Loudoun Half Marathon 4/17/16
Social life and racing...and bad mix
That girl in the meme above perfectly captures how I felt today.
Let's say I didn't follow all the typical rules for preparing for this half marathon. Friday night I consumed a lot of beers (I honestly don't know how many, so I won't provide an estimate). I went to see live music with a few friends at a brewery. We ate super spicy sujuk (It's an Indian dish with sausage and peppers) and french fries. I didn't go to sleep until well after 1 am. Then, yesterday morning, we had mimosas with biscuits and gravy. My pre-race diet was a disaster.
I did start chugging water like it was my job, and spend the rest of the day lying around finishing up homework. So, I partially did the right things before the race.
Race morning
Ugh. 5:00 am alarms are always god awful. I woke up, still feeling the effects from Friday night/ Saturday morning. That little voice in my head was toying with the idea of 'oversleeping' and not getting prepared for a 7:00 am start. But I always know better than that. As tempting as it is, I'd never let myself do that.
I tried to eat some eggs, but my stomach wasn't having it. I settled for coffee and a bottle of water. I really felt nauseous, but I couldn't tell if it was nerves or if I had really overdone it this weekend. Either way, no turning back now.
Luckily I had the good sense to pick up my race packet Saturday. I am not a morning person, and just making it to the start line by 7:00 am was quite an overwhelming task. My husband drove me to the school, where I was dropped off at 6:55 am. Nothing like cutting it close. I had my music ready, Fitbit charged , and brand new shoes laced up. For those of you who aren't runners, let me tell you that is the cardinal rule is never wear anything new on race day. I wish I had followed that rule today.
However, the weather was phenomenal. Nearly 50* at 7 :00 am meant things would only improve. Also, I just felt good. Once I stepped up to the start line all my jitters disappeared and I just had the mentality that I was ready. I don't know how or why that happens when I need it to, but I'm really glad it does. So, right on schedule, the gun went off right and the race began at Broad Run high school.
The race
I started out like a bat out of hell. I kept reminding myself I had over 13 miles to go, and I needed to slow down. But my legs wouldn't hear it. I ran along side a group of runners (who appeared to be in much better shape than me) for the first 3 miles before speeding past them. My running app announced I was holding a pace of 7:58 per mile. I know that is not realistic for me. But I kept going anyways. (for reference, here is a pace calculator for comparing running times).
Around mile 5 the race veered onto the bike trail. I have trained for several races on this trail and would know it blindfolded. Maybe it was the sunshine, the territory, or the cup of Gatorade I just inhaled, but I was feeling amazing. At the halfway point I came across the time tracking smiling ear to ear. 55 minutes in.
Miles 7-10 went by in a blur. I was waiving and smiling like an idiot at all the volunteers. I didn't stop for water at the aid stations, which was most likely my downfall. By mile 11 I was thirsty. It was debilitating to be so dehydrated. I began to feel like a human salt machine (yes, salt does become visible on your skin once you reach that level of dehydration). At 11.3 miles in, I walked through an aid station so I could drink 2 cups of water.
With less than 2 miles to go I began a steady decline. I didn't walk, but my pace fell dramatically. Mile 12 clocked in at a pace of 8:48, my slowest mile through the race. But I was almost done; there was no walking allowed. The school marked mile 13, and I began to pick up the pace. So close.
The arrows pointed around the back of the school, where a narrow path led to the high school track. Elated to be so close, I sprinted the last .2 miles around the track and across the finish. They managed to capture this image as I was finishing:
Official finish time was 1:52:12, or 8:23 per mile. This was my fastest half marathon in over 2 years! Thanks be to beer, bad food, and new shoes (which have left me with a blood blister that covers 50% of the bottom of my left foot). Just imagine how good I would do if I actually did everything right before race day :)
My next half marathon is the Island to Island half in Ocean City, MD on April 30th. Check back then for my race recap.
Happy running everyone :)
