Race for the Halo - Run

Since it was a small race, I lined up toward the front. As they started counting down time to the start, my HR spiked from the 60's up over 110 without any physical exertion! The race started and everyone took off like bats out of hell....I kept it under control as I had a plan and figured I'd reel people in over the course of the race. Marc suggested that I could hold 7:30's for the race....I was skeptical, but I told him I'd try. I knew the first mile would be a bit fast with the tail wind, so I mostly went based on feel initially. About 3/4 of a mile in, you turn off the street and onto a somewhat narrow walking path....thankfully, I'd started reeling people in by this point and didn't have to do any crazy maneuvering on the narrow path. First mile clicked off at 7:14....I told myself not to worry and just keep the effort level where it was.

Shortly after the first mile, the course turns to a dirt/gravel path, which ends at a grassy section that loops around a body of water (it's not really a lake....slightly bigger than a puddle and there all the time, so I'll just call it a body of water). I never ran cross country, but I imagine this is the kind of terrain they run on....uneven, grassy section with some tree roots that try to trip you up and make it interesting. I wondered how many people would eat it on this section as I passed through the first time.

Coming out of there, I noted to myself that I was a quarter of the way done....and I was feeling pretty good (I mean, it hurt, but it felt manageable and like I would be able to hold on for the entire distance). Second mile clicked off at 7:24, which seemed about right. I was preparing myself for the third mile to be slow since part of it would be going into the headwind....and, unfortunately, did not find anyone running my pace to break the wind for me! In fact, about this time, I was passing a handful of people and saw the race photographer....got myself past the people and was hoping he'd get some decent shots of me out front :) The third mile clicked off at 7:18 and I was really surprised and pleased.

The race is a combined 5k/10k race, so as I was nearing the start/finish, I was making a mental note of how many people were heading back for a second loop. I was the first female and there were only a handful of guys ahead of me, so that was kind of cool. Also, I was in a really good place, mentally....I even thought to myself, "that was so much fun, I think I'll do it again!" I made it my goal to continue to try to reel in as many people as I could.

I noticed a guy in a yellow shirt a ways up in front of me. I wasn't sure if I could catch him, but I was going to try. As we got out to the walking path, I was making progress.....by the time we got to the dirt/gravel path, I was making even more progress....and by the time we got to the grassy loop at the end, I was feeling pretty confident that I was going to catch him. Back on the gravel path, I was closing the gap and told myself to put in a bit of a surge so he wouldn't latch on and sit on my heels. I was successful :)

Shortly after passing the guy in the yellow shirt, the hurt started to set in. But I knew I had less than 10 minutes to go and I could endure the pain for a little longer. The miles were clicking off a little slower on the second half, falling in the 7:25-7:28 range, but still sub-7:30. And I realized that a) I PR'ed my 5k as part of a 10k, and b) I had a chance to hold on for a 7:23 average, which is the same pace as my previous 5k PR (from April, 2016). So I dug deep and held on.

Unfortunately, the course was long. My Garmin clicked over to six miles and I was still a ways away from the finish line....then 6.2 miles (10k) clicked by and I still wasn't able to see the finish. Crossed the line at 6.54 miles, very pleased with my effort, but a little bummed to know that my official time is going to look "slow" in comparison to what I'd actually done. But whatever....couldn't bring me down after PR'ing my 10k at my old 5k PR pace :) :) :)

I always feel a little bad for the volunteers at the finish line....they want to be super helpful (give me a medal, offer me some food/water, congratulate me for finishing, etc.) but this is the point where all the pain catches up and my brain doesn't have the bandwidth to manage. I stood there, hunched over, trying to catch my breath for a few moments and then was finally able to thank the volunteers and accept their offerings :)


Nothing! While I expect that I'll continue to improve (hell, maybe one day I'll even say something like, "And I raced a half marathon at my old 10k PR pace!"), I'm very happy with how this race went. I kept myself in a good place mentally throughout, and I exceeded my expectations!

Went out for a 10 minute easy warm down run to flush the junk out of my legs, and then drank some water, ate two bananas and two cookies (yeah, yeah, I know!). I changed out of my wet clothes and kicked myself again for not bringing warmer clothes....but found some sun and an area to hide out from the wind a bit while waiting for race results



Headwind....and the normal "still working on my running" comment :)



This race is pretty good and I would certainly do it again, but I was disappointed that the course was so much longer than a 10k. It's not a certified course, so I can't be too picky....but they moved the start/finish in relation to where it's been the previous three years, and everyone said the course was quite a bit longer this year than in the past.

The timing company (not associated with the RD) also created some issues. I guess they forgot to sync the time on the start and finish mats, so they had to manually adjust times at the end. There were some errors and people were being given the wrong awards (even though I was the first female, they had me as second in my AG somehow). I think they got things all worked out in the end, but it took a lot longer to get results than normal....and it was chilly out!