The hopes that the weather man was going to be wrong about the rain today soon faded with the sound of rain hitting the roof. I woke up at 5 to feed the dogs and get myself some breakfast and drink some water. I turned on the weather channel and sure enough rain and thunderstorms were on the menu for today. The only thing that gave me hope was that the winds were not going to be bad until after 11 am. So I got showered and dressed. I was feeling strong and determined not to let the rain interfere with my race. I drove over to my friend Crystal and Brian’s house to ride with them to the race. We were getting there early so we could see our friend John race in the 5k. We got there right as the gun went off for his race. We got to see him take off and he was soaked. Our time was to come. We waited for him inside the Titans Stadium so we could stay nice and dry. I was getting cold from just wearing shorts and my tech shirts. I had a rain coat on and debated running the race with it on. I am glad I opted for the .99 poncho from Target.(Best money I spent all week). I waited as long as I could so see him finish, but well nature called. The line for the 3 stalls was very long as nature called for a lot of runners. John finished and met back up with us in the stadium. They called out 5 min to go for the 1/2. I debated for a mere moment just going home. The thought of running 2 hours in the cold rain or going home to a nice hot cup of coffee was almost too much. Crystal and I stepped out in the rain and at that point my attitude changed. I mean I was now soaked so might as well play it out. The gun sounded and we darted across the starting line to the sounds of Bag Pipes. Its one of the best parts of this race.
I wanted to start out slow and get my pace going. I felt strong and soon realized I could do this. Mile 1 came in around 9:10. I then realized that my garmin was slightly off from the mile markers. At this point I did not worry to much about it as it did not seem that far off. Miles 2 and 3 I settled in to where I wanted around a 9:20 pace. During this point we crossed into the green way and the scenery became nil. I decided to pick up my pace earlier then I planned. I was feeling good and figured I could keep my pace. I hit miles 4-10 at about my goal pace of 9:05. I was feeling strong, although my legs were getting a bit sore at mile 10. I looked at my hr and it was right where I wanted it. 3 more miles to go. One interesting note at about mile 10. It seems that as runners, some do not care where or when a pit stop is needed. On one side of the trail was a port a potty on the other side a man standing right off the trail peeing. I mean I understand when you got to go, you got to go. But really can you not run back to the porta potty.
Mile 11 proved to be a bit of a challenge and hit over 9:15, this may have proven my down fall. At this point I looked at my garmin and realized that I was way above pace. Enough of above pace that I thought I would make up any difference that the course and the garmin were off by. Mile 12 came in at around 9:10. One more to go. I came over the last hill and the wind really picked up. Luckily it was to my back and gave me a push to the finish. At one point I hit close to 8 min a mile. We ran around the stadium and down the ramp that the players use. I could see the grass of the field and I knew I was almost done. Mile 13, in the stadium and I could see the finish and others on the jumbo-tron screen. I sprinted as fast as I could to the finish. Crossed with a gun time of 2:01:38 sec. I thought to myself I did it. I did it. The garmin said 1:59:16. When I was walking up the ramp I noticed my watch was still running. I though thats odd I know I hit the stop button. Later at breakfast when my blood ran back to my brain and the french toast and greasy bacon provided much needed refuling, It dawned on me that the Garmin stopped when it reached 13.1 miles. Um Houston we may have a problem!
Well the times came in and indeed I missed my goal by 8 FREAKING SECONDS!!!!. UGHHHH I hate that my brain did not work well enough to realize that my splits were that far off. I thought it was only like .5 to .1 off, but I guess it was more than that. I know I should probably not be as disappointed as I am, but I am more mad at myself for being stupid then anything else. I learned a lot from this race and I will not make this mistake again. I am learning that with running there are many ways your race can take a twist. The weather, pre- race fuel, fuel while you race and then there is you the runner. I miss judged this one and I know I left a sub 2 hour out on the puddled roads.
In the end, 12 weeks of training made me more confident in my running. I have gained strength, endurance, and speed. I felt great the whole race and I knew I trained the best I could and it showed. My previous best at this distance, not a race but just trying to run that far was 2:04:00 plus. So in the area of just improving I did. One goal for the year, finish a 1/2 is now complete. Now on to my next goal. Chicago in October.
