On Sunday September 18, I ran the Discover Whitewater Series Half Marathon for the third year in a row. I really like this race. There aren't quite as many people cheering along the course as the Mad Mini, but there is live music in one spot and there are quite a few water stations and tons of volunteers directing you along the course.
My family likes going to this race also. They get to go fishing at a little lake close to the race start / finish line that we like to go to. It’s quiet and peaceful for them. Well at least for Jay and EJ. Maddie is not a super huge fan of fishing unless I go with, and even then not so much. But at least for today they were pretty good for Daddy. I always, always worry that they are going to be horrible for him and then they won’t want to come to my races anymore. Luckily this hasn’t happened so far.
We got the race pretty early so there was a lot of waiting; about 45 minutes, which my kids were not happy about, but they survived. We headed to the starting line in front of the high school and the fire department was raising the huge American flag on one of their ladder trucks. It was beautiful to see that gorgeous flag come up into the air. I always get chills when someone sings the National Anthem and it was no different today. A local woman sang it and it was beautiful. After her beautiful performance, we were ready to race!
I have to say that I felt surprisingly strong through the majority of this race. I was totally flying along at a very decent pace for myself. I was surprised considering I ran 5 miles on Saturday and shoveled gravel and mowed the front lawn by hand. I thought I would have been more exhausted, but I wasn’t. I even flipped my 90 pound tractor tire 200 times on Thursday, and that didn’t slow me down either.
And I am totally going to give credit to my hill training though!! I always think this race is pretty flat, which it is for the most part but there are some decent hills in there too. I am proud to say that I did NOT walk any of those hills. There were quite a few runners who were walking them who were faster than me to start with, but I managed to power up the hills and take it easy on the downhill. I totally believe all my hill repeats have given me this ability. I believe also that my slow and easy pace on most of my runs has helped my endurance when it comes to racing a little faster. My short speed sessions may have had a little to do with this as well. It just really surprises me that I am actually able to maintain a faster pace during a race and when I’m out by myself, I am so slow!! I guess that’s the way it’s supposed to be anyway!
I was trucking along at my decent pace in the 10 plus minute mile range, stopping for water at the water stations, and just really enjoying myself. It was starting to heat up so I would drink some of the ice cold water and then pour some down my back. It felt awesome and helped me get through to the next water station. I used my Hammer Gel at mile 6.5. We were given GU’s at mile 7. I took a chocolate one, but didn’t use it. Me and GU do not always agree. They usually mess with my stomach, but my daughter likes them so I thought I would save it for her for the Zoo run next weekend if she wanted it (not that I think she needs one for a 5K or anything), otherwise, I will save it for myself if I run out of Hammer Gels.
Something weird happened at mile 9-10. My stomach started to feel sick and that’s never happened before. I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if it was the ice cold water I was drinking at the water stations mixed with my warmer water in my handheld and the warm Gel I ate, but I almost felt like I couldn’t go on. I walked a little bit and drank some water. I felt a little bit better and decided that I was just going to run as much as I could and not worry about my time and trying to get a PR. I just wanted to finish at this point. Luckily, the feeling passed and I was able to finish pretty strong.
I was getting pretty tired and overheated towards the end of the race, but I kept pushing. By this time I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR but I was at least hoping for a PB at this race. I headed down the driveway of the high school to the football field where the finish is. This is the best part of the race. You end by running around the track and they announce all runners names as they approach the finish line. Absolutely the best part of the race! As I came closer and closer to the finish I saw my time. The clock read 2:22 which is a decent time for me. I heard my name announced and looked up into the stands to see my family cheering for me as well. I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:22:20! Not a PR for a half marathon, but it is a PB for this race. Last year I finished this race in 2:23:46! Over a minute faster this year!! That feels awesome! I will totally take it considering this was supposed to just be a training run for my marathon in November.
Overall, I am very happy with this race! I couldn’t have asked for better conditions to run in and for a better finishing time.
Now on to the next feat! Sunday’s long run is pushed up a day to Saturday due to Maddie and I running the Henry Vilas Zoo Run 5K, so I have 18 miles planned for tomorrow! It’ll be tough, but the reward is running easy with Maddie on Sunday! It’s going to be so much fun! I can’t wait write up that report!!!
Until then! RUN ON!!
Laura
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