Heels and Hills 1/2 Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Irving, Texas
United States
Heels and Hills
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 38m 24s
Overall Rank = 10/426
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/52
Pre-race routine:

Got to Irving at about 1500 on Saturday, got my room which wasn't far from the site at all (5 mins) and picked up my packet. That night before I met up with a high school friend of mine who lives in Denton. We met in the middle for dinner and that was enjoyable. It took me longer than I wanted to get back to the hotel--woops, didn't pay close enough attention to my map! :) Once I got back I made my new race playlist for my Shuffle as they were allowed on this one. I don't typically race with my iPod, but I knew the cheering/support would be minimal for this one so I thought it'd be a good distractor...to bed by 1000.
Woke up at 0530 and had breakfast--I had brought two small quarters of my waffles I make and a little bit of peanut butter and cherry/blueberry perseves. Decided I would wear my Team ZootGu tri top and shorts for the race with my Nathan Speedbelt with two bottles of GU2O and my number attached to the speedbelt. Different from my usual Cliff Bar, but better I think. Hydrated a little, used The Stick to massage out my quads again--still slightly sore (shouldn't have done some squats 2 days prior), and headed to the race site. Picked up my chip and waited around for the start.
Event warmup:

I ran about a 1/3 of a mile 20 minutes or so before the race after hitting the porta-potties my typical two times. 30 minutes before race start I took an Espresso Love GU--and I this will be a staple to all racing now--I love that stuff. Then I just chit chatted with some of the other runners before we got started!
Run
  • 1h 38m 24s
  • 13.22 miles
  • 07m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

At first I was afraid the run might be slightly un-organized as far as road blocks, etc. because we couldn't figure out the exact start point...but that was the only issue and quickly fixed. This wasn't a huge crowd of runners as there were several 5K and 1 mile runners too. Primarily a women's race, there were some men out there. I truly hadn't done but a couple of 10 milers since the Austin Marathon, but had done speed work and lots of biking and swimming, so my fitness was still there. I was hoping to pull a 7:45 pace on this and would've been happy with it. I ran a 7:37 pace on the Houston Half back in January and didn't think I'd beat that especially since this was a more hilly course compared flat Houston. Anyhow, I lined up at the front and took off with the gun and really tried within the first 5K not to go out too fast. Several ladies were in front of me, but after the first 5K I started pulling past some of them. For about 3 miles I was neck and neck with a lady in a Run-On singlet that just looked like a runner...I had tried to keep up with her earlier, but the phrase (thanks Marcy) "Don't eat the paste" kept going through my head and I didn't let the pace get fast for me. Before the 1/2 way point though I passed her and between miles 5-9 really felt great and in a good groove and realized I was keeping my pace below my 7:37 from Houston. I was feeling really good and so I planned to keep pushing it. As usual, I started taking a sip of my GU2O at every mile from 2 mile forward, and I took a GU at 4 and 8. I grabbed water at two aid stations--and am glad I had my speedbelt with GU2O becuase there weren't many aide stations. I am not good at running with a cup and drinking, so I just get a little water on a couple of them. I got a slight side stitch between 9-10, but it wasn't too bad. Throughout the course I really tried to focus on quick turnover, especially going down the hills. Once I hit the last 2 miles I thought "It's just an APFT, that's it" and "have nothing left when you're done." So, I started pushing it out, and you can tell by my times--I had been pretty consistent with my avg. pace between 1-11 and then sped it up those last 2.22 miles. I knew from the start I was in the FOP, there were two (I think) really speedy girls way out front that I would never see, and then there were 3 other women that had passed me and/or stayed in front of me from the start. I passed those 3 other women in the last 2 miles, but then Frances (Run-On singlet, I found her name later on, and she was 46 and could run--every time we passed each other we said good job--she had a killer last mile) passed me again and I wanted to stay with her but just couldn't. Once I finally got the last bit I had a little left to pick up the stride some, but I really did better this run in having less in the tank come the last chute stretch. My Garmin, hit after crossing the line had it a 1:38:24 and 13.22 miles. We'll see what the official results have. I am very happy with my time, didn't expect to run it this fast, especially with the hills in it (not huge ones, but hills nonetheless). So, I'm glad to see that some speed work, cycling, and swimming has kept me where I want to be: able to race a 1/2 Marathon at any time. That is my goal--always be able to go run a hard 1/2 Mary. I am not sure how many women for sure finished ahead of me, but it was at least 4, I think, that I know of. Grabbed 2nd in the F25-29 AG...whoever was 1st must've been in the top two cause I think she ran a 1:32 something.
What would you do differently?:

No too much really, I may have held back slightly too much at the beginning as I thought I went out too far. So, besides actually dropping a few lbs I've been procrastinating on doing, I think this went really well.
Post race
Warm down:

Got my finishers medal, some water, two banana halves, and a 1/4 of a bagel and just walked around a bit, watched other finishers come in, congratulated Frances and some of the other top group of women finishers. A Major I had met at the West Point Founder's Day dinner saw me, said hello, and took a picture as he waited for his wife to come in; he invited me to check out a running club here in Killeen, so I might do that. Stretched out, grabbed another bottle of water. Then I got to meet Dave (dgillen) and his wife Sarah--Sarah had run the race. Dave found me and asked if I was Brittany from BT, and sure enough--so I did get to meet some BT'ers this weekend! He had cheered me on in the race and I wasn't sure who it was even though he seemed somewhat familiar, and wearing a 70.3 IM finisher hat...so, glad to have met up. Was talking to them when they started the awards for the 1/2 (runners were still coming in) and didn't realize it, but heard it in time to hear my 2nd in AG. Then dgillen took off for his 6 hour ride.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Shed a few lbs maybe? That's about it...maybe not do squats a couple of days prior? Maybe taper...but that wasn't the plan, I just wanted to go run a 1/2 cause I can...and my Type A personality says run as hard as you can, and today it was good for a PR.

Event comments:

Good small race--not huge, promotes women running, and you could tell there was some real heart put into this race. Only it's 2nd year of going--the route was good, limited cars, well coned off and signed, plenty of cops at every intersection. While the aid stations were few, they were put in good spots and had some really enthusiastic volunteers. No complaints...great race for someone in TX that isn't used to some hills, but wants to run some and push hard in it. Might be one that I'll do again dependent upon schedule. I enjoyed it, and the course was good.




Last updated: 2008-03-23 12:00 AM
Running
01:38:24 | 13.22 miles | 07m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/52
Overall: 0/426
Performance: Good
Mile 1: 7:27; 136 Mile 2: 7:26; 179 Mile 3: 7:43; 179 Mile 4: 7:29; 179 Mile 5: 7:28; 180 Mile 6: 7:24; 183 Mile 7: 7:26; 184 Mile 8: 7:26; 185 Mile 9: 7:32; 184 Mile 10: 7:40; 183 Mile 11: 7:26; 184 Mile 12: 7:15; 184 Mile 13: 7:14; 187 Last .22: 6:33; 189
Course: Course was a out and back loop with a multiple medium hills in it. The course starts and ends with a decent overpass hill. The course was more scenic of a run than it was a drive.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4