3M Half Marathon "Race Report"

This was my fourth year to run 3M, and I still love it just as much as I did the first time! I ran with my brother and sister-in-law, so that made it even more special than the past races. My goals for the race were to finish under 1 hr 55 minutes... and to beat my brother (not really, but it was fun to have someone to "race!"). I really had doubts about both of my goals considering my lack of serious training. I did several long runs to basically stay in running shape from my marathon in October but did no "quality workouts" or speed training.

We had Kennedy's birthday party the night before the race... it was getting late when I realized that the grown-ups had not eaten. I thought tortilla soup sounded good on a cold night and it is a fairly light dinner. The place that I wanted to get the soup from was closed and it was getting late... so I ended up eating a cheeseburger, fries, and Dr. Pepper from Sonic. How's that for a pre-race dinner!? I wasn't too worried about it because I usually do not have issues with what I eat. But this time it did come back to haunt me during the race!

Andy and Chrise picked me up for the race at about 5:50 a.m. We made it to the start with plenty of time to freeze our butts off (it was around 38 degrees). It was really too cold to stand around and wait, so after quickly using the port-o-potties, we decided to wait inside the lobby of Embassy Suites until closer to start time. When we finally headed out, the crowd was pretty large and we had to jump in near the back of the start. The race started at 7:00 a.m., and we crossed the timing mats about 3 minutes later.

Andy, Chrise, and I all stayed together the first couple of miles until Andy started to pick up the pace a little more and Chrise decided that she should slow down her pace by about 30 seconds. Since Andy and I were "racing" each other, I was forced to pick up my pace along with him. I was a little bit worried when I noticed our pace was right at 8:30/mile and sometimes faster. I was somewhat concerned about going out too fast, but I decided to go with it and see what would happen.

Andy and I both needed to use the restroom starting around mile 4. We held off until we got to the port-o-potties after mile 6. The lines were fairly short, but we still lost about 2 minutes during our potty break. I really need to get better at going in the bushes, but I am kind of modest when it comes to that. After our stop, I felt like I had toilet paper stuck in my shorts for a few miles and I kept trying to adjust my clothing. It was hard for me to get back into a rhythm after the stop, but we kept on trucking at our fast-for-me pace.

Around mile 11, I was thinking that Andy should just go on without me. I started to taste that Brown Bag Special from the night before, and I really thought I was going to throw up. My mouth felt watery and I was very nauseous. A lot of thoughts were going through my mind. On one hand, I was thinking that if I was going to start throwing up, then I would tell Andy to go on and I could get myself together. But if I was going to have a heart attack, then I was glad that he was with me. Thankfully, I didn't get sick and didn't fall on the ground from a heart attack, but I do know that I will choose better pre-race dinners from now on.

Somewhere during the last mile, Andy fell off pace just a tad. I kept looking over my shoulder, thinking that he was going to trick me and sprint around me at the very last second, but I could never get sight of him. The downhill finish was perfect - giving you enough of a downhill to feel like you are really zooming towards the finish. As I crossed the finish line, I heard Clint yelling my name from the parking garage just above, and somehow I had enough energy to smile and wave up at him. Andy finished 12 seconds behind me... his first half marathon finish... I consider our little "race" a tie this time, but I am worried about ever "racing" him again now that he has one under his belt! We were able to watch Chrise finish a few minutes later. It was cool to see her finish - she looked great!

I wanted to hang out after the race to see some of my friends who also ran, but it was so cold and I was starving at this point. So, Andy, Chrise and I hopped in the car with Clint and headed to Cisco's for breakfast. The migas (and chips... and biscuits) were just what I needed! I am pretty sure I replaced every bit of the 1,646 calories that I burned during the run - just at breakfast!

I was pretty worn out the rest of the day, but I really do think 13.1 miles is the perfect distance to test yourself, but not too far to completely wear yourself out during training and racing (when you are actually training!). I would love to train well for a half marathon to see what I am really capable of. It would be very cool to finish under 1:50.

Mile by mile (according to my Garmin) - 9:10, 8:55, 8:30, 8:28, 8:16, 8:21, 10:20 (potty break), 8:27, 8:31, 8:26, 8:27, 8:27, 8:37, 7:19 (for the last 1/10 of a mile)

2009 Finish Time: 1:54:30 8:44 average pace... I met my goal! :-)

My past 3M finishing times:
2007 - 1:56:15
2005 - 2:27:44 (12 weeks pregnant w/Luke)
2004 - 2:10:40