St. Luke's Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

Of course it was a bit crowded and tight for the first mile or so of the race, then things settled out and people found their paces. The first part of the race starts downhill, and it's easy to get sucked in to going out too fast. I made sure I could still see our little pacer, but wasn't too worried about staying right on her heels in the crowd. It seemed she took the first handful of miles a bit faster than the 10:41 avg. she advertised, but that was OK with me.

It was a perfect day for running - cool, around 44 degrees, I think, but beautifully sunny with a light 5 mph or so breeze. I was glad to have ditched the other shirt, and eventually pushed my sleeves above my elbows. The miles ticked by easily and quickly, it was almost scary how quickly and easily. As we passed each band, I raised my hands and clapped in appreciation. They were very enjoyable and for sure added a little pep to my step! The first few bands were mainly rock or a close variant thereof.

Sometime around mile 3 we encountered the race leaders coming back the out and back. I watched the pace groups to know when to look for my friends. I saw Joel first, who gave me a "Go Mel!" He was ahead of Randy by just a few minutes, which surprised me a little. Randy's typically a go-for-broke, go-a-little crazy racer. Next I saw Lindsay and we both headed for the center line to exchange high fives, smiles, and cheers. Somehow I didn't see Laura, but then I wasn't quite sure when to look for her.

The miles kept clicking by. I still felt good. I periodically sipped at my Infinit and water. Around mile 4 I 'ate' some EFS gel and drank some water. We got to the dreaded 5.5 mile point when my breathing issues started last time. Nope, not happening today! Shortly after that, we took a turn off the parkway into the actual park and crushed stone trails. People bunched up a bit more here because the path narrows. I could still see the pacer up ahead a bit.

My favorite portion of the run was when we were right along the stream, it was so peaceful and pretty with the fresh bright green baby leaves forming on the trees and the darker green grasses, all interspersed by delicately flowering trees. We ran through the covered bridge and were greeted by a string quartet. More smiles. I looked at my watch, saw it read 1:30, and thought, Joel and Randy are done and Lindsay is soon done! At one point, a girl in front of me dropped a lip balm as she was stirring around in her waist pouch, so I scooped it up for her and carefully handed it off.

The terrain was rolling through the park. We went over another bridge and encountered the lounge singer in his tux! Oh, he made me laugh so hard the last time and equally hard this time! I sang a few bars of the song as he was finishing. Then he launched into his next song, starting off with, "This one is for all the ladies out there! Oh, how I love the ladies!" More chuckling from me. I 'ate' more EFS somewhere around mile 9-ish. I still felt pretty good. Was I really going to do this, have the race I've been waiting for? Was I really going to hit my goal time? Was I going to stay with the pacer the whole time? Doubt slipped away some, yet I dared not entirely believe it was so.

The last few miles of the park had some steeper climbs (nothing crazy, just steeper than we had been experiencing) and some slowed to a walk. Not me, I kept my feet moving quickly and fast-footed it up in little baby steps. Coming out of the park and back on the parkway, I saw Joel coming back to meet me as promised (if he felt up to it). He told me he beat Randy and Linds had a very good finish, too, and felt good.

While we were still in the park, I had moved up within 20-30 feet of the pacer and had stayed there. We maintained this distance through water stop around mile 11-12 when I passed her as she slowed for water. I had taken water at a few of the stops just to conserve my own supply, but I didn't stop at this one. I was in 'let's get this done!' mode. We picked up Randy just after the water stop, and both guys stayed with me through the last miles, encouraging me, gently reminding me about form, breathing, etc. It was a good distraction and motivation.

I think the pacer picked it up again in these last few miles to possibly make up for some time lost in the park, because I continued to stay with her but had some faster splits than recorded earlier. We passed Lindsay and her dad who were cheering me on, and we high-fived again. I may have started welling up a bit, realizing I was going to do this - I was going to meet my goal! The pacer saw Joel, Randy and I and asked what my goal was and Joel said to her, "You! You are her goal!" We and she laughed.

The boys kept with me, telling me it wasn't much farther. "Deep breaths, lengthen that stride" Randy kept talking to me. Joel reminded me that when I could hear the drummers I would be ready to make the turn to go up the hill to the staduim. It seemed to take an eternity to cover that last mile or so. Another lady behind us was also encouraging me along with the boys, so sweet. Finally I heard then saw the drummers. The boys made the turn with me. Randy told me to power walk the hill, then give it hell at the top. Joel said, "No way, she's running this thing!" which is what I was doing. I was afraid to walk, plus I hadn't walked at all (save a few steps at the water stop to grab a water), not even the uglier hills, so I wasn't going to walk now! I sneaked a look at my watch and realized I would come in solidly under 2:20 if I kept up the pace.

Joel and Randy peeled off as I neared the top. I hit the spongy by comparison track and picked up the pace, running as hard as I dared. I passed a few people. It was the longest .25(? less, probably) mile ever! The line was so close but so far! Some guy was side by side with me, but I let him go. No sense racing him, I didn't know when or where he started, and it really didn't matter. The pacer stopped just short of the finish line and looked back. She said something I didn't quite catch as I pushed hard to the finish. I crossed the line and threw my arms up in victory and elation and hit my watch. 2:18:52 (well, technically my watch read :53, :52 was my official time in the seconds). I did it, I really did it! I was on cloud nine!


No complaints! I think for the most part, I went fairly close to as fast as I should've for this race. Perhaps I could've gone a bit faster here or there, but I'm happy with my time.

I walked through the crowd to get my medal from a young girl. I was starting to feel like I was going to fall over or puke or something, or all of the above. I searched for water, found some, then bent over and leaned on a hurdle by the side of the track to recover. When I finally regained strength and breath, I walked, looking for my friends. I found Lindsay and her dad. I may have cried a bit while hugging Linds and her dad, but they were happy tears, proud tears. We got our bags from bag check, got some food, found the others, got some pics.

We went to the car, did a little clothing change, said goodbye to Randy, Joel and Laura. Next we headed to this awesome Mexican restaurant where I celebreated my accomplishment with a blood orange mimosa! :) Fresh guacamole made to order, warm tortilla chips, and sizzling hot enchiladas verdes rounded out the yum factor. Very cool place, and delicious food, we will be back!


Not that I'm dissatisfied with my results, but if I had to say something in response to this it would be: fear and lack of confidence in myself.


The course for this race is beautiful, and held at one of the prettiest times of the year, spring, when the flowering trees in the park are all in bloom and the other trees have bright green buds. Daffodils and other spring flowers are showing off their beauty, too. The route winds through parks, by gurgling creeks, through a covered bridge, and along some interesting sights. It's a mix of asphalt and crushed stone trails. For visual enjoyment I'd give this race a 5!