This past Sunday was the culmination of my spring training, the Dallas tour stop of the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon. I signed up for this race just a few weeks after running White Rock and trained to peak for it.
Going into Sunday I had several goals. My first was just to beat my previous PR of 1:58:15. My second goal was to finish under 1:55, and my "best case scenario" goal was to finish under 1:50. Beyond finish time though, I wanted to finish with a negative split-a faster second half than first half, getting stronger and faster as the race went on. As I planned out my race strategy the week before, I realized 1:50 was probably not a realistic goal to shoot for. Instead, I planned out my splits for a 1:53 finish.
My post-Austin training had gone well and I went into the race feeling strong and confident. But I was concerned that the warm weather might slow me down. I just started running in September so I haven't done much running above 60 degrees and the forecast called for a starting temp in the low 60s increasing to the low 80s by late morning.
As usual, I set out all my gear the night before and ate my spaghetti dinner. In anticipation of the warm temps the next day I also drank a chia fresca as the chia seeds retain water. Sunday morning I got up at 5:15, dressed, ate, and was out the door by 6.
This race, unlike the others I've done, was a point to point race, starting in one place (downtown Dallas by City Hall) and ending in another (Fair Park). So, all racers were instructed to park at Fair Park then take a shuttle bus to the start line. I've consistently found I-45 to be the best way to get to Fair Park, but for some reason that day I decided to try I-30. Bad idea. Traffic was backed up for that exit for at least a quarter mile. After waiting about 10 minutes and barely moving I decided it would be faster to turn around and head back to 45 so I did and got parked fairly quickly. Then the bathroom and bus lines were long once I parked. All told, I wound up making it to the start village with just enough time to go to the bathroom and get to my start corral with a few minutes to spare. While I was otherwise quite impressed with the race organization, this definitely needs improvement for next year.
The race started and off I went. I set my Garmin for an 8:35 average pace and as the early miles ticked by, I was hitting my splits almost to the second and it felt like a comfortable pace. My plan was to stay at or slightly over that pace for the first 5 miles, hold it through about mile 10, then speed up for the final 5k. As it turned out, I did just that, though in consideration of the heat I ended up stopping at several water stops and one salt packet handout in the second leg. And when a stranger was handing out dixie cups of beer around mile 10 I thought, well why not?
As the miles went on I kept looking down at the Pacetat on my forearm showing the splits I needed to finish in 1:52:30, so I knew barring the unexpected I was looking at a PR and then some. The final stretch of the race takes place within Fair Park, so once I entered the Park area I knew the end was very close, and that Kevin and Daniel were waiting there to cheer me on. What's cool is that we also passed the area where the White Rock Half was staged, so I remembered back to that cold, rainy day in December when the finish line drew close and I got a lump in my throat as I realized I was just seconds from becoming a half-marathoner. It made for a nice inspiration at the end of this race almost 4 months later.
I crossed the finish line at 1:52:54, besting my previous PR by more than 5 minutes. I didn't achieve my reach goal of 1:50, but I felt strong throughout the whole race and paced myself better than I have in my prior halfs. In fact, I only missed an even split by 5 seconds-take out one water stop and I might have negative split. I feel confident that I ran the best race I could that day and didn't leave much if any time out there.
One of the most rewarding things about running is that all the "measurables" provide lots of benchmarks to see improvement. My average pace Sunday was 8:37/mile, more than a minute/mile faster than my White Rock pace and almost 30 seconds faster than my 10k pace in November-a race less than half the distance.
Heading into the spring (I almost said "the rest of the spring" then realized it's only technically been spring for a week-it just feels like it's been spring for months) I'm planning to tweak my training a little bit to add more speedwork during the week. And, I've got 2 triathlons on tap too so I'll add in some swim and bike workouts. It's too soon to know what my time goal will be heading into future races, but I do plan to work more on my pacing, shooting for even or negative splits. RNR was a great experience, and definitely gives me confidence going forward, but I hope sometime in the next few months I'll be writing about the day I beat my RNR time to set another PR.
Today I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon (writeup forthcoming). My last major race was the Austin Half Marathon. In the 5 weeks between those 2 distance races, I did 3 5ks: the DCFA Form Follows Fitness 5k, the LALA Esparanza 5k, and the Dash Down Greenville 5k.
DCFA Form Follows Fitness 5k
This was in downtown Dallas the Saturday after Austin. Kevin, Daniel and I did this race together as a family, so the focus was on fun, not speed. I was a week removed from Austin and pushing D in the stroller, but poor Kevin's shoes didn't fit well (turned out, as I suspected, they were the wrong width), so I was not the one slowing our party down. Even given the ill-fitting shoes though, Kevin had a solid outing in his first foot race and we finished in 31 minutes and change. It was a fun morning. Usually I go to my races solo and only meet my boys at the end, or at home later, so it was fun to share the experience with them. And Daniel's running career is off to a much earlier than mine or Kevin's: a good 32 years earlier. It's fun to think that someday we'll do races together...and then, someday, we'll start races together, then he'll lope ahead of me and be waiting at the finish to cheer me on.
LALA Esparanza 5k
This race was on the same morning as another race that featured the newly-opened Margaret Hunt Hill bridge near downtown Dallas. The chance to be one of the first pedestrians to step foot on the new bridge was tempting, but I ultimately opted for Esparanza instead even though it was a further drive. I liked the fact that the race was put on by a church and that all the proceeds went toward a charity in Mexico that helps the disadvantaged, and that finishers would receive a ceramic finisher medal handmade by one of the people the group-a nice way to make the charity personal. So, that morning I headed northeast to Plano. The day was nice, as good a weather as any race I've run. I started strong and felt good throughout the race, even though I forgot my handheld water bottle and had to stop for water halfway through, and finished with a PR of 24:10. Most races do their ave divisions in 5-year increments but this one did 10-year increments. I knew awards were only 3-deep in each division, so with such a large division I didn't expect to place, but I was pleased to discover I had finished 3rd out of 85 women in my division. I got a nice trophy for my efforts, which joins my Cupid's Chase trophy. Overall this was as well-organized a short race as I've done, and the family carnival afterwards was fun for Kevin and Daniel.
Here I am with Daniel and my trophy:
Dash Down Greenville 5k
I've lived in the Dallas area for more than 10 years now, and have learned that Dallas does St. Patrick's Day in a big way, specifically on Greenville Ave. This year I learned that the St. Paddy's Day festivities also include the Dash Down Greenville 5k. I debated whether I ought to do a 5k for speed just a week before the Rock 'n' Roll half that I had set my whole spring training schedule up to peak for, but in the end I talked myself into it. It was the biggest 5k I've done so far: 8,000 runners, with hundreds more spectators lined up along the sides getting an early start to the festivities. I started solid and, despite oppressive humidity, managed to finish with a PR by 4 seconds. While I didn't medal, I did finish #8 out of 500+ women in my age group, so I was pretty happy with that.
"And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within."
A few weeks ago I ran the Austin half-marathon. It was an interesting experience. While I had my slowest half time to date, 2:12 (14 minutes over my PR), I'm reasonably satisfied with that time, given the challenges involved that day.
This was my first race outside the cozy confines of the Metroplex, but it was still familiar territory as I grew up in Austin. And with my parents still living there, I was looking forward to a bigger cheering section than my usual (and much-appreciated!) 2-man crew. So, it seemed like a good first away race.
The plan was for Kevin, Daniel, and my parents to cheer me on at the finish line...at least, that was the plan up until 4am on race day, when Daniel woke up screaming, vomiting, and running a high fever. At that point we made a new plan for Daniel to sleep as late as he could, with Kevin staying home with him so my parents could come out to the race. I never got back to sleep so I went into the race on an hour less sleep than planned.
I had been a little nervous about the parking situation for a race this size, given the lack of public transportation options, so when my mom graciously offered to drop me off I was happy to accept and got dropped off just a few blocks from the start line. It was fun to walk around the Capitol grounds before the race. I always enjoy the pre-race moments surrounded by other runners, knowing that we all worked hard to get to that moment and enjoying the chance to see a familiar location in a new setting.
A few minutes before the 7am start I made my way to the start line. Unlike the White Rock Marathon, Austin doesn't put runners into corrals and do a wave start, but the runners self-seed according to expected pace and then do a mass start. I was a little skeptical of this arrangement but to my surprise it worked quite well. Despite the 14,000-person field, I crossed the start line only 5 minutes after the gun went off-23 minutes earlier than I crossed the White Rock start line. Maybe White Rock could learn something from that.
We started out heading north from the Capitol then made a few quick turns so that we were headed southbound on Congress. One of the things I really like about big races is the opportunity it provides the runner to see parts of the city in a new way. When else can you run down the middle of a major street like that? I passed the office building where my dad's firm was for over 20 years, then its new offices, and several others I remember visiting from my summer spent working as a courier for Trammell Crow. Then we went over the Congress bridge and past the eclectic shops on South Congress, which included some gentle but steady uphills.
While all of the sightseeing was great, trouble was brewing. I was beginning to feel IT band pain on the outside of my left knee by about 3 miles in. I had started out intended to stick with the 1:55 pace group but quickly realized I needed to ditch my time goals to make it to the finish line. So I slowed down a little and felt better.
Around 5-6 miles in we turned and headed back north on South 1st Street, giving back the elevation we had just gained in the first part. While it felt easier, I think this part was harder on my knee as the downhill portions work the lower legs more than the uphills. For one stretch I had a really uncomfortable stitch in my side, but that passed and I carried on.
Once we reached the bridge over Town Lake to approach downtown again though, about 8 miles in, the wheels came off. My knee was killing me. I'd try to run but only get a few steps before the pain forced me to walk. I had the briefest thought that if I was going to drop out, this was the place to do it where I could walk hobble over to the finish line to meet my family.
But then I remembered the amputee I'd seen earlier in the race. He had a prosthetic leg and would take a step with his good right leg then swing the prosthetic left leg into place, step after step, mile after mile. That guy would have given anything to trade places with me. So if he could do this race on one leg, I could certainly do it on two. I wonder how many people he inspired just by his presence that day. And with this race being sponsored by Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation, I saw many runners wearing signs designating them as cancer survivors or listing the cancer patients they were running in honor or memory of. I thought of my friends who have survived cancer and how if they could battle through cancer and its painful treatments, I could finish this race.
Fortunately the crowds were heavy in this section and I was going slowly enough that many of the watchers saw my name on my bib and called out encouragements to me by name. That was pretty nice....I felt like I owed them at least a few steps of running for that. And whenever I passed a kid in the crowd I'd make sure to give them a high-five, and I hope someday when Daniel's out cheering me on that other runners will do the same for him. With a heavy dose of walking and stretching, I made it through this leg and turned north on Winsted and headed for Enfield.
I knew that Enfield included a few more small hills then one huge uphill, and I was prepared to walk all of it if need be. But somehow I got my second wind and flew up the hill, passing many people on my way up. Even though I live in an area called Las Colinas ("the hills") my training runs are all pretty flat so I don't get much opportunity to practice hill work, but I discovered that the uphills were easier if I leaned into them and moved my arms like I was pulling myself up a rope. I pulled my way up Enfield and my knee and I were still getting along okay. After that I knew the finish line was just a little over a mile away, so I kicked it into high gear to finish strong.
I was already over 2 hours when I hit the big hill so I knew my chance for a PR was already gone, and probably even the chance to beat my White Rock time of 2:08. But I'm proud of my 2:12 finish time even though it's well below my planned pace. I didn't finish that race because I was fast or having an ideal day, I finished because I had the determination to do so. This finisher's medal was hard-won and one I'll enjoy showing Daniel one day and telling him about how I earned it.
