight at that point. I hadn’t been talking to anyone since mile 9. I was in a zone. I was just trying to have the best race I could. I was thinking that I might be able to catch the 2:15 pace group. But I didn’t need to. I wanted to just have a good race and handle the hills the way I have been.
I got extra water at the last aid station, one extra to drink and another extra to pour over my head.
I had been paying attention to my HRM. I was trying to stay at or under 90% and just have a smooth run. I did that for most of the race. I probably attacked some hills a little more than I should have, but I balanced it out with walks. I watch my heart rate go down before I started running again. I wasn’t looking at the watch for pace at all. I found that I was just waiting for the heart rate to scroll by.
The last two miles of the race I had a huge smile on my face. I knew that I wasn’t tired. I had a lot of energy left in the tank. I didn’t over do anything.
Had I been trying for a PR from the beginning, I probably would have failed. By making adjustments for the weather, listening to my body, and not letting my ego take over, I almost made a PR anyway! This was a smart race for me.
I’m so happy with how the race was organized! The volunteers were great. Beth is awesome! The medals are fantastic! They had towels soaked with cold water at the finish line which totally helped me recover too.
I don’t think I could have planned a better race for me in this weather. Even with a few risky decisions on race day, everything worked out for the best.
