Today I ran the Rock n Roll St. Louis half marathon. I signed up for this way back on 11/11/11 when the entry fee was relatively cheap. My running volume has been pretty good the last couple of months, at the expense of swimming and cycling, so I figured I could PR given good weather. The only problem was mental. I've had some changes at work that have increased my stress level and responsibility as well as decreased my free time substantially. Not good for racing. On top of that, I really don't like the stress of racing nor racing alone. I also didn't do myself any favors having a cookout last night and having a few cocktails. Oh well, I put on my big boy panties, sucked it up, and toed the line anyway :-).
Last night I feel asleep on the couch watching baseball, woke up at 3 am and ate breakfast, then went back to bed until 5 am to start my day. At that point I still wasn't sure if I was going to have fun by high fiving people, taking my time, and walking when I felt like it or go for a PR and suck it up even when things hurt. I got to the race site about 6:15, looked for some friends and didn't find them. I headed to corral 2 out of something like 16, took a Gu, drank some water and just hung out and stretched my IT bands. The weather was a brisk 55 degrees and since I chill easily, I brought a couple of those chemical hand warmers. They were wonderful! Note to self: bring spares. A woman standing next to me was shivering uncontrollably so I gave her one of my two hand warmers. She looked at me like I was a creep, but took it and used it :-).
The race started and I just started running with 16 plus thousand of my closest friends. I don't have a Garmin and had no idea what my pace was and just tried to stay comfortable. Mile one was ~8:20 and I was feeling decent so tried to keep about the same pace. Mile 2 and 3 were about the same, fast for me! but still feeling good. I did the first 5k in 25:40 and was feeling good. Next 5k was in 25:25 and I was stilling feeling good, but starting to get a bit fatigued. I knew I could PR at this point, knew it was going to hurt and decided to try to hang on. My pace started slowing a little on the stretch heading to the 10 mile marker, but I was holding it together. I was working hard enough that I decided to skip taking a GU at the one hour mark, wasn't sure it would stay down. I did take a salt packet instead. I know, nothing new on race day, but it sounded good at the time. I did take a couple sips of water at each aid station too. The last 5k was rough. My glutes were aching, I was breathing hard, my legs just ached, but I sucked it up and kept going. Trying to do math in my head, I knew I had my goal in hand (<1:55) and maybe my A goal (<1:50). Two miles to go and I was struggling. One mile to go and my left calf , hamstring, and glute were starting to cramp. I'm sure my form went to hell at that point, it was pure mental effort to PR for sure. Somehow I kept going, trying to smile for all the people cheering random strangers like me on. Crossed the line with a five+ minute PR (1:49:49) and staggered a little. Got some water, Gatorade and a space blanket and started making my way the 10 blocks or so to my car.
I was at the race by myself and get really cold right after races, so I made a b line to my car. Would have been fun to stay and hang out if I had some warm clothes handy, oh well. On the way home I picked up one of my favorite breakfasts, McDonald's sausage burritos, hash browns and coffee :-). Once home, the cold set in and I was shaking, so a long hot shower was in order followed by the burritos, then a nice nap.
After a second nap and some grocery shopping, my race number took it's proper position on the garage wall then I had another cookout.
Grill 2 was lobster and scallops.
Grill 1 was salmon, prime rib and potatoes.
Have a great week!
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