Flower City Half Marathon Recap

Sadly, I am not one of those people that takes pictures while running (maybe someday), so this will be a boring post for those of you not interested in running!

Half marathon day finally arrived yesterday.  It was a cool 35 degrees when we left our house, but it was sunny & we knew it would warm up pretty fast.

I've had the idea in my head for quite sometime that I wanted a sub 2:00 half.  The weeks leading up to the race I'd gone over in my head what I needed to do to reach my goal.... & I had very little confidence I could attain it.

I told Peter the night before that I hadn't figured out my racing strategy yet.  He told me, "Just run."  Well, easy for him to say.  I just kept thinking that finishing the race with a 9:09 pace (for my 2 hour goal) should be my strategy.... but I hadn't really trained for a 2 hour half.  I actually didn't know what I had really trained for, but it just didn't seem like 2 hours was realistic.  I was so scared that I would start with a 9:09 pace & then just die a few miles in & wind up with a crappy time.  I was scared.  Why?  Probably just because that's my personality.  When I was young and my parents would quiz me on homework or something I wouldn't give them an answer unless I was 100% sure it was right.  I don't like to be wrong.  I don't like to fail.... but enough about my childhood issues that have followed me into adulthood... onto the race.

Once Peter & I got to the start I decided to find the 2 hour pacer & just start there & see how I felt.  If worse came to worse then I would just pull back & go for a more reasonable PR.  I mean, the last time I ran this race 2 years ago I finished around 2:12 (10:11 pace).  As long as beat that time I would be content.... and that shouldn't be a problem.

So, the race began... I kept the pacer in my sights for the first couple miles, but she seemed to be going slow...

Mile 1:  9:16

and then fast...

Mile 2:  8:35

WTF?!

I decided that I needed to find my own groove & run where I felt comfortable.  So, I did.

Mile 3:  9:19
Mile 4:  9:12
Mile 5:  9:16

I felt pretty good.  Those were pretty fast splits for me.  I still was worried I'd hit a wall, so I conserved just enough energy to feel confident I wouldn't die.

Around this point is a gel station and then you get to the Goodman St hill.  This is right around the corner from where we live, so I know how long it lasts & what I need to do to make it through.

Mile 6:  9:25

I knew a quick downhill would follow, so I just paced myself & got ready to head into the cemetery portion of the race... and here's where I started to feel like I was actually running a half marathon.  There's some uphill at the beginning of the cemetery & then lots of turns & just miserable conditions... or maybe I was just tired.

Mile 7:  9:25
Mile 8:  9:17

Around this point I took the gel I brought with me.  I've never taken 2 gels in a run, but I had only drank water at the stations (no Gatorade), and I just felt like I needed something else to fuel me.  Plus, I knew there was caffeine in the gel I brought, maybe that would help too.  So, I decided to listen to my body & sucked down that gel like a champ and just prayed that we'd be exiting the cemetery portion soon.  I knew once we were out I'd only have a 5k to go & that comforted me.

Mile 9:  9:17
Mile 10:  9:14

Once I was out of the cemetery & had a 5k flat course left & checked my Garmin for the millionth time, I knew I'd need a miracle to finish in 2 hours.  A serious miracle.  I took a quick inventory of how my body felt & other than a sore right knee I felt pretty good.  I knew I could push it the last 3.1 miles.  I didn't think 2 hours was a realistic goal anymore, but damned if I was gonna throw in the towel & coast 'til the end.  I knew I had some kick left in me, so might as well give the race my all.

Mile 11:  8:58

Not too bad.  Mile 11 felt good, but I knew that 8:58 was not gonna get me to the finish line in 2 hours.

Mile 12:  8:40

Huh?  Looking again at my Garmin I knew this could be close.  At this point I remember having a conversation with myself after doing some quick calcs in my head.  2 hours still seemed pretty far off, but I needed to just push harder than I ever had & come as close as my body would let me.  I also started thinking at this point that I could imagine myself finishing with a time of 2:00:01 just because it would really piss me off!

During this point I started to observe the runners around me.  Maybe observe is a bad word... I actually started to pity them... okay, maybe that's not the best word to describe it either.  Basically what I was thinking at this point, is that it's a shame these people aren't going to get their 2 hour half.  2 hours is a big half marathon milestone... but I digress...

I ran that last 1.1 miles as fast as I could.  My lungs burned.  My legs hurt.  I felt tears coming on... but the tear were actually tears of joy, because I felt like a runner that last 1.1 miles.  I felt like I was running the race of my life & I was going to win.

Mile  13:  8:17

I crossed the finish line with the clock at 2:00:17.  Peter found me right away & told me he thought I got it.  My Garmin said 1:59:51, but I didn't trust it.

We got to my car & I pulled out my phone.  The race organization is doing this new thing where they text you your race time.  My text said my time was 2:00:14.  Son of a bitch!  I showed Peter & he said that was definitely wrong.  We didn't cross the start for at least 20 seconds after the gun, and the clock definitely said 2:00:17 when I crossed, so he didn't know where this 2:00:14 came from.  I was concerned at this point that my chip never registered the time I crossed the start.

I resigned myself to failure... no, not really.  I had one final chance... the official results would be posted soon.

So, around 3 hours after I completed my race, the official results were uploaded to the race site.

My official time was 1:59:55

I could have cried tears of joy.

High Five for Friday

1. I'm lovin' this lululemon tech top!  It's absolutely perfect for the current running weather here in WNY... also, it has thumb holes & those might be the best invention of the century.... about half of the shirts/sweatshirts/running tops I own have them!

2. I love my TOMS!  I own 2 pairs of the classics, but after seeing someone where these wedges & fell in love all over again!  I think I'm gonna buy them for my birthday as a present to myself!

3. I found this on Pinterest & I really want to do it next month!

4. I'm kinda obsessed right now with finding a half marathon I can travel to later this year.  I just found out that I didn't get into the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Fran (boo!), so now I have my sights set on Las Vegas in December!

5.  Finally, I might get to go back to Spain in a few months!

Nice Way to be Welcomed Home

Tapering... and maybe some cat photos...

I love tapering!  7 miles for my long run this week- EASY!  3 mile easy run today- DONE (with an actual smile on my face).  So glad that tapering time is finally here, 'cause I was really starting to get burnt out.  Tapering rock!!  Less than 7 days 'til the half!

This weekend was quite a lazy one.  Not just for me, but for some kitties, as well...

I swear they don't like eachother

In case you don't know, that is my side of the bed... I had to start my Sunday early since I had no room to sleep!

Today we woke up to a winter wonderland... more like slush wonderland, actually.  I know one kitty that was not a fan...

"Uh, WTF is this?!"

Today was also my day off for the week (yes, I was blessed with a 3 day weekend), so I did a ton of errands, including picking up a very important item...

The bib makes it so real!

Wine Tasting

I'm getting lazy with my post synopsises, but here's a few Instagram photos from wine tasting last night at the Yanatsis'.

Yummy cheese board

A fabulous charcuterie

A little too excited about the Easy Cheese

The blind tasting

My favorite of the night

The scoring sheet... I only got one right

My arch enemy giving my husband the death stare

My favorite shot of the night...

...but others prefer a different kind of shot!

Such a great night, with great friends!

And just because I think it's hilarious, Peter's quote of the night, "Do you have any plastic wine glasses? 'Cause I should be moving to a plastic glass right about now."

Kitten Picture of the Day

Hal's evening ritual

Peter's Curling Championship

Peter's curling team made it to the championships, so I decided to attend my first curing game of the season!

Preparing to "go big or go home."

Peter taking his shot

Some sweeping

Taking some measurements

In the end, Peter's team lost on the last shot.  Boo!

Ice Bath

Two weeks 'til race day! I went for my long training run yesterday! I attempted 13 miles, but stopped at 12.3 miles when my knees started to get a little too achey. I'm not too proud to stop. In a race situation I would've had no problem finishing, but this wasn't a race, and I have no desire to injure myself... especially this close to race day!

Ya think the cuteness of my running skirt outweighs the dorkiness of my fuel belt?

Yesterday I took my very first ice bath! I felt it was as good a time as ever. It took my body hours to warm up after, but I think it was worth it. Today my muscles feel good.... tired, but not sore.

Good pain... I think

Corned Beef Hash

Today Peter & I did the Spring Forward Distance Run 15K at Mendon Ponds. It was kinda intense. The distance was not my worry... the hills were. To say I was scared of this race is an understatement. Rochester is pretty flat and my training has not incorporated much hill work. Luckily we survived. It was tough, but not nearly as tough as I anticipated. My calves were screaming by the end, but (except for exhaustion) I felt pretty good. I finished in 1:27:27 which gave me a pace of 9:24. I was impressed with myself, but once again I think it just goes to show that I continually underestimate myself. I think if I could just give myself a good kick in the ass I could be a pretty decent runner.

Yesterday Peter & decided that we would enjoy mimosas & a nice brunch after the grueling race. Upon arriving home we drank a mimosa & shared some bacon and then I promptly passed out on the couch for a few hours. So, the plan changed & we made some pretty awesome corned beef hash for dinner. We used the leftover corned beef, and then everything else was from our garden- homegrown potatoes, peppers & onions!

Hash prep

Rendering some fat from corned beef scraps!

Browning the potatoes

Peter wanted photographic evidence of the mimosas, so he took this wonderful picture of me post 15k run/post nap. Awesome.

Adding the onions

Muff enjoying the warmth from the dryer as she watched us cooking

Corned beef finally added to the mix

I like my potatoes extra crispy!

We planned on having leftovers, but somehow we ate this entire pan of hash for dinner... it was so good!

And here's some photographic evidence of this morning's race. When I showed Peter this pic he stated: "Well, that seems to sum up my running abilities nicely....struggling to keep up with an old man and woman."