Race Report - Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon

As I woke up yesterday at 4:15 am, my nerves were all over the place.  I was excited, nervous, confident, strong, but ready to race Rock 'n Roll USA.  In my head I tried to remain focused by repeating, "You are healthy.  You are strong.  You are ready."  I feel like in the last week this has helped me focus my positive energy.  Those three sentences may be my new running mantra.  Even being focused I had decided to have fun with the race and wear my new green Team Sparkle skirt and get in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.  Although I wanted to have fun, I also wanted to PR and I really wanted to run this half in under 2 hours.  I have been training for this and I knew I was ready.  The one part that made me most nervous was the weather.  We had been training in 40 degrees or under and in the last week the average temp had risen to around 70 degrees.  I was trying not to think about the huge change in temperature and just focus on running.

My fun sparkle skirt for Rock 'N Roll USA on March 17th, 2012

My running buddies Terri, Brooke, and I had decided to drive down to DC and get to the race early so we didn't have to fight with the metro.  Terri met at my house around 5am and we picked Brooke up shortly after to arrive at RFK around 5:45am.  We had plenty of time before the race to relax and prepare.  We headed up to the lovely port-a-potties and had a great surprise when we ran into some of our other running friends including my sister, Jessica (Pace of Me).  Jessica, was looking to qualify for Boston yesterday so I was excited to give her a hug and a good luck in person.  It really made my morning.

Race time was 8:00am, so around 7:15 Terri, Brooke, and I headed up to bag check in the DC Armory where we ran into even more of our running friends.  We exchanged positive messages to each other, took pictures, and then all headed to our corrals.

Some of the great PR runners before Rock 'n Roll USA

Terri, Brooke, and I remained together.  We all had the same goal, we had trained together, and were ready to run.  When we got to corral 10, Brooke ran into some friends and we hung out with them before the race began.  Each corral was sent off in about 1 minute shifts so we finally took off around 8:10am.  The three of us started strong.  We had talked about running a little faster than race pace in the beginning so we would have some wiggle room towards the end.  We did just that.

Me, Terri, and Brooke before the race

Mile 1, 2, and 3 were strong and they flew by fast.  I knew we were going faster than my body was telling me to go, but I kept pushing.  Even though I knew we were giving ourselves the wiggle room, I was getting nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep it up.  By the time we made it mile 4, I knew I couldn't keep up at that pace so I had to pull back a little and run my own race.  Brooke and Terri ran ahead, while I focused on myself.  Around mile 4.5 the race started an upward climb that didn't seem to end.  Hills have always been my kryptonite.  I know I need to work on them and this race really proved it to me.  As I began the uphill battle, literally, I felt myself not feeling well and slowed down a lot. I figured the sickness was just the struggle I was having with the hills and I continued, but in a much more conservative pace.  When I felt myself feeling ok, I would push, when I felt like I needed to slow down I would.  There was no consistency to my pace.  I had trained with a consistent pace so this was hard for me to wrap my head around for mile after mile.  The points where I was having a hard time I would have to get into my head in a positive way and say, "You are healthy.  You are strong.  You are ready."  It helped me refocus.  Looking at my pace each mile, I have realized that I would have tough miles back-to-back and then push it for a few miles and then have to bring it back.  My training did not reflect this race.  When I hit mile 12, I knew the last 1.1 miles would be hard, but I was going to push it and that's what I did to the finish.  I didn't PR, I didn't run under 2 hours, but I ran 13.1 (13.27 to be exact) miles.  That is an accomplishment.  Was it hard? Yes!  Could I have made changes?  Yes!  Have I reflected? Yes!

Mile by mile:

Mile 1 - 9:01

Mile 2 - 8:39

Mile 3 - 8:29

Mile 4 - 9:06

Mile 5 - 10:26

Mile 6 - 9:42

Mile 7 - 10:22

Mile 8 - 10:23

Mile 9 - 9:55

Mile 10 - 9:22

Mile 11 - 10:07

Mile 12 - 10:57

Mile 13 - 9:36

Mile .27 - 2:45

Time - 2:08:49

Average Pace - 9:43

After crossing the finish, I made my way over to where Terri, Brooke and I were meeting.  As I walked I began to feel sick, but I just thought my body was recovering.  In no time, the three of us had met up, and were headed back to pick up our bags.  They shared with me that they had both run great races Terri finishing in 2:00:20 and Brooke in 2:00:30.  They both PRed and had amazing races, but we will all be ready to race again to get under that 2 hour mark.  I am so proud of you girls!!!

As we walked into the DC Armory, a wave of sickness came over me, I threw my stuff at Terri and told her I had to run to the bathroom.  I couldn't get there fast enough, I felt horrible, almost to the point where I couldn't stand.  I regrouped after a few minutes, still feeling bad, and reconnected with my friends.  Brooke took one look at me and said, "You look grey!"  I felt the same way I looked.  I laid down on the floor of the armory trying to get my body to recover and I just couldn't, so they suggested I needed fresh air.  We headed outside to watch the marathoners finish.

Still not feeling well, I told them to go ahead and I would sit on the curb until I felt better.  That wasn't happening anytime soon, so I forced myself to stand up to try and find my sister, Jessica, who I knew was finishing shortly.  As I stood up, I felt a wave of nausea came over me so fast I couldn't find a trash can.  Then it happened again.  It was horrible, I felt like I was being hit by a truck.  It was then that I realized that maybe the heat had gotten to me.  Every time I drank water, I would just get sick.  I was able to cheer Jessica on and watched her as she finished and qualified for Boston with a marathon time of 3:34:48!!!  I watched my other sister, Jodi, finish in a fantastic time of 3:57:38, as well as my friends Amy and Dora who had great times as well, both of them PRing.  Each time I cheered for them I would stand up, cheer, and then run to some grass to get sick.  I know it sounds gross, and it was, but that's what happened.  My body was not happy with me yesterday at all. Once I got some Gatorade in me, my stomach started to settle.  It wasn't until about 4 hours later that I really feel whole again, but it finally did happen.  That's when I started to reflect...

Sucking it up for one picture after the race

Reflections:

• I know I can run a half marathon in under 2 hours and I will do it, yesterday was just not the day.
• I need to run my own race from start to finish.
• For my next race I am going to try and hydrate the day before by mixing in some electrolytes.
• Hills: More, more, more!
• I am not going to beat myself up about this race, I am going to learn from it.
• I AM HEALTHY!
• I AM STRONG!
• I AM READY!