The day of the race, I was pretty nervous. I had begun thinking that I might get a half marathon PR in this race without really trying. My half PR was 6:37 pace, and if I ran according to my workout plan, I'd average close to that same pace. So, I figured, I might just aim for ghmp for everything after the first two miles. I had a great 3x1mi @gmp workout two days before and felt rested and ready. Kevin and I warmed up a few miles ahead of time. I had also put in my mind that if I did run this race as a "workout", I would finish up with a 5+ mi cool down and try to get 20+ miles in for the day. We headed out on the country roads and eventually realized we were on part of the half marathon course. We turned around at 1.5 miles and saw that the course route would turn right onto a trail to finish. Instead of running the road back, we took the trail. I had warmed up in my racing flats and quickly realized they would not do on the trail section. The gravel was large and loose. Kevin and I were tip toeing and zig-zagging all over to avoid the biggest rocks and find the most groomed section of the trail. The further we ran the worse it got. I rolled my ankle several times and could feel every stone coming up through my shoe. Then we came to the railroad bridge. The race director had put plywood boards down to cover the big holes in the bridge. They were not fastened, so as we ran across, they were popping up and felt very unsteady. Then we were back on gravel. Eventually the gravel turned to a combination of grass with hidden rocks. Eventually we popped out onto the road on the other side the trail. According to the course markers, we were to make a sharp left turn. My jaw dropped when I saw what laid ahead. A loose gravel pit. Small loose stones with large potholes lined out a trail back to the soccer complex. Again the race director had put down plywood boards on top of the largest potholes. My feet kept slipping out from under me as I tried to maneuver across the gravel pit. I couldn't believe it! There's no way I would be able to run a fast time on the first two miles or last two miles of this course. Not only that, but I may seriously hurt myself even trying to run marathon pace. My feel were already feeling bruised and my legs a little tired from warming up. I needed to change into my back up plan.
We got back to the car and I changed out of my warmups and into my race attire. It was sunny now, but it was expected to rain. I wore shorts, a tank, compression socks, a hat, sunglasses, and arm warmers. I then changed out of my racing flats (the Adidas Adios, the only shoe I've raced in for every distance for the past 3-4 years) into a brand new pair of Hoka One One Conquests. I had only put about 20 miles in the Hokas and brought them because they felt good doing my mile repeats on Thursday, plus I figured they be a nice shoe to run my long cool down in. I was really nervous about making the switch, but Kevin agreed that I should do it to give myself some extra cushion on the trail.
I jogged around a bit more in them and did some drills and then went to the start line. I stood right at the front, knowing in a smaller race like this, I would be one of the leaders. Plus, I didn't want to get stuck behind anyone on the trail section, especially on the bridge with all the floppy plywood boards. We took off across the mushy soccer field, kicking up water and mud due to the rain earlier that morning. When we hit the loose gravel, I was in the lead and held it until about mile 6.
I was surprised by how stable and easy it felt to run on the trail with the Hokas. I couldn't feel a single rock and blasted ahead lengthening my lead and holding 6:50's as planned. Yet, it felt like a 6:20 effort. When I came out to the road, I was surprised by how dead my legs felt. I figured in about a half mile the lactic acid would go away and I'd have my legs back under me. Kind of the way you feel right when you crest a steep hill. At first, your legs are dead and you feel like you can't lengthen your stride at all, but then after a while of letting the hill take you, you start to feel better and get back into a rhythm. I came to the first main intersection and there were volunteers guiding me across the road. A mile later, Kevin drove past and cheered me on. I was still feeling like crap at mile 3 and was frustrated that my pace was slower than a 7min. I felt like I was giving a lot more energy than 7:20, yet, that's what I kept seeing on my watch. This really frustrated me, but I knew I could make up for it in the next 10 miles. The course turned left and we began climbing a hill. This did not help my pace or my legs. I was getting more frustrated by the minute. The hill climbed for about 3 miles and I noticed that my left IT band and calf were getting really sore and tight. The road had quite a cross-slope and since it was open, oncoming cars kept me off the center line and on the white. I was mentally beginning to lose it, but I kept telling myself I'd make up for it on the downhill.
I finally crested the top and could hear footsteps behind me. I wasn't surprised that second place had finally caught me. I had held a miserable pace up the hill and was sucking wind pretty bad. As he passed, I noted three things. 1) He was older than me. Probably in his late 40's. 2) He was wearing either the Brooks Beast or Addictions. 3) His breathing didn't sound as labored as mine. Instead of letting this get to me, I decided to use him as a pacer and just tuck in behind him. No longer would I have to think, I would latch on and not let him gap me anymore than he already had. My idea didn't work too well. He was a very strong downhill runner and I could not get the leg turnover that I wanted. In Zena, Shamrock, and Butte to Butte I have been able to average 5:50-6:05 on downhill sections. I was able to get down to 6:30, but couldn't go any faster. Finally I had a 6:15, but then the hill began to taper off. We came up to another intersection, but this one didn't have any volunteers working it. I assumed we were to go straight, because that's what the guy ahead of me had done. We were suddenly running along very exposed flat farm fields and I noticed the wind had really picked up. It had begun to rain and before I knew it, it was pouring. The wind was blowing the rain horizontally and I was getting pelted from the side with what felt like sleet. Even though it was hitting me directly sideways it was hard to run. Then, about a half mile later, the course turned left, directly into the wind. On the opposite side of the intersection was a parked car with two volunteers huddled inside trying to stay warm and dry. Their water table had not been set up with full cups (probably because the wind was blowing too hard) and they jumped out when they saw me and started racing around for cups. Not wanting to stop and wait for them, pour my own drink, or even run to the opposite side of the intersection to grab water, I pushed ahead into the wind.
At this point I felt really thirsty, tired, and mentally unstable. I began laughing at the comedy of this race. I could barely run forward the wind was blowing so hard. Kevin pulled up and waved, not rolling down the window in fear of getting soaked. I motioned to him that I needed water, so he drove ahead and parked the car. He got out and ran along side me with my water bottle. What a trooper!
As suddenly as the rain had started, it stopped. The sun came out and I began getting hot. The wind was still blowing hard and it dried me off very quickly. There were a couple of roller hills and we zig-zagged around the country road back towards the trail. At this point, I just tried to average gmp on my Garmin, even though it felt like ghmp effort. The final two miles sucked. The trail took any last bit of energy my legs had in them right out of them. My last mile, which consisted of the loose gravel pit and the soccer field (which by the way had been run over twice by the 5K runners, twice by the 10K runners, and once by the Half Marathon runners, therefore was a muddy mess), was about 7:10. So much for a finishing kick.
After I finished, I just shook my head. I had run 1:28:30. A perfect 6:50 pace half marathon and gmp simulation. I finished second place overall and first female. Since it was the inaugural race, I had also set the female course record. It didn't mean to me what it probably should have. I was disapointed in my time and the way I ran (both menally and physically). I met Kevin and we went to the car so I could change into dry clothes, then we headed out for our 5 mile cool down. At the end of the day, I ran a 21 mile run with 13 miles at gmp. Not too shabby when you say it that way, I guess.
My biggest fear is that I'm not as prepared for my marathon as I thought. Despite the race course and weather conditions, I expected more out of my mind and legs.
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