First 1/2 Marathon....Boulder Half....Recap!

Well I survived my first half marathon! It has been two days since the race and I am still feeling really good about it :-) Starting with high level – I got really scared on Saturday night before the race. All the ‘what-ifs’ came in to my head and I started freaking out. I wasn’t so much scared about my time – I was just scared that it’d be a ‘bad running day’. Sometimes it seems like there are those days you don’t get in the groove and feel pretty cr@ppy. I wasn’t sure how I could try and prevent that and was ultimately scared about that – knowing I wouldn’t be able to make it the 13.1 miles without stopping.

In hindsight, I guess I did do some things to try and prevent that. I tapered 2 weeks out and tried to get lots of sleep and eat well during that time. I took it really easy the few days leading up to the race and had a great carbo-load meal (does that help?). I got up early to make sure my stomach was all in order. I had a training plan and stuck to it. I thought about fuel during the run and tried to hydrate lots.

When people ask what I thought about it, my response is usually, “I really liked it and I thought I did well. It would have sucked though if I hadn’t trained”. Looking back I know the long runs, and starting with a decent base really allowed me to push through the last few miles. I did not have to walk up the hills (as some did) and I got faster as the race went on (I didn’t lose my steam) – showing I had good endurance. I gradually built up my mileage and did not have any injuries during training. This probably sounds like everything went perfectly – but as always, real life is different than on paper. I had my struggles, the days I didn’t feel like running, the days I really had to try to fit in runs. In the end, it all paid off and I was very happy with my three day running schedule :-)

Now down to the nitty gritty of race day: (it's long)

5:30 wake-up time with anticipation of leaving about 6:15. AA hopped out of bed which was nice motivation for me to get going as well. He ran out the night before to get us coffees for the morning since we were out of K-cups and there weren’t any good coffee places open that early! That definitely helped :-) I had a greek yogurt and started getting ready. Everything was already laid out and I did not need to think much. Stomach did its job and I was ready to go :-) One of my big struggles the night before was also whether or not to wear my hydration belt. There was going to be aid stations about every 2 miles – so did I want to bother with the belt, or just rely on the stations? In the end did not wear my hydration belt and just wore the belt that can hold a few GU’s and attached my racing bib. Katie met us at the house and we left at 6:30.

The drive up was easy UNTIL we got to the turn to get on to 51st that goes in to the Reservoir. Since my Stroke and Strides were there all summer, I knew this would probably be a tricky section with the light (and the race director send out warning emails). I think we got to this turn at around 7:10 and did not move at all for 15 minutes. AA made the executive decision to go past the light, turn around, and head in from the north. Good decision – no line. There were police officers at the light – but they did absolutely nothing to help. Then we had to make the 1.5 mile drive up to the reservoir though and this was bumper to bumper and slow moving as well. I think we finally got to the parking lot at about 7:40 and made our way over to the start area. Luckily we had both gotten our race bibs the day before because that lined looked really long. We were still in the bathroom line at 7:55 but they announced they were going to delay the start until everyone was ready. We had no idea how long that would be – that traffic line was LONG. We dropped of our bags (no problem) and then they announced they would be starting at 8:15. Sounds good – we lined up in the huge crowd and waited for a bit. They announced there were 1,500 ½ marathon runners and 500 people had just signed up in the last few days. I think there were 300 or so 5 milers and maybe 500 marathoners (that started at 7 AM). I had decided to go with a tech tee and shorts, but it was a little breezy in the morning so I wasn’t sure how it would be. Turned out to be a good decision. 

Katie and I pre-race

Starting crowd!

Starting line

I said good bye to AA, who had brought a chair and some reading materials for the event and we were just about off. The gun went off and the funneling of 1,500 racers in to a tiny area did NOT go well. The first 2 tenths of a mile were basically walking and pretending to run. It was over hard bumpy grass and you had to be very careful of your footing. Soon enough though Katie said goodbye and good luck and my adventure began! It was hard to tell what my actual pace was the first mile since it started out at about 16:30 min/miles. The first mile went pretty well though and I was finding my groove among all the runners. There was definitely a mix, lots of people passing me, some already walking – so it was just neat to take everyone in. I finished the first mile around an 11:40 pace – but I knew this was because of the start.

It was an out and back course so most of the way to mile 6.55 was uphill. I settled in around a pace of 10:40 and was pretty happy with my consistent pace. There was an aid station at mile 2 and mile 4. I had water at mile 2 and then my GU + water at mile 4. I managed to keep running and did not have to stop. A lot of this blurs together but nothing too scary from this part. I started to see the half marathon leaders at some point so that kept me occupied in amazement of their running ability. At mile 6 I saw Katie going back with a slew of other runners and at this point I was just focusing on making it to the turn around where I knew the rest of the way would mostly be downhill. My watch was a bit ahead of the mile markers – even from mile one it was off and then was consistently .19 past the mile markers. I wasn’t sure if I’d just make it up in the end or what the deal was.

At the turnaround, people seemed to just want to stop and walk, so I had to weave through a few people – I wanted to keep going! My watch said 1:12:XX so I knew if I could keep my pace I’d make it under my 1:24:XX high range. I had water at this aid station. Starting here – it was a little harder to get water as they did not have them prepared as in the beginning.

I don’t even remember mile 7 and mile 8 – they flew by, I remember when my watch beeped for mile 8 I was so surprised it had gone by already! A lot of the return was facing the sun and also had a good head wind which made it harder. I was very happy with my pace and even told myself to slowdown sometimes so I would not run out of energy. I was easily hitting sub 10:30s on my Garmin. I knew the next aid station was 4 miles from the start, which meant mile 9. I was contemplating whether or not to take a GU but the first went well so I thought it was a good idea. At mile 9 I had my GU as I approached the aid station and then grabbed a water (at this point the volunteers were furiously trying to fill up cups for the runners). Unfortunately there was barely any water in my cup but I did not realize it until I was past the table and did not want to turn back. The next 2 miles I really wanted water, bad. Those things definitely require water when eating. I was still feeling good from mile 9-11 and my pace was still right where I wanted it, I just wanted water. 

Race map and elevation. My watch had 431 ft gain

 At mile 11, I got water – this time I think I even had to fill it up myself. The last two miles were definitely the toughest. I was feeling strong and had no doubt that I could make it – but I was very thirsty the whole time and it was hot out. Also at this point, all you could see was a giant hill that curves off the right – and it was more of a mental challenge getting up. I felt strong, but mentally weak as I was craving water. At this point you can see the reservoir and the finish off in the distance, which I think makes it worse because you see how far you still have to go. During the final mile or so there were some marathoners among the group (easily stood out) and I was so thankful I was only running 13.1. It is simply amazing those who can run 26.2 – it is not an easy task for the body.

The last bit I tried to kick it in to high gear, but thirst still lingered. My watch had already beeped 13 miles and I knew there was way more than .1 left. They routed us a bit of a different way to the finish and finally I see the home stretch and run run run (looking for AA). He had a prime space right next to the finish. I crossed the finish! AND I GOT A MEDAL. I had to fidget to get my timing chip out (no volunteers) and was searching with my eyes for water. There was none. I saw AA and hugged him for 2 seconds! I immediately told him how much I needed water. It was a fight to get to the tent, there were no cups, and I was on the verge of tears. Finally a volunteer came over with cups. Another runner helped me with a jug since there was hardly any left. It was the best water I had tasted :-) After a few refills I was so happy to have completed it and couldn’t believe it :-)

My first  medal!

We went to sit up on the hill and it felt so good to sit down. I grabbed a ½ banana and piece of orange – I wasn’t quite ready to eat yet. I don’t quite remember what I was feeling at this point…but it was nice to sit down and debrief with AA a little. After we met up with Katie and her friends we headed to see what food there was. There was an Evol burrito food truck and we got a burrito and headed to the beer tent. We had a food tag on our bib, but we didn’t see anywhere to use it. We stayed for one drink, got an Udi’s bagel (main sponsor) and headed out since we knew there was more traffic. That was another 15-20 minute wait to get out. 

Race Poster

Race organization thoughts: This is my first ½ marathon so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have run a lot of well organized races (ie: Bolder Boulder). The Evergreen Sprint Tri was great, the Wash Park Turkey Trot is always fun and so was the Aetna Park to Park 10 miler. So all of my recent experiences have been good. This race definitely had its downfalls (traffic/late start entering, the funneling and walking of runners at the beginning, course length, lack of water/volunteers at aid stations on return, lack of food) – but overall I definitely enjoyed my experience. I think a lot has to do with it being my first race so I was just excited to run and I don’t have races to compare it to. I was very curious to read others and set up a search immediately. The reviews haven’t been great. Some people are pretty pissed for all the reasons above plus the cost of the race. I read at least two other blogs who also had the race distance at atleast 13.4. I only did the ½ marathon, I can’t imagine doing the marathon and not having aid stations as support throughout the race and my feeling is they completely ran out of food. I’m not even sure what the tag on the bib was for.

Race time: So my final chip time was 2:22:02 (10:50 pace). As I mentioned in my last blog – this was right in the range I wanted (2:21:XX – 2:24:XX). So I was very happy with this! 

Splits - I thought these looked good - mostly negative-ish :-)

Pace = blue, elevation = green. pretty consistent!

Now – my Garmin had a distance of 13.43 with a finish of 2:22:02 also. For that distance – it is a pace of 10:35! Seems like a big difference. If I had that pace for just 13.1 miles it would have been a time of 2:18:33 which would have beaten my expectations! But I guess I have to stick with my official time – so I am still happy that I got within my goal. It is hard because when I was running I felt I was running 10:40s on the way out and 10:30s on the return so I was really hoping/expecting that time. Has anyone ever experienced this before?

The future: I wasn’t sure how I would feel after the race. Would I want another? Would I be satisfied that I just ran a ½ marathon? Well it turns out I really liked it and want to run another! I know I want to focus on Triathlons during the summer, and AA is super interested in doing a ½ together. So we are thinking of trying a half in the February/March/maybe April time frame! We have the 4 mile Turkey Trot in November but not much else so I can take it easy for a few weeks which will be nice!

Of course Monday morning I searched high and low for races. Right now our #1 pick is the Canyonlands ½ Marathon. It looks AWESOME. It is in Moab, UT which is only a 6 hour drive from Denver - it looks beautiful. The only downside is that it is so popular there is a lottery to get in. The lottery opens in about a month so it’ll be a waiting game until then. Luckily there are a few others incase that doesn’t work out.

Until then, I started studying again :-( For my profession I need to take about 9 exams to receive the actuarial designation. I hit a speed bump about 2.5 years ago after I failed the same exam a few times after studying SO hard for them. I think I am finally ready to start them back up, so I will be focusing on studying until my test in February and keeping myself sane with running and swimming :-) Silly actuarial exams! If my family is reading this though – please don’t ask me about studying yet :-)

Thanks for reading! Share your reactions after your first half and what your immediate plans were after!