***Before I start my race recap I must recognize and pray for the people and runners of Boston. My Twitter feed was full of excitement this morning with all the hype surrounding the grandfather of all road races. Runners train for months to qualify for Boston and to finally run the Boston Marathon. In the afternoon I kept checking to make sure the runners I follow were OK. And they were. Praise God. Glued to the TV tonight, praying for Boston and all our local runners.***
I did it! I completed my 3rd half marathon this weekend and if you have been following some of my Hospital Hill blog posts, then you know it was not an easy training season. I was very excited for this race as so many people I knew were running and I have heard that is is a great route. The bling for this race is great! The medals are huge, and the half marathoners got a Nike dri-fit shirt. Those are some of the perks I look for when signing up for a race.
I signed up to run with the 2:10 pacers, but decided to do my own thing. I knew I needed to start out slow and some some energy, and I did a pretty good job. The first 3 miles are a gradual uphill. Nothing too steep or too crazy, but uphill.
Mile 1: 9:40
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 10:04
I was happy with these paces. I was faster than the 2:10 pacers, and at this point my legs felt awesome. It was a very cold start, but I warmed up quickly.
I knew Mark and the girls were coming up when I got around 3 1/2 miles, but it was after mile 4 before I finally saw them. Having them at my races is the absolute best. They yell, scream, give high fives, hug, kiss, and give me a burst of energy. I handed my gloves to Lauren and kept on.
Mile 4: 9:58
Mile 5: 9:57
Mile 6: 9:49
I was very impressed with my ability to actually keep a pace. You can definitely tell when I had hills and when it was downhill and flat. My 10 minute miles were the hills, but then I made up some time on the downhills. Around mile 4 1/2 - 5 I started taking my Gu. I needed a little burst of energy.
Mark and the girls were waiting for me at 6 1/2 miles and it was awesome. We were running through the hills and neighborhoods of Brookside and the houses are gorgeous. The scenery and weather was beautiful. It could not have been a better morning to run. More hugs, kisses and high 5's from the girls and I kept on moving. Still feeling great at this point.
Mile 7: 9:45
Mile 8: 10:19
Mile 9: 9:54
Can you tell where the big hill was as we ran around Loose park? I kept on running, just very slow. Once we got back on Ward Parkway I knew I was on the final stretch (although it was still almost 5 miles!) Mentally I had held back my running, wanting to turn it on once I got back on Ward Parkway, running towards the finish line.
At this point I started to have some cramping on my right side that radiated around to my stomach. Nothing too painful, but noticeable. I tried to breath through it, flex by abs, and eventually it subsided after I took some salt pills.
Mark and the girls were at mile 9 1/2 again, and I motioned that I needed water. Lauren got it ready as I got out my salt tabs to try and relieve some of the cramping. I was feeling a little mentally fatigued at this point, but a little walking, water, and a pep talk from Mark and I was off again.
Little did I know the pain I was about to experience.
Around mile 10 1/2 it felt like I twisted my ankle or someone punched me in my left calf. My left calf muscle started cramping and tightening with each and every step I took. At first the pain was manageable. I stopped to stretch real quick when I first felt it. Although it helped a little, it was still pretty painful. I tried changing my form, running a little different,speeding up, slowing down, nothing seemed to really help. So, I knew I just had to run through the pain and finish.
Mile 10: 10:14 (there is where I walked a little with Mark and the girls, and then started feeling the calf pain)
Mile 11: 9:45
Sometime between mile 11 and 12 my right calf started screaming at me as well. So with each stride I felt pain, worse of the left side of course. There was a water break right before Mile 12 and at the bottom of the last hill. So, I grabbed 2 waters, 2 salt tabs, finished my Gu, stretched my calf and when I got to the top of the hill I decided to give it my all for the last downhill mile.
Although it was painful, I knew the end was VERY near. But, around mile 12 1/2 from my knee down to my ankle felt numb. Oh my word it hurt so bad. I was running at an 8:00-8:20 pace and I had to stop. I stopped for about 30 seconds at stretched as hard as I could (pushing up against a light pole) trying to get feeling back in my left lower leg. I did, but it was not easy. I ran with a limp the last 1/2 mile to the end.
Mile 12: 10:13
Mile 13: 9:09 (downhill, fast, would have been faster if I did not have to stop for ~ 30 seconds)
Finally, there were Mark and the girls squished into the finish line with several other spectators. Although I am smiling and giving a thumbs up I was dying...well my legs were dying.
As soon as I stopped running I was fine, although my calf muscles are still extremely sore 2 days later. I definitely need to stretch and ice them tonight. There was water available immediately at the finish line. Then, up a small hill was chocolate milk, fruit, bread, and pizza!
I found Mark and the girls right away at our meeting spot, along with a few of our neighbors. Lauren agreed to pose for a picture.
Addison took my chocolate milk, but agreed to give me a hug and kiss. Love that girl.
And finally Addison agreed to a quick picture. Thank you Mark for snapping away.
Our neighbors took this one. I think Lauren was hanging out with Andy, while Shari snapped away!
The end.
Overall this was a fantastic race. The temperature was perfect, although a cold start. Although this is advertised as a nice flat route, there are plenty of short gradual hills to slow you down a little. None of the hills are very steep or very long (compared to other races I have done) and the downhill finish is wonderful.
After the tragedy of today in Boston I will continue to run harder and faster. Praying for Boston.
