Race #210
Half Marathon #76
2023 Race #7
2023 Half Marathon #3
Mountains to Main Street Half Marathon #4
It’s not often you have a race go exactly to plan…better than the plan actually. I had one of those days today and loved it.
I stayed over at Mom and Ellis’ the night before since Ellis was giving us a ride to the start of this point to point race.
We arrived a little over ten minutes before the start. Perfect timing. At this point, I was still under the impression that Mom planned to at least try to go with me so I told her my planned pace of 8:30 or a little faster if I could manage it.
Right on time, we started.
The first quarter mile of the course took us around a track. I hadn’t hit my goal pace yet due to congestion but figured out quickly that Mom did not plan to run with me.
After leaning the track we headed downhill towards a neighborhood. Having run this race before, the elevation changes in the first three miles did not take me by surprise. I knew we would have some downhills before some significant uphills, which if you haven’t prepared, can feel defeating. Since I prepared, they did not defeat me.
I did glance down at my watch a few times but tried to avoid it since I focused on effort and good form on the hills rather than pace. One of those times happened to coincide with the mile 3 split. I knew faster times would come since that mile held the most significant hills.
Mile 1 – 8:13
Mile 2 – 8:28
Mile 3 – 8:45
The hills relented a little once we exited the subdivision but we did not turn back at Trailblazer Park to get back on the trail. Instead, we headed on the road further into TR which included a few more lovely hills before we turned onto the trail.
I knew from this point that the course had a net downhill which meant that it was time to dial in.
When I glanced at my watch around this time and saw a pace (that I don’t remember) slower than goal pace I briefly wondered if I should readjust my goal. As soon as that thought came across my mind I told it to “Shut up. I trained for this.”
I also reminded myself that my Garmin did not provide accurate pace times on the tree covered section of the trail and that I could still gradually lower my pace as I ran.
During the first mile or so of this section, it did feel a little more difficult to maintain the pace I wanted but I think that stemmed from the work I had just put in on the hilly section. After a little while that soreness flushed itself out of my system and I started to feel good.
Some time in the next mile or so I found myself running basically the exact pace as another girl. I don’t mind but it did feel a little awkward because the only person I run with is Mom. She did try to make a little small talk occasionally to which I responded but did not continue the conversation. I think we ended up running stride for stride for more than a mile. At the halfway point of the race she said something to celebrate halfway. I had been thinking about trying to increase my pace but hadn’t done it yet because I didn’t know if it was the smart move or not. The stride for stride running had gotten a little awkward feeling, for me so I decided to push it a little and soon passed her.
Mile 4 – 8:35
Mile 5 – 8:31
Mile 6 – 8:25
Mile 7 – 8:24
The miles continued to feel better and better as I ran. Around this point (or just before) I did take the offered Gu gel, TriBerry flavor. That’s not a flavor I’ve had before, nor one that I would go out of my way to purchase. It went down really easy though which makes me think that I will need to try out the fruit purée packs that I got from Costco for my marathon long runs in the fall.
It may have been placebo or the sugar may have provided a boost but I felt really good after consuming the gel.
After the halfway point, we had reached sections on the trail that we run fairly regularly which helped me figure how much I had left to run.
I continued to feel strong and, although I didn’t know it at the time, increased my pace. Well, it did feel like I was picking up the pace (and still feeling awesome) but I purposefully avoided looking at my watch through this time. I didn’t want to get discouraged by an inaccurate pace display (thanks to the tree coverage).
A little sooner than I expected, we reached the 10 mile mark. Since the race did not have any of the miles marked, I did not know if my Garmin splits matched the course splits. (Since I ended up running exactly 13.10, I think they did.) I thought that the 10 mile mark would come a lot closer to the Swamp Rabbit Cafe since that’s where the 5k starts but it did not end up mattering. I decided to really go for it in the last 5k.
Mile 8 – 8:21
Mile 9 – 8:21
Mile 10 – 8:18
Each time I passed someone, I looked ahead to see who else I could possibly pass. I felt really good and knew I had a high chance to make my goal of a sub 1:50. I couldn’t let up on the gas though.
My entire focus of this section was just getting gradually faster and seeing how many people I could pass.
Somewhere close to the finish I heard someone say my name as I passed. I said hi back but by that point I had tunnel vision and didn’t look over to see who had said it. I wonder if it was a new-ish friend of mine, the mom of one of my students last year. I didn’t know for sure though because although I knew she planned to run the race, I hadn’t paid attention to her training splits. After finishing and seeing our finish times, I’m pretty sure it was.
By the last mile, I could definitely feel the effort but I knew I had even more in me so I continued to push.
I still dislike running the underpass in a race because when you emerge on the other side, you have to make an incredibly tight turn which slows you down. I wish they would just close the race so we could cross the street instead.
Once I made the turn, I didn’t really have anyone else to pass but I still tried to sprint as fast as I could to the finish.
When I saw the clock and the fact that I had more than 40 seconds to cross for a sub 1:50 I got so excited and tried to come across even faster.
Mile 11 – 8:10
Mile 12 – 8:08
Mile 13 – 8:00
.1 – 6:34 pace
Overall – 1:49:20!!
I did it!
Not only did I reach my goal but after the hills, I had perfect negative splits.
I loved this race so much.
When I went back to my race page to see how long it’s been since I’ve run a half under 1:50, I saw that it’s been six years!
I’m so excited for what’s to come.