Inaugural Iron Girl Half Marathon

I want to start this recap by mentioning the 12 mile training run that took place 2 weeks before this race. It was probably the best run I’ve ever had. I felt fantastic the whole time and it was a huge confidence boost for this race.

I also want to talk about the expo. I talked to a triathlon team and gave them my info because…I need to complete a tri. The girl I talked to was promoting a tri in August. I could have the distance slightly wrong but it’s about 22 laps in a pool, 17 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run. Completely doable, especially since it’s not an open water swim. You raise $800, which isn’t too terrible and they train you and supply you with gear-including a tri suit. Now if only they would give me a bike, I’d be set.

Joan Benoit Samuelson also spoke at the expo. It was absolutely amazing. She told the best stories and just being with her was such a cool experience. She signed my race bib and I got a picture with her! I thought about her during the race (she finished 6^th…this is after tearing her MCL in January) and I saw her after the race too! I’m regretting not talking to her afterwards. Note to self: If I ever see an Olympian again-go talk to them.

"Christina, live your dreams" Okay Joanie!
(sorry I can't rotate this)

Now for the race. Saturday I woke up feeling pretty horrible. My throat was sore and I was extremely nauseous. I think this had been coming on all week but I had just been writing it off as allergies. I tried to stay positive but by the time I went to bed I was pretty worried. I spent the night tossing and turning and trying not to vomit. I woke up not feeling any better but there wasn’t any other choice but to run. I ended up having some trouble breathing and drinking but it was manageable.

John and I got to the race a little after 6:30 with a 7:00 start. I stood in line for the Port-o-JANE and realized that girls really do take forever in the bathroom. The line wasn’t very long but before I got to use the bathroom, they were singing the national anthem. I heard the start while I was in the plastic box. I waited a while to start because my Garmin was taking its time finding satellites and ended up starting literally almost last. Thank goodness for chip timing.

It took me about 3 miles to warm up. I didn’t feel as good as I did on my 12 miler but didn’t let any negative thoughts get in my head. The hills on this course were horrible. I’m not sure there was even one stretch of flat course at all. I knew there was an almost mile long monster of a hill around mile 6. It was way worse than what I was expecting.  It was so steep and never-ending. I considered walking because I thought I might be able to go faster that way but I kept “running.” I was so glad to be done with it because I knew the worst was over but the course continued to be hilly.

My knee started hurting around mile 8. I think it acted up because of the hills, which puts more strain on my quads. I hung in there but the pain got way worse and by mile 9 I was half looking for a medic tent. I saw John at mile 10 and considered telling him what was going on but there’s something about not saying things out loud that makes them less real. Also at mile 10, I teared up. I don’t know what it is about mile 10 but this has happened in all four halves that I’ve done. It doesn’t matter that I’m not thinking about anything emotional, it still happens.

Hurting

By mile 11 I was done giving into my knee and started my push to the finish. Finishing was a blur. I almost forgot to get my medal. I heard them announce my name and remember feeling pretty dazed waiting for someone to remove my timing chip. Then I saw John and showed him my Garmin. I had an official time of 2:06:55 (9:41min/mi). John freaked out because I was expecting something around a 2:08.

Splits:

Mile 1 – 9:50
Mile 2 – 9:53
Mile 3 – 9:16
Mile 4 – 9:52
Mile 5 – 9:31
Mile 6 – 9:18
Mile 7 – 10:25 (Hill from hell)
Mile 8 – 9:42
Mile 9 – 10:18 (beginning of knee pain)
Mile 10 – 10: 13
Mile 11 – 10:02
Mile 12 – 9:48
Mile 13+ - 8:32



Stylin'

I’m not completely happy with that. I would’ve liked to see more even splits but they completely reflect what was going on in the race.

Overall this race was fantastic. The course was really tough but I kind of like that. I didn’t find myself needing extra aid stations, although if it had been warmer I might have. In many areas they had a very small section of road blocked off for us. Traffic was still allowed on the road. This was slightly annoying when trying to pass people but luckily traffic was light and it wasn’t a big deal to run on the road a bit to pass. There wasn’t a lot of crowd support seeing how it was a small race. I thought this might make things more difficult but I guess I’ve gotten used to running alone so I had no trouble zoning out and just running. Another thing I thought I wouldn’t like was running with all women, but it was actually awesome. I really can’t explain why. And how appropriate to have Joan Benoit Samuelson run an all women’s race?? AND post race was awesome. All finishers were given a bracelet with a charm that had the event and date on it. Also, Wegman’s had a tent with tons of food (yogurt, bagels, Larabars, fruit, etc). They gave you a grocery bag and you pretty much got to fill it. I didn’t get a whole lot but some people had pretty full bags. Muscle milk was there as well as a massage tent. I thought it was pretty good for a small race.

Also, an announcer announced every person as they finished. Some people had accompanying stories like “one year cancer survivor” or “had a total hip replacement one year ago.” That kind of stuff gets me every time. I’m going to go off on a tangent here, you know, because this recap isn’t long enough yet. I know some people who run who are huge braggers about it almost to the point of being snobby. They are extremely full of themselves and don’t know how to give credit to anyone else. It really irritates me because there are people like the two I mentioned above who are so much more amazing and inspiring. A lady I know from Hawaii is pretty overweight and recently ran (without stopping) her first 5k. That is AMAZING to me. Am I faster than these people? Yes. But it doesn’t change the fact that I look up to them just as much as I look up to an Olympic Gold Medalist. These are the people that deserve promoting, not your own self. There is a difference between being proud of what you accomplished and thinking you’re better than everyone else. I wish that people who can’t see past their own noses would realize that.

Anyway, to sum it all up, if I can mentally recover from the big bad hill of this race, I will definitely be running again next year! Next up, marathon training!