Half Marathon #3

On Sunday, I ran my 3^rd half marathon, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon. This race was supposed to be run on October 6^th but was postponed for 5 weeks due to the government shutdown. I’ve recently read that the November 10^th slot was the only possible weekend that worked for all 5-7 jurisdictions involved between the original date and the end of the year. I’m happy that they found that date and were able to hold the race – this was my only fall half planned and I wanted to run it to see what I could do with my time. The postponement was frustrating but I think I prepared well nonetheless.

The hamstring soreness that I had been experiencing was diminishing run by run as the date approached. I honestly think that all the stretching, heat and incorporating some yoga into my routine helped immensely. In the end, it didn’t bother me at all on race day!

Pre-race, I had penne a la vodka with garlic bread for dinner. In hindsight, I am not sure that was the best decision. I had already increased carbs all week and I think the increased gluten the night before the race left me bloated and unsettled. I think it would have been better if we used brown rice pasta – though arguably not as tasty. Also in retrospect, I did not eat enough calories the day before the race and I expended more energy than I typically do. This was not a good combination and something I will do better with next time. Hydration wise, I was fine – drinking coconut water and Gatorade all day but calorically I dont' think I consumed enough.

The morning of the race, I had a 4 AM wakeup call. I didn’t feel too well when I stepped out of bed. I had gotten max 5 hours of sleep, and those were restless hours. I felt dizzy and weak, never a good sign when you are asking your body to output a ton of energy. I knew I needed calories to help balance me out, and the banana and two pieces of toast helped. My body burned right through those calories though, and I was already hungry again on the bus ride to the start. This race is hard to time, because it starts at 7 AM but we arrived at National Harbor to catch the bus to the start at about 5:20 AM. I drank 32 ounces of Gatorade leading up to the start of the race. I tried to eat some of a Stinger waffle on the bus ride, but I felt nauseous and wasn’t able to get it all down. The Gatorade was about the only thing my stomach was tolerating at that point, most likely due to nerves. It was also chilly that morning, and I’m not sure why but my muscles kept shaking and I found myself having to force my teeth not to chatter. Again, I suspect this was the lack of calories. Anyways, the race time came and the starting corrals were pretty uncrowded. I started the race with Beth though I suspected we wouldn’t stay together the whole time and I was right – we ran the first mile together (way faster than I wanted to start out because it was downhill) and then parted ways.

Other than my first fast mile (9 minutes), I ran a well executed race. I slowed myself down for Miles 2 though 8 and dialed it in, running a pretty consistent 9:30 pace. I did get hungry pretty early on, and ate my first snack (Honey Chews) at about 3.5 miles in. I also took the Gatorade and Water at all water stops. Sometime after 5 miles, I felt better and that’s when I was able to run most consistently. My A goal was to beat 2 hours (9 minute miles) but I knew I wanted to start slow and conserve energy for the last few miles. That’s exactly what I ended up doing. I hit the bridge which is Mile 9 and one of the only hills on the course (the rest are rolling) feeling great. I was passing people up and down that bridge. I hit the 10 mile marker at 1:34ish and started to do some quick calculations in my head. With a fast 5K to finish, I could come close to my goal. I turned on the jets, continued passing people and saw paces in the 7s and 8s on my Garmin. I ended up running about a 26 minute 5K, pretty quick for me considering it was the end of a half marathon. I finished with some juice left in my legs, and so so close to my A goal with a time of 2:01:28. If I could have shaved 6-7 seconds off each mile, I could have beat 2 hours. That’s easily attainable for me in my coming races. I now know I can do it, I just have to execute another good smart race and I’ll get it done.

Overall, I really liked this race. It was point to point, and I wasn’t sure how I would like that but I did enjoy the course. The GW Parkway is one of my favorite places to run, the race size was smallish (under 2,000 runners this year) and it was a well managed race. I am not sure if I will do it again, but I’d say the chances are good that I will do it again sometime in the future. The weather ended up being perfect – starting in the low 40s and ending right about 50 and sunny.

My race recovery was a little tough, I think mostly due to the 4AM wakeup call and not getting enough rest after the race. I was pretty knocked out through Monday night, and ended up not feeling too great on Monday (stomach wise). I’m starting to wonder if 13.1 leaves my immune system weakened, but I’m not sure I could have done anything more to prevent that letdown. It’s definitely something I want to figure out though, because I can’t get sick after each half. What I also know now is that the half is a distance I really enjoy. It’s enough distance that I feel accomplished but not so much that my body is shredded. That’s not to say I won’t do other distances – I like the 10MI and I haven’t yet ruled out another full marathon – but I definitely want to keep focusing on 13.1 and better my time.

I’ll do a post on my 2014 plans, but I already have 2 halfs lined up for February/March, plans for races in April and am thinking beyond as well. First up though, one more half for 2013. I will be pacing my sister through her first half marathon. I’m excited for that, I hope I can be a good pacer and coach through the race – and I’m proud of her for working towards this goal!