A few months ago I registered for a 50k that will take place on June 1st. Training for two completely different types of races had not really been a problem until this weekend. The ladies I am training for the 50k with were going to run 14 miles on Saturday -- the day before my goal half marathon. I skipped my long run last weekend so I knew I needed to get some extra miles in AND they were driving down to run on a part of the trail that will be included on the 50k route. I didn't want to jeopardize my 50k training and I wanted to run on this trail, but at the same time I wanted to perform my best at the half marathon the next day. After talking it over with the group and realizing that we are going to run 26.2 miles next Saturday for our last long run I decided not to run the extra 14 miles on Saturday. I didn't think I needed to run 26 miles on back to back weekends and my half marathon goal was just too important to me. I wanted a sub 2 hour too bad to risk it. It made me feel like a whimp for not doing the extra miles, but I knew the feeling of crossing that finish line under 2 hours would erase all those feelings. Okay -- so moving on to the Frederick Half Marathon!
The Frederick Running Festival is put on by a company called Corrigan Sports. They hold amazing races. They pride themselves on giving every runner the best experience possible. The premiums that you get for running one of their races are amazing. The medals are amazing. They get everyone super excited for the race through social media. If you were unhappy about something they want to hear about it so that they can make it better next time.
I went to the expo early Saturday morning just so that it wasn't hanging over my head all day. It wasn't crowded when I was there and I was able to get in an out quickly.
The fact that this race is held in my hometown really helped cut down on race jitters. I didn't have to plan too much ahead of time because I already knew exactly where I had to be and how to get there. The starting line is 10 minutes from my house and parking is right up close to the start line. All of that just makes race morning less stressful. The race starts at 7am -- which is early, but I love it because it leaves the rest of the day open.
Race morning was a bit rushed and it was all my fault! I cut it too close and didn't have time to hit the porta-potties before the race. I waited in line for 15 minutes before I had to bail and head to the start line. Someone took off in a hot air balloon right before the start of the race. It was pretty neat to see!
It was pretty chilly before the start. It was about 40 degrees and I had a tank top on so I was shivering! My friend Brenda runs at about the same pace that I do. She's actually probably a little bit stronger than me, but I like that because she usually pushes me to my limits. She actually ran 17 miles the day before so we weren't totally sure she would be able to hang with me the entire race. She wasn't sure how sore she would be feeling and kept telling me that I could leave her at any point. She knew I had a goal and I needed to do whatever I had to to reach it.
Since we arrived to the start line last minute we ended up behind the 2:10 pace group. I was okay with this because I had a plan it didn't matter where I started. I knew the first couple miles would be my slowest. It's crowded and it can sometimes be difficult to find an opening where you can really pick up the pace. I kept thinking about a quote I had read recently. It was from Shalane Flanagan and it was something along the lines of believing in your mind that you can do something and your body will follow. Of course this all has to be somewhat realistic. I would love to believe that I could run a marathon in 3 hours but that is just not going to happen. A sub 2 hour half was realistic for me so I kept telling myself I was going to do it.
When the gun went off I was so happy that I felt really good right off the bat. Many times it takes me a few miles to workout some stiffness, aches and pains. Not this time. My target pace was 9:20 for the first two miles. I ran the first mile at 9:28 and I ran the second mile at 9:14 so it evened out. I knew that I would have to pick up the pace after that.
Just about every mile after that was under 9 minutes. Everything our Garmin's beeped I would hear Brenda say "we are running faster than our target pace" and I would say "Okay, we can slow down." We just never did actually slow down. I know Brenda was feeling those 17 miles and I was so proud of Brenda for hanging with me. She is pretty determined so I had a feeling she would be by my side the entire 13.1 miles. At one point I remember her telling me that 9 minute miles would get us to the finish line at 1:57 minutes and we were running a little faster than that. We actually caught up with and passed the 2 hour pace group - I cant remember what mile it was, but it was then that I realized we were going to break 2 hours and couldn't contain my excitement.
At the 10 mile marker I remember being so surprised that we only had a 5k left and I still felt great. I knew that there was a decent sized hill around 12.5 miles. We were going pretty fast so I asked Brenda if she wanted to take it easy up the hill and recover a little bit. She looked at me and said "I just want to get to that finish line." So we plowed up that hill and had about 4 tenths of a mile to run. This last part is on a horse racing track. Its a packed gravel surface which wasn't awful, but it did slow us down slightly.
We crossed the finish line at 1:56:50. I don't think either one of us could be more thrilled. We both set a PR and I had achieved my goal!. Even better? They had military personal placing medals around the runners necks. I love this! It is such an honor to share our experience with these men and women who make it possible for us to enjoy days like this without having to worry about our safety.
Brenda and I after the race.
Our splits looked like this:
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 1:56:51.0 | 13.12 | 8:57 |
| 1 | 9:27.9 | 1.00 | 9:28 |
| 2 | 9:14.1 | 1.00 | 9:14 |
| 3 | 8:53.9 | 1.00 | 8:54 |
| 4 | 8:52.1 | 1.00 | 8:52 |
| 5 | 8:58.9 | 1.00 | 8:59 |
| 6 | 8:49.2 | 1.00 | 8:49 |
| 7 | 8:52.3 | 1.00 | 8:52 |
| 8 | 9:10.1 | 1.00 | 9:10 |
| 9 | 8:49.9 | 1.00 | 8:50 |
| 10 | 8:40.6 | 1.00 | 8:41 |
| 11 | 8:53.7 | 1.00 | 8:54 |
| 12 | 8:38.2 | 1.00 | 8:38 |
| 13 | 8:28.4 | 1.00 | 8:28 |
| 14 | 1:05.9 | 0.13 | 8:43 |
This averages out to 8:56 minute miles! Yikes! For me this is a huge accomplishment. I haven't been able to run sub 9 minute miles in any distance besides the 5k. Ever. I am not a super speedy runner, but I am seeing progress and that is all that I can ask for.
A very happy me
I wore my awesome premium and medal shopping after the race. The medal is top notch too. Everything from the ribbon to the actual medal are just awesome. I love that the beautiful Maryland flag was incorporated on both the medal and the premium.
Congrats Meaghan! So glad you accomplished your goal and good luck on your 50K!
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