Rock N' Roll Dallas Half

Sometimes you train to peak for a race and go into the day expecting a strong finish. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. This was one of those times.

When last I posted I had just run my first pain-free miles since my injury. As it turned out, those were just the first of many pain-free miles for me. Over the next month I ran 3-4 times a week as far as 11 miles and my ankle felt great all the way. I looked ahead to March 23rd's Rock N' Roll half marathon with confidence.

When I signed up for RNR last fall I had ambitions of training and attempting a PR. But on only 4 weeks of post-injury training I was just happy to be running at all and didn't go in with a firm time goal. I was loosely targeting a 2:10 finish but figured I'd just play it by ear and slow down as needed.

At 5AM I bounded out of bed, dressed, ate, and headed out the door. I had bought cheap start-line sweats to wear for the Dallas Marathon but with that getting canceled I still had them. Sunday morning was on the cool side so I layered the sweats and a long sleeve tee over my race gear. I brought my headband and some cheap gloves too just in case. And at the last minute I decided to throw some track pants and tee shirt into my gear bag for postrace wear.

As I drove to the parking lot I tried to get myself into racing mindset. Without a specific time goal to shoot for I felt a little unmoored. The worst race experience I ever had was a half a few years ago when I didn't have any mental focus, it was hot, and I spent the whole race thinking how hot it was and "are we there yet?" All those Saturday morning long runs last fall training for the marathon broke me of that, and a 2 hourish run doesn't feel long anymore, but even so, I wanted to find my focus. I heard a song that reminded me of my recently departed cat Todd and found myself tearing up in the car. I realized this race was just the emotional release I needed right now, and felt better immediately.

RNR is a point to point course so you have to park at the finish line at Fair Park and take a shuttle to the start line downtown. That sounds like it would be a real pain but RNR is such a well-organized race that they had tons of school buses waiting and ready to pick us up. They also had arranged for the convention center to be open for us before the race so we didn't have to wait out in the cold. This is my second time to run RNR Dallas and both times I've been impressed at how well they handle the details.

The race started at 8am and we were off. I didn't pay attention to my watch much for the first 10k but managed to keep a good pace. After I hit the halfway point I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was on pace to finish under 2:05 if I could maintain my pace. About 8 miles in I decided to push the tempo. Around mile 10 I realized that I had an outside chance at a sub-2:00 finish if I could speed up a little. It was an outside chance but I was determined to give it my best shot.

As I entered the gates of Fair Park I looked at my watch. I had about 6 minutes to go around .7 miles, give or take. I knew my Garmin was a little off the mile markers so I wasn't sure quite how far I had left. This stage of the race looked a lot like the first mile with some people settled into a steady pace and others weaving through the traffic as fast as possible. I was with the weavers. Later I realized I had passed by the Dallas White Rock finish line that started it all for me in December 2011 when I first became a half marathoner. But at that moment, I was focused on the present race.

I've got a few poems memorized that I'll pull out for inspiration/distraction during races, including Rudyard Kipling's If and Invictus by William Ernest Henley. Somewhere around "fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run" I neared the finish chute and looked down. 1:59 and change. I could still make it but it was going to be close. 

With a final burst of speed I pushed ahead and over the finish line. 1:59:38. I made it, and with a negative split! It was actually a few seconds faster than the Allstate 13.1 I ran last October and I felt better throughout the race despite the minimal training.

It must have been cold and windy during the race itself but I didn't really notice. Afterward though, I noticed! When I did this race 2 years ago it was warm that day so they provided salt packets at one of the water stops. This time they had mylar space blankets at the finish line. I was glad to have those track pants in my gear bag but it was still a long cold walk back to my car. I knew an ice bath would be the best thing for my sore muscles but after that I wasn't about to spend one more minute cold that day so I went home and took a nice hot shower. And spent the next few days gimping around ;)

It wasn't a PR or even close but it'll go down as an effort I'm proud of. My plan all along was for that to be my last long race until fall, so I'll shift focus now to shorter distances, speedwork, and training for an International distance triathlon this summer. I'm also going to work in more strength training so I head into marathon training this fall stronger and in better shape, and hopefully avoid the injury bug. RNR was a fun way to cap off my fall/winter season and it's a race I plan to do again next year.