Posts tagged race recap

So I ran the Reindeer Run on Saturday. I have been eying up this race for a long time and then Courtenay talked me into it on Wednesday. It was a great Christmas/fun run. What is not to love about a holiday run.

It was a great morning. It was 30 degrees at the start a little overcast, no wind and barely any snow on the ground. There was absolutely no snow on the race course. Thankfully the 4 inches of snow did not come until I was home. 

I had an hour to kill before the race. So I was able to meet up with some friends (Me, Courtenay, Mark, Bridgette, and Ashley.) It was really nice to meet the new faces. We were all psyched and ready to get going.

Before too long it was time to go. I got talked to starting in the front. I was unsure about that because I am not the fastest runner out there and I feel bad for slowing everyone down. But everyone had to deal with it on Saturday morning :] I thought I was going to start in the front anyway. There were a whole lot of walkers and families. This meant a whole lot of weaving for me. It slowed me down the first mile from my usual pace so I figured my PR went out the window. But I tend to run races for the fun of it all so it did not really bother me. 

So on I went. I decided to up my ratios to 5 to 1 just to see how it would go. It went really well and I was able to keep it up through the whole race. I was pretty excited about that. I cannot tell you much about the race because I am one of those runners that is so focused that I do not remember what is going on around me. I do remember there were a lot of dogs and a man running in a Gorilla costume. I also remember that I felt amazing the whole race and so happy to be out racing! The race seemed to go super fast and was over before I knew it. 

My splits: 

Mile 1: 9.22

Mile 2: 9:51

Mile : 8:56

I finished 3.12 miles in 29.12!! I PR’d by 49 seconds :] Super excited about that especially because I was not expecting it. This race did not seem super hard to me I think it is because I have been making sure I get my strength training in. I am still living on a high from this race. It was just a great all around race :]

Me and Courtenay from www.autopilotlegs.com before the race. Thanks for the pictures, Courtenay. One of these days I will remember to bring my camera!

So I still not have gotten the pictures but I am sick of waiting to write this so here it goes….

All year. This race has been on my radar all year. It was my one big goal and to be honest I never thought I would finish a half marathon. But I did :]

We got up pretty early to head down into St. Paul. I always like to have extra time before a race and I often have too much time. This race we had an hour to spare. Which was nice because I was able to use the porta potties without a line. Because they got busy fast. I was also able to meet my running buddy Courtenay from http://autopilotlegs.wordpress.com/ and her friend before the race.

I was so busy enjoying the moment that I did not get adequate time to stretch like I am accustomed to. But I made it work. I need to work on that for races. 

This was a full, sold out race. I brought my iPod with me. I actually spent a lot of time working on the playlist. When the race started there was so much to see and hear that I did not want to turn it on. Not to mention there was live music every mile. That helped.

So off I went. I decided to stick to my ratios of 3 to 1. It worked pretty well. I am sure some people were annoyed by me because I would pass them and then I would walk and they would pass me but I am sure they got over it :]

The first bit of live music was not until around mile 1.5. The music and crowd support were so great. I actually got choked up. I was accomplishing something I never thought possible. This was not something I was never supposed to be able to do. I pulled myself together and kept on going :]

I really enjoyed just people watching during this race. They were so many neat costumes to look at. I do not know why but I just do not like to fuel when I am running. So I just keep putting it off. I had planned to fuel at around mile 5 but I put if off to mile 6. I had a Gu Strawberry Banana to be exact. It made me sick and I had to really struggle to keep it down but thanks to my had held water bottle I did. I took a Chocolate one around mile 11 with the same issues. I think I might stick with the Shot Blocks I have never had trouble keeping those down. 

This race also had a 10 miler. They ran with the half marathoners. I think it was kinda cruel because we could see them cross the finish line and watch the shuttles drive them to our finish line. I was wishing so bad too just finish with them. But I kept on going.

This was supposed to be “down hill” which it seemed to be for the most part until mile 11. There was a major uphill that did me in. I could no longer run my 3 to 1 ratios. It slowed down to 2 to 1 for the rest of the race and whatever I could muster out. This really bummed me out because I could just see my average pace slowing down. At this point I was hurting, my thighs mostly. I was not about to stop so I kept on chugging along.

I eventually made it to the glorious finish line! I was so happy to receive my precious my medal. My official time was 2.16:11. According to my Garmin I ran 13.26 miles in 2.16:12. I like those numbers a lot better. I had to do a lot of weaving for this race.

I was so close to beating all three of my goals but I just could not do it. I am sorta a bummed that I did not push myself that much more. But just something for me to beat at my next one!

There is already a plan of Eau Claire Half Marathon in the beginning of May. I am super excited for it already :]