Dear rain,
I take back the negative things I've said about you and when I've wished you would go away. I'm sorry. It turns out when your buddy cold weather isn't there, you make a lovely running companion. You're welcome to attend all my warm weather races with me from now on.
Sincerely,
Ellen
Yesterday I did my 5th half marathon in 5 months and recorded my 4th PR. All things considered, it was not a day I'd have expected to PR, so I'm pretty surprised and pleased that I did.
Going in, there were several factors working against me. First, I was only 3 weeks removed from the Rock n' Roll half. I had not planned my training to peak for this race, and the last time I did a half only 3 weeks after another one, in Austin, I spent much of the race overcoming knee pain. That race had a lot of hills, and I knew this one was fairly hilly too. Second, I spent the better part of the last week playing the classic Texas springtime game I like to call "is it a cold or allergies?" I had decided it was just allergies, but worried that exerting myself might push me over to the "cold" category. Third, the forecast promised high chances of rain and possibly thunderstorms. Before Sunday I had run in the rain exactly once, for the White Rock Half, and I wasn't looking forward to doing it again. Finally, I didn't sleep too well the night before, and had a series of dreams that involved first oversleeping and missing the race and second, running it, getting lost, and somehow managing to get behind Kevin, who was not only running but had already finished way ahead of me (ouch!).
Given all that, I nevertheless went in gunning for a PR first and a 1:50 finish second, but was prepared for something less. A 1:50 finish translates to an 8:23 average pace, but my intention was to negative split, starting about 10 seconds above that pace for the first third, running right around the average for the middle third, and speeding up to about 10 seconds faster than average for the final third.
I drove through steady rain that morning to get to Fair Park and sported a stylish trash bag poncho before the race start as I walked through light rain. It had felt like unwarranted optimism to slather on sunscreen and stick my sunglasses on top of my cap before leaving home but as we lined up to start the race it was dry and the sun was peeking through the clouds. At first I thought it was a good thing that we had avoided the rain, but after several warm, muggy miles I was actually relieved to see the sky growing darker and when it finally started raining around mile 8 it felt wonderful. Now I'm actually hoping it rains for all my warm-weather races!
Taking an idea from a friend, I decided to dedicate each mile of the race to someone or a group of people, so I'll describe the race by those mile markers:
Mile 1: Gave this one to God, first because it's only by His grace that I have the health, ability, and leisure time to run and second, because I was doing this race instead of going to church. I spent the first mile reciting my daily morning prayer devotional (in my head) . I finished this mile in 8:32, right where I wanted to be.
Mile 2: This one was for Daniel. The experience of giving birth to him gave me the confidence to take on my first half marathon, and I hope he'll be proud someday of Mommy the runner. I pictured him in several years standing at the finish line of a race holding a sign and hearing the excitement in his voice when he sees me coming and thought, if he were at the end of this block, I would speed up to run fast for him. Then, I imagined cheering him on at his own soccer and tee-ball games, and maybe someday doing races together. This mile took 8:37 and I felt pretty good.
Mile 3: This mile was for Kevin, because without his support and encouragement I couldn't do all the events I do. My races wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I didn't have him the promise of him and Daniel cheering me on at the finish line, so I imagined them being there. I did this mile in 8:20, feeling okay.
Miles 4-5: For my parents, who have always encouraged and supported me in everything I've done. I clocked in at 8:37 and 8:43 for these miles. I was trying to go a little faster but felt like I was having to work pretty hard to keep that pace. The humidity made it feel a lot harder, and this stretch had some hills. I was torn between holding to my planned pace and holding back to make sure I didn't run out of gas.
Mile 6: For my mother-in-law. She's facing her medical challenges with a positive outlook and will face much harder challenges than running 13 miles. I thought, if she can do that, I can run this. I managed 8:37 for this mile-an OK pace, but I knew it was time to speed up if I wanted to hit my goals. The mugginess and hills were making me work though.
Mile 7: For my friend Nicole. First, for inspiring me by running a marathon. Second, through her brave and long journey to motherhood. She's a great inspiration to anyone who knows her, so she deserved a mile. This was my slowest mile, at 9:30, as I took a brief walk break and water stop. The darkening skies held the promise of rain though, which I was now thinking must be better than warm and humid weather.
Mile 8: For all my athlete friends who have inspired me. Many of you don't know you were inspirations to me, but whenever any of you signed up for or completed a marathon, half, or triathlon, I watched admiringly and thought "if s/he can do it, I can too." Did this one in 8:59. I was trying to get back to my goal pace but had to walk through another water stop and a side stitch slowed me down. At this point I had resigned myself that 1:50 wasn't going to happen, but still hoped I could speed up and get a PR. Then the rain finally started and it felt wonderfully refreshing. That put an extra spring in my step.
Mile 9: For the people I might be inspiring by my example to take on their first event. When I got to this point I thought, sure I'm tired, but if all of those people were lined up watching me right now, I'd run fast for them, so I did. (And if any of you do decide to do your first event because of me, I'd love to hear about it.) I did this mile in 8:41, but this would be my last slow mile.
Mile 10: For everyone who has ever believed in me, and for those who have doubted me. Both have pushed me to achieve more. By now the rain had cooled everything down and I knew the end was close, and while 1:50 was out of the picture, a PR was still possible. I did this mile in 8:11.
Mile 11: For the wonderful volunteers who got up this morning and braved the weather, not for their own enjoyment but so that I and the other runners could have a fun, safe event. Without them there is no event. I kept a strong pace here, 8:15. By now I knew if I could hold this pace or better, I would still PR despite the slow start, humidity, and rain.
Mile 12: For everyone who isn't able to do events like this, whether because of their health, finances, or lack of leisure time. Thinking of these people helped put the race's challenges into the "first world problems" category where they belong, and thinking of the finish line drawing closer led me to drop the hammer and run the mile in 8:03.
Mile 13: This one was for me. I told myself that this mile was the culmination of 7 months of training in all conditions, running first thing in the morning and late at night. I knew that a hot meal, cold beer, and change of clothes were less than a mile away. I repeated my favorite line from my favorite poem, "Fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run," then did just that. I finished strong with 8:02. Coming into Fair Park I passed the spots where I had finished White Rock in December and Rock n' Roll last month and sped up to claim my next finisher's medal.
My final time according to my Garmin was 1:51:57-still awaiting official chip time but it will be in that vicinity. I finished 12th out of 215 women in my division and 223rd out of 2031 overall.
Overall, I'll remember this as a tough race because of the humidity, but I'm proud that despite that I still PR'd. Even though I didn't feel great for much of the race, I finished roughly a minute faster than at Rock n' Roll, when I had felt really strong. And it looks like I negative split by about a minute. Obviously the improving weather had a lot to do with that, but it also speaks to my conditioning and pace strategy that I was able to finish strong. All those training miles have given me a good base.
This race also leaves me convinced though that under better conditions, a 1:50 finish is within my grasp. Give me cooler weather and a flatter course and I think I could shave 2 minutes off that time. My next half is almost literally right in my backyard, on the Campion Trail, in a few weeks...will that be the one? We'll see. It's certainly a nice, flat course. Maybe I'll do a rain dance the day before and hope for a cooling shower to help me along.
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