Shamrock Half Race Report

Last Sunday was my half marathon.

In truth, I was really worried. I ran Wakefield a week before that. About 3.5 miles into that race I tweaked my ankle a smidge. It didn't really slow me down, but I could tell I did something, so imagine how happy I was when I felt great the next day and was able to complete my scheduled 4 miles at lactate threshold pace with no problem. Great!

So things went along as planned and on Wednesday I had my last significant run scheduled. I had the kiddos with me so I dropped them at the gym daycare and did 4 miles at endurance pace on the treadmill. Felt fine, until I stepped off the machine. Hmm, left ankle and foot kind of hurt. By that night, revise that to really really hurt. Add a scratchy throat and overall chill I and ended up spending most of Thursday on the couch with my foot up icing while I drank tea and sucked cough drops.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around I had kicked the cold but I had also skipped all my "tune up" runs and the foot still hurt. I had been playing with the idea that I might not make it through the race and at one point considered not starting, but that didn't seem right after the whole family was down in Virginia Beach for the weekend (though they all raced on Sunday). Plus, I knew I would be angry at myself if I allowed a dns. However, I resigned myself to the possibility of a dnf and went as far as warning my husband that it might happen--though I was reluctant to do so for fear of giving myself permission to go through with it.  

Sunday morning was chilly, low 40s, with a headwind for the first part of the race. I hoped this meant a tailwind home, but with my recent luck with wind, it almost seemed more likely that the wind would shift around as we ran.

I lined up toward the back of the first corral. The 1:45 pace group was right behind me and as that was my goal, it seemed wise to keep them close. They must have been in the second wave, though, since I didn't see them again until a bit later. I reasoned early on that if my foot was going to be the deciding factor on the day, whether it was going to doom me didn't depend on the speed I ran - I was going to pound it at 8 minute miles or at 9 minute miles, so I might as well go for goal pace. I don't know if this reasoning is good, but it suited my purposes.

The course is approximately 3.5 miles out, a 6 mile oblong loop, and 3.5 miles back. There are a couple of long lonely stretches, but the crowd is great in the last 4 miles.

Just a little past the starting line I heard "Kathy!/ Mommy!" and from across two lanes of runners, I saw my little guy on his dad's shoulders. My pink headband might have made me stand out, but I was impressed they saw me. I knew I wouldn't see them until the finishing stretch so from then on, every time I saw a stroller or a bunch of munchkins, I pretended they were mine. 

In the end, the race was mostly a mental test. Though I have decided, that any race in which you are reaching for a goal will be a real mental test. The hardest part of the first 6 or 7 miles was that even when the running was easy I still had the pain from the foot and wasn't really relaxed. I also determined about that far in that I was totally overcompensating on the right side and that quad hurt an unusual amount. I started playing some mental games at about that point ("all that's left is less than a typical track workout and not even as fast!") but by about 8.5 miles I was hurting. I was expecting this level at about mile 10, so it came a bit early. But I was close to goal pace, averaging about 8:02s instead of 7:58s. At a little after 9 miles the 1:45 group caught me but I was able to stay more or less in contact with them as my breathing got more and more labored in the last couple of miles.

I counted down the last couple of miles by equating them to laps around the track and they ticked away. Happily the wind stayed at our backs. Saved me! And, with about 400 m to go, I saw the family. And you better believe I ran over to slap some high 5s.

Final time: 1:46:10

Close but no cigar. But I am happy with that result considering what I had in front of me on race morning.

 And I could walk like a human (rather than a robot)by only Wednesday.