Yesterday was a classic case of going out too fast. But let me rewind a bit.
Last Monday Katherine mentioned that she signed up for a 20.12k race, and would I be interested in running it too? I told her I'd think about it, so for two days I hemmed and hawed. As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to focus only on 10k races this year, and in doing so, I'd run faster long runs but with slightly shorter distances of between 8-10 miles.
A 20.12k translates to 12.5 miles, just 0.6 miles less than a half! Despite running the
Holiday Half well, I didn't feel mentally or physically ready to
race 12.5 miles. And since the race was in just a matter of days, it wasn't as though I could cram in some last-minute training. In the end, I decided
what the hell? It's just for fun, and it would be with someone I love running with. Furthermore, it would be my last race before I move up to the next age group, so I might as well go out with a bang. So with just three days before the race, I signed up.
Katherine picked me up in the morning, and at some point, I realized that this wouldn't be just a fun run, she was set out to actually race. Without getting into the details of her running, let me just say that she's been training for a marathon. She's been logging several 14+ miles, not just to work her way up to a long run of 20 miles, but to be comfortable there. Plus, she's been getting stronger and faster everyday. She probably doesn't realize that she pushes me, and that it's only a (short) matter of time before she'll be too fast for me to keep up. So when she said that she wanted to run what would be the equivalent of breaking the two-hour mark for the half, I felt my adrenaline rise a bit. Given how I felt the last three miles of the Holiday Half, and given that I didn't break the two-hour mark, I had my doubts. But I had started off conservatively and was only a few minutes off, so I girued that with enough grit, I might just get there.
When we arrived at the race, I understood why Katherine only half-joked that I could place within my age group. The turnout was small with mostly members of ORRC (Oregon Road Runners Club). In fact, it was so small that the race wasn't even chip-timed. We were just a small group of runners standing in the middle of the road that could have arbitrarily chosen as the start. No sign, no pad, nothing. After the countdown, we were off. Katherine and I spent the first 6 miles doing our usual - running and chatting. We weren't familiar with the area, and we didn't know the route. If it weren't for the bibs, you probably would've thought we were just on one of our usual long runs.
Somewhere around mile 6 Katherine picked up the pace. She had a strategy that we both agreed she'd keep to herself, but I'm guessing it was something along the lines of progressive negative splits. We started to get into rolling hills, and she surged on each uphill. On one of the bigger uphills, I felt pukey, but fortunately, it went away quickly. But with each subsequent uphill, the feeling returned, and I started to kick myself for not slowing down in those earlier miles when Katherine was trying to keep our pace down. I eventually had to let her take off, as she was by now running an 8:45 pace and we were only at mile 7. I was able to hold on for a couple of more miles with Katherine just a few steps ahead of me. But by mile 9 I knew I wouldn't catch up, so I kept pace with a couple of other runners. I was currently running a 9-min race, and if I could hold on to that, I'd be happy.
At mile 10 my pace had slipped to 9:15, and it went downhill from there. I think it took me almost 10 minutes to get to mile 11, and I didn't even look at my watch when I hit mile 12. Right after mile 12, there was a considerable uphill. I knew I was near the end - I could hear the cowbells - but I was quickly losing steam. My legs were tired, and I just didn't want to take another step, let alone charge up a hill. Even the two runners I was keeping pace with had stopped to walk it, and I used that as permission to walk. They were able to run again shortly thereafter, but I needed to walk until I reached the top. My heart sank and the runners passing me didn't make it any easier, but when I got to the top, I felt a surge of energy. I wasn't sprinting, but I was running strong and noticeably faster. I even passed a few people who had just passed me! When I saw that the clock was at 1:54 and some change, I was determined to not let my time read 1:55 and some change. Again, I couldn't sprint, but I tried my damnedest to get to the finish as fast as I could.
I finished at 1:54:45, tired and happy to be done. But I wasn't in pain, and I didn't puke. I probably could have run another 0.6 miles, and if I had, I might have broken two hours! Considering I haven't run more than 8-10 miles on any of my training runs in the last 4 months, I'm pretty pleased. Imagine how well I could have done if I actually trained!
How did Katherine do? She blew away her benchmark goal and finished at 1:50. She probably would've finished the half in 1:54 or 1:55, well below two hours! I'm incredibly proud of her and how far she's come in such a short amount of time, so you can imagine how excited I was when I heard her name called for SECOND place in her age group! We were both caught by surprise, and I wish I had gotten her reaction on film! It was priceless; she wasn't expecting anything.
But then again, neither was I. I have to say the most amusing part about this whole race (in my opinion) is that I also came home with a ribbon. Despite my lack of training or race strategy and in spite of my general race performance in those last 4 miles, I placed fourth in my age group. That's right folks, I had my
Meet the Fockers moment, but as far as I know, there were more than 4 runners in my age group! And I'll take any racing ribbon I get because it might be the only one I'll ever "win"!
Miles: 12.5
Time: 1:54
A thirty-something running mama in Portland, OR, who finds sanity in lacing up her Nikes, enjoys the challenge that running and racing brings, but doesn't run very fast. I try to improve my speed with each race, and I share my efforts here.