My 1st Half-Marathon "Race Report"

LV Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 2011
Las Vegas Blvd "The Strip"
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Start Time: 5:30pm

To say I was nervous for my race is an understatement. On Saturday night before my race, I woke up around 1:00am and could not go back to sleep until close to 5:00am. I was a mess pretty much all day, it was a blessing and a curse that the race started so late. I had all day to prepare and I had all day to be nervous.

I had most of my stuff ready to go the day before, I just had some final preparations the day of. I took about an hour nap after I showered and I left the house at 2:45pm to pick up my sister Megan at 3:00pm. I wasn't sure where we would have to park if my plan to park at the Mandalay Bay was foiled, so I wanted to have plenty of time.

As it turned out, I took the back entrance to the Mandalay Bay and we got right in, parked on the 6th floor, the roof and were inside by 3:45. We immediately got situated with 10's of thousands of our closest friends in a convention center area of the Mandalay. We had plenty of time to sit and relax, stretch, check-in on FB, use the restroom, etc. I ate my last granola bar at around 4:00pm and I stopped drinking water around then too. I still used the restroom 5 times before the start of the race though, nervous pee-er, I guess. :o)

We headed over to bag check just before 5:00pm, which thankfully was inside so we didn't have to head out into the cold too early. We pulled out the last of the gear we'd need to run and checked the rest, then headed outside. It was chilly. It wasn't too bad when we mingled in with the crowd, but it was in the 40s and it was chilly. We stopped at a Port-A-Potty to get the last of the nervous pee out, and heard the gun go off signaling the start of the race while we in line. Since we were in corral 34 though, we weren't too nervous about not being there, but wanted to head over as soon as possible.

We found our corral, stretched a bit, took a few pre-race photo's and tried to focus. Honestly, at this point, moving up ever so slowly towards to start line, I was hardly nervous at all. Mostly excited and only slightly anxious. As we got closer and closer I could see that the "wave start" had long since been forgotten and every one was just running as soon as they crossed the starting line. Megan and I squeezed hands one last time and we were off.

I felt like I took off like a bullet and I actually remember putting my arms out straight down by my side, taking a deep breath, and telling myself to slow down. I did NOT want a repeat of my 5K in March, wherein I ran so fast I had to physically walk to catch my breath.

My 2 goals for the race, albeit not lofty at all, were:
1: finish in under the time limit of 4 hours
2: not walk AT ALL

Pretty low expectations make for a non-stressful race. And even then, I was nervous at accomplishing both. :)

I found myself getting caught up in the middle of the "walkers" which was mildly annoying because they were impeding my running flow. I moved more to the left so I could get into more of a groove with the "runners" and I found that to also be annoying because every one of them was passing me and I was getting discouraged. I ended up settling into a nice pace somewhere in the middle, closer to the walkers side, having to dodge a few walkers here and there. Oh, and trying not to get discouraged when some of the said "walkers" were passing ME. Show offs.

Of course (of course!) I forgot to press the button on my watch when I crossed the start line, and finally remembered after 1 to 2 minutes had passed. This wasn't too detrimental, mostly just frustrating. As I passed mile 1, I was astonished to see that I was running at a pretty good pace and instead of getting scared and mentally slowing down I found myself trying to keep that same exact pace for miles 2, 3, 4, etc.

At one point, a PACE RUNNER passed me and the sign said 4:10. I freaked out, and almost stopped running. My number 1 goal was to finish in under the 4 hour time limit and this guy just passed me with a 4:10 sign, so there was no way I would finish. I am surprised I didn't turn around. In my head, I knew I had something wrong because my watch was clearly telling me I was running 15 minute miles and the would put me WAY closer to finishing at 3 hours, rather than 4 hours. Eventually, I realized that the 4:10 was from the START of the race, like if I had crossed the pad at 5:30 when in reality I didn't start until closer to 6:15. I at least wasn't going to get kicked off the course for finishing after the cut off. :) ***this just in*** It was probably a MARATHON pacer that passed me, since they had joined the course at that point.

The adrenaline of knowing I was blowing my time out of the water kept me going. That, and the thought of my husband getting my text updates of my splits, and knowing that I was blowing my time out of the water.

As you can see from the chart below, I did slow down some (which is very frustrating to me) but overall I can not be disappointed in my times.

Distance (split)  - Total Time - Overall Pace - Split Pace

                       - HH:MM:SS -  MM:SS.S   - MM:SS.S

3.1   (3.1 miles) - 00:47:21 - 15:16.5 - 15:16.5

6.2   (3.1 miles) - 01:34:05 - 15:10.5 - 15:04.5

10    (3.8 miles) - 02:30:48 - 15:04.8 - 14:55.5

13.1 (3.1 miles) - 03:18:34 - 15:09.5 - 15:24.5

Every single training run I did towards the end had me running 16, 17, even 18 minute miles. SLOW huh! I mentally freaked myself out on my long runs and kept a really slow pace so I wouldn't tire out. Something about the race made me go all out, keep an even pace the entire time, and not worry so much about injury, or even being able to walk the next day.

I also think seeing every single mile marker pass by me, and knowing exactly how far I'd gone, helped. I run better when I know where I am and how far I have left. I doubt myself big time, otherwise. 

Believe it or not, the race itself went by really fast! It was all a blur really and even though I was running for 3 hours and 18 minutes without stopping it felt like 15 minutes. I could not believe it when I was half way done. I could hardly believe it when I got to the 8 mile marker. I actually counted to 5 on my fingers and realized that I was running 5 miles 2 days a week on a regular basis, and that was all I had left. I was on top of the world at that point!

I saw my sister up ahead between miles 10 and 11, and as I finally caught her I put my hand on her should and she looked back and smiled. We ended up running the last 2-3 miles together and and man were they tough. I definitely hit a wall. There's no telling if I would have hit the wall if I'd been alone, I did have a pretty amazing pace going. But the farthest I'd ever run in my training in my life was 11 miles. My knees hurt, my legs hurt, my arms hurt. I hurt. I knew I was close to the end, but I needed to just get there already. As my stats tell, the last 3 miles were definitely my slowest, but that's just something to improve for next time. 

My sister pulled ahead in the last 10 seconds and sadly I could not muster up the energy to sprint like I usually like to do for my finishes. I took my headphones off in the homestretch so I could listen for Evan cheering me on. Thankfully, I saw him, and my not-asleep-like-she-should-have-been daughter. I swelled up with emotion the moment I saw them both, and even thinking about my husbands huge smile and loud cheers in this very moment makes me emotional, all over again. I got tears in my eyes as I ran past them, so thankful that I was able to see them and they were able to see me. 

There was about 100 feet  to the finish line and I gave it all I had. I crossed the pad and immediately started looking for my sister.  I saw her up ahead, she had finished about 20 seconds before me, and reached out to hug her. I lost it. Shoulders shaking crying ensued and I could not believe we finished. We ran a 1/2 marathon. And survived.

We made our way through the crowds, got a bottle of water, smiled for a post race photo-op. Could hardly walk or move or breath without cringing in pain but every ounce of pain was worth it. I could not wait to see my husband and to see what I had a feeling would be an amazing time, for me anyway!

We found them (Evan, Brianna, mom) waiting at the letter "M" and they were all 3 smiling and waving. Big hugs, kisses, and a few more tears before we started limping our way to the exit. I could not believe it was close to 10:00 at night and our daughter, who is usually asleep in her bed by 8:15, was still awake, but I'm also glad that I got to see her smiling face. 

My sister and I said goodbye to the three of them so they could get B packed up in the car, and Evan could get her home. Megan and I had to get our stuff from gear check, hobble to the car, and eat some post-race celebratory grub. We were going to go to Hash House again, like she did with Evan after their race last year, but opted for some good ol' In-N-Out instead. I was feeling a little queasy but it ended up hitting the spot.

I was definitely sore through Tuesday, with the worst of my pain being withing 1 minute to 24 hours after the finish. But things started looking up around Wednesday. I'm still on cloud 9 over my time and I don't know how or why it happened but I'll take it. 

Until next time, when I try to beat 3 hours. :) 

Injured?

With my race being a little over 6 weeks away, I'm getting very excited and only somewhat nervous. The nervousness comes from it being a night race and what in the world am I going to eat all day to give my body fuel but not to give my sides cramps. I do ALL of my long runs very early on Sunday mornings, and even my bi-weekly 5 mile runs are in the morning after my daughter and I are up and around, I push her in the jogging stroller.

So, this past week called for 9 miles. I mapped it out beforehand, prepared my things, and set out. I was excited! I felt great almost the whole entire time, until between mile 5 and 6. My right shin started throbbing. Which was very weird to me because I haven't had shin splints since I very first started getting in shape almost 3 years ago. My initial reaction was that I don't want to injure it and not be able to run my race so i called my husband immediately on speaker, while still running.

He said I could keep running and I should be fine. It was most likely shin splints and I was not going to do any permanent damage if I kept running. So I kept at it, albeit a bit slower.

A little later and I was coming up on mile 7 when I felt a tear running my cheek. I was crying from the pain and didn't even realize it! I stopped to walk and called my husband, of course when he answered I started really crying. Frustrated from the pain, and scared from the pain. He immediately heard my shaky voice said "where are you? we're coming to pick you up." I told him where I was which just happened to be the 7 mile marker exactly. I ended up jogging down the road a bit because I didn't feel like standing there on the corner (heh) and considering he had to scoop up our daughter and get her in the car-seat he was there pretty quick.

As soon as I saw the car, I started bawling. I don't know if it was from the sheer pain or from the fact that I was terrified this was going to affect not only my race but also 6 months of training for it.

I limped inside, put ice on it immediately, took 2 Tylenol, and sat with it elevated for a while. Then I headed to shower after my run and ended up soaking in a hot Epsom salt bath for a good 20 minutes first.

My husband said it could be 2 things: shin splints or a stress fracture. Both required resting my leg and taking it easy. I'm sure we both said a prayer that it wasn't a stress fracture (bye bye Half Marathon) and decided that I would take it easy this week and only try to run 1 or 2 miles this upcoming Sunday, instead of my called for 9 miles.

His theory is I've been slowly increasing my long miles every single week and I'm not always able to fit in my weekly 5 miles. At best I can do 1 of them. With an almost 17 month old and her Gymboree classes, play-dates, and temperament, they just don't always work out. It also doesn't help that I've gained about 10 pounds since my lowest weight in my journey so I'm sure the extra weight doesn't help. But that's a whole 'nother blog post for a different day. I'm back on track now and have only gained about 6 at this point.

So, I'm not running this week. I'm taking it easy, and am conscious of it when I'm down in the floor playing with my daughter. Please send good thoughts that it's a shin splint and that I will be back to normal after a week or so. I cannot afford to lose ground in my training with my race being this close and I cannot afford for it to be a race stopper.

My long run yet... :o)

I don't think I've posted my actual training schedule on here yet, but the gist of it is:

Monday: Stretch/Strength
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: Strength Training (used to be 2-3 miles, but I recently changed from running 4x/week to 3x/week)
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Cross Training or Rest
Sunday: Long run

I obviously worked up to 5 miles on my Tuesday and Wednesday runs and my long runs started out at 1 mile and increased .5 at a time for a few weeks, then increased 1 mile at a time every other week.

This past week called for 8 miles, but unfortunately I hadn't run 7 miles yet. I had a 9.11K two weekends ago and last weekend we were camping and I was NOT running in the mountains.

So, I set out with the goal of running 7 miles (longest run yet, of course) but about 5 minutes into my run I realized I'd made a wrong turn right away. I quickly started making some mental calculations in my head and decided that my run could still be salvaged. If I had gone the way I was supposed to go it would have added about a mile on to my run so to compensate I figured I could run about a mile further than I was originally going to. Give or take a little.

Oh, and something different on this run... I used my camelback for the 1st time. I knew that as I got up there in miles that I would need to start using it, I always figured I'd start around the halfway mark (6-7 miles). It was a little awkward at first, and I felt like a complete and total DORK before I left the house but after I started running I noticed it less and less. And let me tell you... WOW! I think it make a huge difference in my energy level. I always try to drink about 32 ounces of water before I run but I have never drank anything during my runs even though it's usually pretty hot out. But taking a sip of water every so often definitely kept me hydrated and gave me amazing energy during my entire run.

I will definitely be using my camelback from now on though because this past weekend was the best run of my life! And I ran 7.5 miles! My knees started getting sore towards the end but nothing I couldn't push out of my mind. At one point I even forgot where I was, I was so caught up in my steady pace and my music that I literally started daydreaming for a bit.

My only goal in training and running has been to not walk. I run at a pace, slow enough for me to be able to run the entire thing. I am not overly concerned with time as long as I finish and don't walk at all. So far so good!

I am still on cloud 9 from my run. And the best part? I KNOW I can run 8 miles this upcoming Sunday, since I just ran 7.5 and felt great! And and even better part?? I only have a measly 5 more miles to go on top of that to reach 13 miles and I run 5 miles twice a week as it is!!

I am getting super excited for my half marathon in December!!!

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

I decided to run in my first half marathon.

I commited by paying my entrance fee and starting my training schedule.

Up until today I did not know if I would succeed.

I will.

I jumped over some sort of mental hurdle today during my run. Again (much like last week) I was dreading my long Sunday run and doubting myself before I even laced up my shoes.

On the agenda: 3.5 miles

For the record, 3.5 miles is the furthest distance I've ever ran in my life. 30 and 1/2 years on the earth and I've never ran that far at one time. I played basketball, and softball, and tennis in HS. I've had a gym membership since I was 15. I've worked out off and on for over half of my life but my furthest run to date was 3.1 miles.

Any run from here on out will be "my furthest run yet". I promise, I'll try to not post a blog about it every week but it will be hard not to. :)

Succeed. I ran 3.5 miles today and I felt great. I felt like I could keep running. I all-out sprinted the last 1/4 mile. I realized today that I can and will run 13.1 miles at my half marathon in December. I'm pretty confident about it too, and dare I say... excited?

3 miles?

Check!

I have been nervous about my run today for a while now...

- I went out of town for a week and didn't run for almost 2 weeks
- I ran 1 mile, post vacation and it was hard
- The furthest I've run in training for my half so far was 2.5 miles
- I haven't run 3 miles since back in March when I was training for my 5K

All of those things add up to a lot of doubt and nervousness about my 3 mile run on my agenda today.

I decided to run at the gym because although I was up and ready to run at 8am, it was almost 90 degrees out. Our gym has an indoor track that is 5 1/2 laps per mile so running too far can get tiresome, but since I'm still low on my mileage requirements I didn't think it would be too bad to run 16 1/2 laps.

I walked 1 1/2 laps for my warm-up then I got to work. Overall, it was kind of relaxing. It's the furthest I've ever ran on the gym track and it wasn't as bad as I expected. I had to constantly focus on what lap I was on though, so that was interesting.

When I pass my mark I repeat in my head 1, 1, 1, 1.... if I'm on the 1st lap, or 7, 7, 7, 7.... etc. I did not keep time today so I'm not sure how fast slow I ran 3 miles but I ran the whole thing.

I got a side stitch at one point, but I ran through it with no problem. Overall I felt great! I have felt high on life ever since I left the gym!

The moral of the story: don't doubt yourself, surprise yourself!

It's official...

I'm a real runner. Sure, I'm in my 3rd week if training for a half marathon (more on that SOON!) but for the first time in my life I have real running shoes.

I went to Red Rock Running company for the works. Running barefoot on a treadmill, analyzing the video with the expert, coming to the conclusion that I'm "neutral", getting fitted in about 8 different shoes, running in all of them in the parking lot, and finally deciding that these babies will carry me through 6 months of training plus over the finish line in December.

My shoes...

5K - Part 2

Disclaimer: my husband has informed me that this post "is a little depressing and overly-critical" read at your own risk. :)

After my training run the weekend before the race, my confidence was through the roof. I had no idea if I'd be able to run 3.1 miles and I proved to myself that I certainly could and in under my goal time. I built myself up and was shooting for an even faster goal time on the actual race day because then I'd also have the adrenaline of every one around me too.

Here are the time goals that I had for myself:

I just want to finish, period, time: 45 minutes

I am pretty sure I can do this time: 40 minutes

My sister's first 5K time: 35 minutes

My super sonic time: 30 minutes

Finally, race day comes. I woke up at 4:00am to shower and get ready. I had to wake my baby up at 5:15am, to nurse her and get her ready. We left the house around 6:00am because we had about an hour drive to get to Boulder City to be ready for the race at 8:00am. 

The plan was: I would nurse B before we left, and then again right when we got there in the car. That way she would be good until I could feed her again after my race where we planned to go out to breakfast to celebrate. Evan would carry her in the baby bjorn and walk with me down to the starting line, which was about a 1/2 mile away from the parking lot.

We made our way over and I stretched and used the restroom. There were over 400 people running in the 5K and over 600 people running in the 1/2 Marathon... so as you can imagine there were quite a few people there. The energy was intense and I was getting pretty excited.

My sister was running in the 5K, too and as it was, this was her and my husband's first race, LAST YEAR. This year, I specifically told her not to run with me. I know she's a lot fast than me and I didn't want to hold her back. Plus, more people to cheer for me at the finish line! :o)

The 1/2 Marathoners started and we made our way to the middle of the group. I was feeling really good and could hardly believe I was finally here and I was about to start running. My sister got lost in the crowd a little ahead of me so I was alone. I looked around and smiled to myself and turned on my ipod. The first song on my playlist was specifically "Proud" and this song has sort of become my theme song over the years (it was the theme song for the TV show Biggest Loser, which I've watched religiously for years). 

Que: tears. 

We had shoe tags so I walked until just before the sensor, then I was off. The sun was shining, my theme song was blaring, I'd come such a long way and here I was, running in my first 5K. 

I started off strong. No matter what my time was, all I knew was that I did NOT want to walk at all. Honestly, I was fine with a finish time of 60 minutes as long as I didn't walk.

Someone should have made me listen to everyone who told me to eat first if that was my goal.

You see... during all of my training runs I figured out that no eating/drinking = no cramps and eating/drinking anything = cramps. Forget the fact that all those times I would get up at 7 or 8am and run immediately after nursing B. I didn't take into account the fact that I was getting up at 4am and not running until 8am. FAIL.

So, the fact that I'd had no food and no water and I'd been awake for 4 hours contributed to the fact that... you guessed it... I walked some. 

Also, I remember my husband telling me that if I get tired I should run slower. For some reason my body would not allow me to run slower no matter how hard I tried. FAIL.

The only goal that I had set for myself during the race that I actually achieved was not letting my sister see me walk. I didn't want her to see me walking so I ran and ran and ran until she had reached the turn around point and was headed back and passed me. I waited about 1 more minute then walked for the first time. 

After that very first time, it was all downhill (and not literally) from there. I ended up walking about 4 or 5 times total and I had lost all motivation and I was really hating life and myself for most of the race after that. I wasn't feeling the race anymore and I'd lost my confidence along the way. I was sure that I'd finish in around 60 minutes because it seemed to be taking forever. Every time I would think that I was getting close, I would catch a glimpse of the finish line waaaaaaay off in the distance.

I kept at it, willing myself to just finish already. As I got closer to the finish line I knew I would sprint for the finish. With about 100 yards to go I mustered every single ounce of energy I'd every known and I sprinted until my heart felt like it would burst. My legs were moving faster than I'd ever known them to move (even my husband said he has NEVER seen me run that fast). I heard the announced say "WOW!" I just wanted to finish strong and get even a tiny bit of my dignity back. I heard my friends and family cheering and yelling my name and I ran across the finish line.

Official Time: 42:03

In the end, I'm just glad it was under 60 minutes. But what was inconceivable to me was how in the world I finished almost exactly 1 minute slower than my training run the week before, but this time I walked some and the week before I ran the entire way?

My husband and I figured out that I must have been running faster during the race than during my training run - which tired me out quicker - and that each time I walked actually helped me recover some energy in between the times that I ran.

So, there you have it. I finished my race. I walked when I told myself I didn't want to. I finished in under my goal time of 45 minutes. I didn't die. Success.

5K - Part I

I have officially completed my first 5K, and while I may not be one of the few to run one or anything like that, not everyone can say they've ran in one. Also, coming from a non-runner such at myself this is a monumental event. I still can't say I enjoy running but I do enjoy the fact that I ran in a 5K, does that make sense?


So, on with the show. I ran my 5K. Although I felt better and ran faster on my training run the weekend before I finished it, and I even survived it. I had a very condensed training program where I double up on training days and barely squeezed 12 weeks into 9 weeks. I was getting a little concerned that while I may be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping but could I run 3.1 miles without stopping? The C25K program stupidly surprisingly figures that if you can run for 30 minutes without stopping then you will cover 3.1 miles. Not true my friends. Not true.


So, I mapped out 3.1 miles, I plugged in my iPod since I'd been using my phone with the C25K app on it, laced up my running shoes, and took off. My goal was to finish my training run in under 45 minutes and to not walk AT ALL. My husband a seasoned runner gave me the advice of "if you feel tired and like you need to walk, you can always just slow down". 


I was almost to the halfway point before I officially slowed down. I still felt pretty good the whole way really. The sun was shining, the weather was ideal. I had no side cramps and my knees weren't hurting. Over the course of 3 months I found that I had a pretty even mix of physical and mental barriers to push through during my runs but on this day I felt awesome. 


As I rounded the corner to my final stretch of pavement I really turned on the gas and powered through to the end. I got to the end, looked at my time and saw I finished in 41 minutes! Mostly though I didn't walk one single time. As I walked towards my house on my cool down, you probably could have seen my smile from space. I was ecstatic and very proud of myself. I *may* have teared up a bit thinking about how far I'd come. I got home and hurriedly shared the news of my run with my husband and he gave me a huge hug and told me how proud of me he was and I started really crying then. Happy tears, but tears.


I had done it. I had ran 3.1 miles and without stopping once to boot. I was certainly ready to run my real 5K the following Saturday. Or was I?

I ran 2 miles!

Just a quick post to update you on my 5K training. I have signed up for a 5K in December and I fully intend to run (and finish) the whole thing! I have been running 1 mile for a little over a month now and this past weekend I decided to see if I would be able to run 2 miles.

Well, my sister tells me it wasn't pretty but I did it! I ran 2 miles in exactly 30 minutes, which puts me at a 15 minute mile, which means I was running 4.0 mph. Not very fast in the least bit, but I told myself that my goal is to increase my distance first then work on my speed later.

It was surprisingly easy, I wonder if I could have ran further? My sister says my face was bright red and my hair was CrAzY, also my shoe came untied in the last 1/4 lap... not pretty is right! But I didn't care, at that point I was on top of the world!

3 miles... here I come!

C25K

C25K = Couch to 5K

You may have heard of this program and if not, it's pretty self-explanatory. The C25K program gets your average couch potato up and running a 5K in 9 weeks time. So you can finally put the remote down, get off the couch, change out of your pj's, and GET RUNNING!

This promo comes from a non-runner... ME! I am not good at running and I do not pretend to be good at it, nor do I pretend to like it. I have had asthma since I was 2 years old and my lungs shut down at the very thought of running a 5K. Even in the good old days, I was captain of my Women's Varsity Tennis team, and at every practice we were required to run 10 laps around 8 (8!!!) tennis courts. I was usually out in front, cheering on the other girls, but even then, I loathed every second of it.

Why on earth am I promoting a program that will enable me to run a 5K then, you ask? Actually, I don't know. HA

No, in all seriousness, I WISH I was a better runner. No I don't want the missing toenails, the bad knees, and the shin splints, but I want to be able to accomplish 3 things in my life. 1. run a 5K 2. run a half marathon 3. run a full marathon. After those 3 accomplishments come to fruition I will say goodbye to my running days, I just want to be able to at least say hello first.

I downloaded the C25K podcast for free at:
http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/page4/page4.html

Basically, you slowly move up week by week from mostly walking/a little running, mostly walking/a little more running, the same amount of walking/the same amount of running, to no walking/only running! It suggests that you run 3 days a week with a day of rest in between. Week 1 starts off with 90 seconds of walking and 60 seconds of running, you do this 8 times, you also have a warm up and cool down period. After you have completed this 3 times, then you can move on to week 2! The weeks gradually increase your running time until you are running a 5K without stopping. WOOHOO!

I started day 1 of week 1 yesterday and I felt great! I ran on the treadmill at my gym and the 30 minutes was up in no time. The podcast is nice too because the music is great and the tempo seems to be coordinated with whether or not you are walking or running.

I will hopefully keep you posted on my progress as the weeks pass by. Anyone up for a 5K in 10 weeks?