Back in March of 2016 I ran my
first half marathon - the Albany Snickers. Last year I trained again, hitting
50-60 mile weeks all except taper week but was too sick to run. This year two
weeks out I felt ready. I had built up with 6 weeks of 50-55 miles/week, which
included a long run, a track workout, and hill repeats, plus 3 easier runs. I had
a solid 15 mile run at 7:15 pace with Josh Grant out at Patrick & Erica’s
and it was getting close to taper time. The last week consisted of ~25%
reduction in mileage. Tuesday I did 10 400s’s (averaging 1:24’s) not pushing
the pace and I felt the speed in my legs. The rest of the week I tried to rest
up as much as I could, but the drop in mileage made me feel restless. While I
went through bouts of nervous tension and excitement those last two weeks, the
night before was probably the worst. I thought back to last year where I felt
good enough to pick up my number, but woke the next morning with fever and
exhaustion unable to leave the bed. I thought back to two years ago when I had a
string of good months of training and ran a PR of 1:26. Then I thought of this
year, when a back spasm put a damper on my December and January training. But
the few runs of 12-15 miles I had gotten since then, plus the solid repeats
ranging from 400s to 1000s not only prepared me physically, but gave me
confidence that I could run 6:30’s for a 1:25. My high school track coach
always had me set a time goal and a place goal. For big races I still like to
do this. I wanted to go at least in the 1:25’s. And I wanted to go for 1st.
The field the last several years varied so much. 1:26:22 won last year, 1:18:51
the year prior. So I knew the place goal could be fairly easy or simply out of
reach, but those were my goals.
The
morning of race day, I try and get up 2 hours before the start. This was a
practice that one of my college XC coaches engrained in me. Get up, have a
light carby breakfast, some caffeine, and allow the body to fully wake up.
Despite the early 7am start, the morning of Snickers was no different. I got
up, forced myself to eat banana & PB on toast, drink some pre-workout and head
to the start. Once parked, I did leg swings, a little 5-10 minute jog, and some
stretches to warm-up. Then I used the bathroom and headed to the start. It was
a cool clear morning which I appreciated! I positioned myself near the front;
soon we were off. Right away I picked out a female who looked far too
comfortable with the 6:14 we hit the first mile... She started talking to me,
asking what my goal was and I answered with as short a string of words as
possible. When she discovered I would not be a good talking companion she begun
chatting with the bicyclists riding alongside us. Over the course of the race
she would continue to hold conversation with anyone who was near. We took turns
in the female lead spot, I thought (foolishly) she would let me take the win
since she had informed me she was not racing...
At the half way point I started
feeling the 6:20 pace. The course was pretty flat, and the weather was cool, I
just wasn’t in shape to go that fast. I wanted to back off considerably. 6:40s
would still get me under 1:26, but I tried to run 6:30s. Another female came up
and passed me maybe around mile 8. I tried to reel her back in, but couldn’t go
any faster. Luckily, I still had another goal, so tried to keep my thoughts on
keeping my (slower) pace to finish under 1:26.
Despite
taking swallows of water and Gatorade at most aid stations, my stomach started
cramping up with 2.5 miles to go. I tried to keep my thoughts positive telling
myself I didn’t have far left and would regret not pushing it (despite the
feeling as if my whole body was burning). I didn’t look at my watch those last
miles, and when I came down the hill all I could see was the seconds in the 50s.
I remember hoping it was not 1:25 but rather 1:24. I remember getting close
enough and seeing 1:24 and being really happy that I hit my time goal (1:25:02)
despite being 3rd female!). Seven seconds per mile faster than my
best was a good improvement. Plus, I was pretty exhausted and knew I did my
best. 15th out of 574 is pretty good. I also have motivation for
next year, as the two ladies in front of me finished 13th (1:23:26)
and 14th (1:23:40).
A
little later on I tried to climb the hill and both my quads cramped up. I got
some fluids down. Then attempted to do a cool down to reduce soreness later on.
It ended up being about a 100m or 200m jog, followed by some stretching and a
collapse in Blake’s car. J
For this race they do 1, 2, and 3
overall. I got an awesome Albany tree canopy picture with engraved year and
place below, a bright red dri-fit pullover, and a $50 gift card to Wildside
running (which I can’t wait to put towards a new pair of shoes!).
I appreciated the aid stations,
people cheerng, motivational signs, all who were at the finish and everyone
who supports my crazy running lifestyle, thanks guys J special thanks to all GLCR
members and Blake J
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With Blake post-race! Sweat
in my eyes. When my cool
down failed I decided to take a selfie ;)
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