Austin 1/2 Marathon

I recently completed the Austin 1/2 Marathon on Sunday, February 19th. Originally, this race wasn't in my 2012 plans, however, when my sister mentioned that she'd like to come visit that weekend and run the race with me, I figured it would be a fun thing to do together.

After speaking with Coach James, the plan was to use this 1/2 as a gauge for fitness and see if I could hold MGP( marathon goal pace). He advised me to warm up for the first 4 miles and then use the last 9.1 to see if I could hold the goal pace ( since my goal for Boston is a 3:20:00, I would need to try to hit 7:38 miles).

Also, since that weekend, I was slated to do 20miles as my long run, it was suggested that I break the long run into 2 medium long runs: 10 easy miles on Saturday and then the 13.1 MGP run.

Saturday's weather was less than desirable (rainy and chilly). I went out when there was a break in the rain, but there was no avoiding it. I got caught in a torrential downpour at about mile 2.5 and was soaked from there on out. After the run, everything was water-logged, including the shoes I planned to wear on race day.

(Helpful tip: * Stuff wet running shoes with newspaper to soak up all excess water. It really does work! My shoes were dry and ready for the next morning's run.)

On the morning of the 1/2, Kristi, Scott & I made our way downtown around 5:45am. After arriving and hitting the port-o-potty line multiple times, we realized we were on the opposite end of where bag check was. We made our way against the flow of traffic, at least 6 blocks, dropped our bags and jogged quickly back to the starting line. I gave Scott a quick kiss goodbye, and as we parted ways (he was running the full marathon) I heard him shout, "don't run too fast"...he knows me all too well!

Kristi and I jumped into the corral together. We had just enough time to hug eachother good luck and the gun went off. Kristi was taking it easy as she hadn't been able to train like she wanted to.

I took off  and told her I'd wait for her at the finish line.  I had to do a bit of weaving in the beginning just to get around the people taking it easy.  I was feeling pretty warmed up by mile 1, so I just settled in and tried to stay on track with my MGP. Shortly into the race, I found myself in the 3:35 marathon pace group. I ran into a Tough Cookie friend who was running the full. We chatted for a bit and then I moved on, as it was a big congested. At the 5k mark, I was keeping a 7:33/mile pace, knowing this was a bit too quick, I slowed down a bit and tried to keep myself in check. I know all too well what happens if you blaze on out of the corrals too quickly ( these experiences will have to be saved for another blog ).

At the 5 mile marker, I was clocking the same 7:33/mile pace. I was feeling great, the weather was perfect, and I had plenty of energy. I decided to continue on at the same steady pace. At around mile 9, a few hills started to show up, but surprisingly enough (considering my lack of hill training), I was feeling great. My time was even a little under the 7:33 pace. Again, probably not the best tactic, as I was trying to hit MGP, but at this point, I just wanted to hurry up and finish up.

And then....it arrived. The giant hill at mile 12. I could see it looming in the distance as I crested a smaller hill around mile 11.5. I looked over at the dude next to me and just muttered, "oh man". He was like, "oh yeah, that hill killed me last year."  Well, I wasn't going to let it kill me. I kept a few positive thoughts in mind:

1.) I was almost done with the race, and 2.) my lululemon co-workers were stationed on this hill, ready to inspire and cheer us all up that bad boy of a hill. As I approached, I just kept swinging my arms. I felt like I was just shuffling up this hill, however, all of the cheers and shouts of encouragement made it pass by quickly and before I knew it, I was over and on my way to the finish.

I clocked a 1:37:10 for this 1/2 marathon. Not a PR obviously and I wasn't expecting it to be as I was trying to attain another goal: stick with MGP. Sadly, I was not able to achieve that either, but it did give me a confidence boost for Boston. I felt good coming through the finish line which gives me hope that my goal of 3:20 is within reach. (Another opportunity awaits for MGP during a 1/2 at the Zooma Women's 1/2 marathon in Bastrop on March 31st.)

I waited at the end of the race for my sister, who surprised herself with her lack of hill training as well and finished with a time of 2:03:12. We obviously had to get proof of this race! We hadn't done a race together since our high school cross country days.

We waited around for Scott, and he crossed the line in 4:06:58, carrying an American flag nonetheless. 

It was now time to celebrate. Off to Enchiladas Y Mas for some mexican food & beer! Adios calories burned!