My Race for the Cure 10 Year Anniversary

Race for the Cure!! I think I have mentioned before that Race for the Cure was my very first race. That was 10 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long! This year I celebrated the big 1-0 in a pretty great, unplanned, way.

The race was later this year than it ever has been since I started running it. It's always been in October and this year it was the first weekend in November. Which also means, it was colder for this race than any other Race for the Cure I've run. I had a really hard time figuring out what to wear. I knew I wanted to run hard for the competitive start at 7:30, so I would not need as much warmth as I would if I was running a more comfortable pace. But then I planned to run the course again at 8:00 with my friend Andrea, whose goal was to PR with a pace under 9:49. It seems petty, but I REALLY hate being cold, and I really wanted to run hard so what to wear definitely mattered.

We met Andrea at 5:45 on race morning to drive to Little Rock together. We ended up getting to our "regular" parking lot earlier than expected and it was nice to not feel rushed. We took our time gathering what we needed for the race and sorting what we would need later. When we were ready, we made the half mile walk to race central. After a quick "tour" of the area for Andrea, we ran a mile to warm up and by the time we finished there was less than 10 minutes until Scott and I started. I asked Andrea to get a quick picture for Scott and me and then we said goodbye for a bit.

At the start line I did the regular last minute things, making sure my shoes were the right tightness, music was ready, and trying to stay warmed up. The countdown began and the gun went off. With a reminder from Scott to not start too fast, and not much else on my mind, we took off. For the first time that I can remember, the first hill, the pass up the Broadway bridge to cross the river, didn't seem so hard. Even with Scott's reminder, my first mile was still too fast at 8:04, but in the moment I was feeling good. And then the second pass over the river, over the Main Street bridge, came. The hill to the top of this bridge is longer I think. Or maybe I'm delusional. It feels way worse and it takes me out, every time. I used the top of the bridge to recover as best as possible so that I could use the downhill of it to regain momentum.

I didn't have a time goal for this race. I knew the first 250 finishers received a medal, and I knew I placed 56th last year. All I wanted was to get a medal. And maybe finish in a better placement. I tried very hard to stay in the moment and be aware of the fun going on on the sides of the course. There have been times in the past that I've done the competitive run and there had not been many groups out yet. Or maybe I was too focused on time to see them. This time though, I wanted to make sure I saw them. They were a good distraction but even though I wasn't going for time, I had seen my pace climbing little by little as we ran over rolling hill after rolling hill. And there was a small part of me that was bothered by that. At 2.5 miles I noticed my average pace was 8:28. I wasn't positive, but I was thinking that might be a PR pace. I didn't know if I could run any faster, but I hoped to at least maintain that average. I wanted to finish knowing I had done my best. So I tried to dig deeper.

The last couple turns I think Scott was trying to tell me to start picking off people. To pass one person at a time. That didn't happen until the last 1/3 mile or so and it wasn't many, but I did. I crossed the finish line and Scott and I were greeted by a bunch of guys shouting so loud I could hear them over my own very loud music. It was probably the most rowdy finish line, medal receiving, greeting I've ever had. But it was pretty great. :-D

I knew I didn't have very long to get back to the start line where Andrea was waiting. I checked my watch, saw I finished with a pace of 8:24, thanked Scott for pacing me, and passed my extra stuff to him before taking off again. I had approximately a quarter mile and 4 minutes to do it. Which doesn't sound like it would be a problem, but at this point there are thousands of people lined up at least two blocks deep and most are walkers. I ran, then jogged, then weaved through participants and spectators. I saw Andrea JUST before I heard the DJ shout Go! We got a quick start line selfie, because it's tradition, and then prepared to run. Except, we were hardly moving.

It's been a few years since I did the general start as a runner. I had given Andrea a place to meet that I thought would be in the mix of runners, but in front of walkers. Now that it's all over, I'm thinking there really aren't nearly as many runners at the 8:00 start as there used to be. That, or they really crowd them in. Whatever the case, we were behind hundreds of walkers. I'm so glad so many people were there to support the cause, but I was feeling bad that I told Andrea to meet me so far back. Because of how packed it was we had a slow start to working towards Andrea's PR. We tried to jog through the crowd, or along the side on the sidewalk, but we were sitting around a 14 minute mile for about 1/4 mile. As we went up the bridge the crowd thinned more and more. At almost half a mile it had thinned enough that we could easily run and pass people as needed. Our pace had already gone from 14 to somewhere in the 11 minute range. I apologized again to Andrea and told her next year to just start in the very front. Or, even better, run the competitive run so she could get a medal for her hard work. :-D I also asked if she still wanted to shoot for her PR goal, which would mean running harder to make up for the beginning. Andrea's answer was to at least run the PR pace from this point on.

A little before one mile I noticed our pace had dropped significantly and we pulled back a little. It was the same situation as my first time around the course. Only Andrea is better about pacing herself. I gave her a heads up about the hill back across the bridge coming up and we slowed a little more. At the top we recovered again, and when Andrea was ready we used the downhill on the other side of the river to pick the pace back up. I honestly don't remember very much talking. I know I tried to encourage Andrea, but also tried not to assume she wanted to hear what was coming up along the course. I also noticed the groups of spectators were way more vocal this time around.
For me, this second time on the course had it's own set of difficulties. Mostly being that I was running on tired legs from the speedy 5k, but also I was now at almost 7 miles of running for the day. I should have mentioned before that part of why I wanted to run the course a second time with Andrea, besides wanting to run with and support my friend, was because I'm also training for a 15k in a few weeks. So I needed the distance, but I was definitely feeling it. Despite that, I was throughly enjoying myself! I love running with Andrea, and I was really loving the experience of truly seeing and hearing the spectators along the way.

We had been on the little rolling hills for a bit when Andrea asked about our distance. Back at the start line her RunKeeper app couldn't seem to find a signal so her distance and pace were off. I knew we had passed two miles but my watch was showing right at 2 miles, and also giving me a warning that the battery was low. I assumed the distance and pace were off because of the low battery. I was hoping that it wouldn't die before we finished because there have been a couple times when something similar to this has happened when the battery was low and it ended up still tracking but not showing. Anyway, so I estimated we had about 3/4 mile to go but couldn't tell her anything about pace, and asked if she wanted to know what to expect for the last few minutes. She asked about the distance from our last turn to the finish line. I told her my best guess was less than half a mile, but more than a quarter. (According to Google Maps it is .4) I also told her she would be able to see the finish line as soon as we turned. She was asking because she had more to give, but didn't want to go all out too soon. I love how Andrea races so smart!!

Step by step Andrea picked up the pace and finished so so strong! I think we finished at an awkward time because there weren't very many people at the finish line. The guys that had been handing out medals earlier had move to just before the finish line. That was cool and I was glad there was some noise as we finished. There just weren't very many runners or people on the sidelines. It was really odd. So it seems as though while the competitive runners may have less excitement over the course, general start runners may have a less exciting finish line. Or maybe it was a fluke. Who knows! Whatever the case, I was still so proud of Andrea and her smart, strong race! It wasn't until we met up with Scott a minute or two after finishing that I really looked at my watch to see our finish time. My watch had tracked the whole time and it turns out that we had done way better than expected. And Andrea learned she has WAY more in her than she realized. Our finish time was 28:54 with an average pace of 9:17.... 9:17!!! That's a 30 second PR for Andrea! WHAT!? Her first 5k was a 9:49 pace on a mostly flat course. This one was far from flat. Incredible!

We took some time to stretch and then walked back to race central to wait for the Survivor Parade which was scheduled to start at 9:30. We had almost an hour at this point. While waiting for the parade we stood around, stretched, went to the the little tent set up for pink ribbon shopping, stood around, and stretched some more. All while trying to stay warm. While Andrea and I were running, Scott had gone back to the car and grabbed our bags that had an extra layer and snacks, but I think I underestimated how many layers post-run I would need. I did not want to miss the parade, and by the time it started I was so thankful.

Staying for the parade is really important to me. It reminds me of why I run this race in the first place. To remember and celebrate the too many friends and family that are affected by cancer. To support the ones I don't even know. It's a very special time filled with smiles and tears.

I tried not to rush leaving, but almost couldn't help it. I had been shaking from being cold for over an hour. We all decided we were ready and we made our way back to the car, trying to be in the sun as much as possible. :)

After ten years, I almost expected this year to be somewhat mundane. "Just" another 5k that had a special cause, but nothing really different from the past. And yet, it was still different. Every year, all ten of them, has been different for one reason or another. I'm already looking forward to what my 11th year at Race for the Cure will bring!

Competitive Run Final Stats~
Finish time- 26:23
Average pace- 8:24 (I found out while we were waiting for the parade that I did in fact PR!!!)
Overall place- 51/173

Soaring at the Sibling's Half Marathon

What started off as a little joke, became one of the best half marathon experiences I have ever had.

Back in March my sister in law, Crystal, and her kids were here for spring break and she said she wanted this to be the year she did Soaring Wings. She's heard me talk about it every year since my first and the time had come for her to make it happen. I was so happy, of course, but when she texted and said she had signed up my youngest brother, Brandon, as well, I was even more so.
The joke comes in when I registered Scott and myself the next day and posted on Facebook that I thought my other brother, Joshua, and sister in law, Krista, should also run with us. It wasn't a joke because I thought they weren't able, but just because I truly didn't expect them to want to. A week or two later in a sibling group text a screenshot for two more registrations showed up. To say I was ecstatic was a vast understatement.

Building or maintaining a solid base was the goal through the summer and official training began mid August. With a new job keeping me busy and a girl's weekend mid way, I was having to be very flexible with my training. Something that takes a lot of effort for me. I like to stick to the plan 100%. Or at least 85-90%. There wasn't a week that went by that I didn't move a run or cut out miles. Throw in a very last minute work trip the week before the race, and I started to wonder if I'd be able to be the encourager I hoped to be for my siblings.

I had told Crystal long ago that I would run with her for her first half marathon, whenever that happened to be. We stuck with that plan, even when Crystal's training had to take a back seat to a back injury flare up. It didn't matter to me what our finishing time would be. Friday night before the race we talked about a plan for the race and Crystal said she would like to run for at least three miles, but really see how far she could go before taking a walk break, and after that we would do some form of intervals.
A couple months before the race, Scott said he would do the race with Krista. She had been training with 3 minute runs/1 minute walks so that was her plan for the race as well. As far as I know Joshua and Brandon didn't have a specific plan, other than to move in whatever way necessary to finish. I also don't know if they had talked about staying together the whole time, or maybe talked about separating at some point.

My brothers and their families drove into town; going straight to the race expo in Conway. So as soon as the kids were out of school, Scott got off work early and we met them there. My nieces and nephews were doing the kid's races, but the mile race was cancelled because of rain, and the shorter races were moved inside. I was hoping to make it for the races but because of the rain it took a little longer to get to Conway than it should have. I was too excited about this being my sibling's first half marathon and made a silly request for them to wait to get their packets until we arrived. I love that they humored me and waited. It was packed at the expo and I know it really would have been easier with the kids if they had all gotten their packets while they waited for us.

After getting our packets we went to dinner and then sent the kiddos home with my parents. We ran a couple errands and enjoyed some sibling time together before trying to get some good sleep. I don't know that any of us slept much, but morning came anyway. :)

The timing of everything was going well, even though only one of three alarms went off. We still met in the lobby and got to the McGee Center in good time. Until we went to try and trade Crystal's shirt and they said the race was about to start. I thought we still had 15 minutes. Ummm, Rookie Move, Heather! I was wondering why I kept seeing 7:10 for start time. I was thinking 7:10 is when the National Anthem would be sung and the prayer said, and following that, the waves would begin. I read wrong. :-/ So the one that has start line anxiety, and desperately prefers to be TO the start line 20 minutes early... had everyone running late.

PANIC!

Okay, not really. But I didn't like it. Crystal, Brandon, Joshua, and I found a place in a corral where we felt reasonably comfortable, but Scott and Krista didn't show up. After a couple minutes Joshua went up to find them. I guess they had stopped because someone was singing the National Anthem. So, we did end up making it to the start line in time, but no one except the people in the closer up corrals could hear. I was so disappointed. I have a really hard time picking just one favorite part of any race. But the National Anthem and the prayer before the race are definitely up there on my favorites list! So Scott and Krista joined us, and it was barely 2 minutes later that our corral started moving. We had time for my traditional start line selfie and then we were moving! I was so excited and caught up in the moment I forgot to say anything to Scott about seeing him at the end. That's my only regret at this race. I'm pretty sure he didn't think anything of it. I love that we all started this race together.

Caught up in the excitement, Crystal and I left my brothers, other sister, and Scott and went on to do our thing. The other four were almost always on my mind. Joshua and I had shared our locations in a group text so that our dad could track us for spectating, so I would occasionally see where Joshua was, and assume Brandon was still with him. But I really had no idea where Scott and Krista were unless Scott texted. From here on, until nearly the end, it's really all about just Crystal and me. I wish I had asked my siblings to write an account of their side to throw in here.

Crystal ran a very smart race. I was so impressed with her. From the start, if she felt our pace pick up, she would say we needed to pull back so that we could run longer before walking. My parents and the 6 grandkids, ranging from 3 to 13 years old, showed up at what has become the regular first stop right about mile 3. The kids looked a little sleepy (they did have to get up early on a weekend after all. ;) ) and the younger ones were maybe a little confused as to why Nana and PopPop were yelling and ringing loud bells. It was so fun seeing not only my daughter, but also my nieces and nephews on the course! Normally I have a pretty good idea where my parents will show up next, but because we were running in 3 groups, Dad said that they may have to split up. So it was kind of a fun distraction for me to think about possible places for them to show up.

At 3 1/2 miles we were tackling the first of the longer hills on the course. Earlier in the race I had asked Crystal if she wanted me to give her a heads up when the bigger hills were coming. She said she thought that would be a good idea. Later on when I asked again she went back and forth, but again decided it would mentally help if she knew what was coming. This first of the hardest hills is nearly half a mile long and begins with a gentle incline but quickly changes to very steep. I dread it every year! It's mentally challenging on top of tiring on the legs and praying your heart doesn't leave your chest before you get to the top. I fully expected Crystal to tell me she was ready to walk when we got to this point. That didn't happen though. Instead, with some goal points we set along the way, she pep talked her way up the hill. Seriously, I was way impressed. This was my 9th year doing Soaring Wings and I'm pretty sure it's only been in the last 2 or 3 years that I have run this whole hill. And when I do it, it usually involves some grumbling or growling. Not a pep talk. Less than 10 miles to go and Crystal was holding strong.



We spent the next few miles with a mix of talking about parts of the course coming up, altering goals, and focusing on running a smart race. Crystal's hope had been to make it minimum 3 miles without walking. After making it up that hill she decided to go for 4, then 5, then 6. And then 7. 7 miles of running after not a whole lot of training in the weeks leading up to the race because of her injury. Before her injury flared up, she had gotten in 8 miles about a month before the race. At the aid station around mile 7 we walked through the water stop and then took a second for Crystal to stretch out and for me to get a boulder out of my shoe. A boulder that was actually a barely there piece of sand, but extremely bothersome nonetheless.
At this point we were excited to be over half way done with the race, but also knew that the "worst" was coming. I've said it before, the back half of Soaring Wings is the worst. Many more hills, short and long. A long stretch of course with no turns. And more of the mental game knowing that the mile 12 hill still loomed ahead. But still, we stayed positive. Even when Crystal started to hurt. We talked about what kind of pain she was feeling. Was it an injury type pain or the pain that comes with distance running. She insisted it was the distance. We didn't have specific intervals for the second half of the race, but picked points to run or walk between. On the hills we would go back and forth counting down cones, light poles, or mailboxes and encouraging Crystal to keep running to those points. Once in a while she would have a little cry, but quickly recover and make it to the next point.
We had seen my parents and the kids a little before mile 5, and then the next time was around mile 9. I would occasionally check on Joshua's location, and our best guess was that he was never more than half a mile behind us. We were also assuming he and Brandon were still together. There was no way to know for sure, and also no way at all to know where Scott and Krista were, but based on how my parents didn't split up like we thought they would, I liked to guess Scott and Krista were half a mile or so behind Joshua and Brandon. Meaning, each group was only 5-10 minutes apart from each other. It was strictly a guess though.

Somewhere around mile 10 we were reassessing our finish time goal. I had been keeping up with our pace and for a while, even with the walking we had kept our average under 11 minutes. At the beginning Crystal was saying she was expecting a 12-13 minute pace and hoped to finish in under 3 hours. After seeing our pace stay under 11 this far in, our new goal became finishing in under 2:30. We knew our pace would likely break 11 minutes in the last mile or two, and that was ok. I was still confident we could make the sub 2:30 goal.

I am pretty sure one of the highlights, or probably the number one highlight, for Crystal was at mile 11 when we saw our family again. Crystal's 7 year old son shouted, "You're doing great momma. I love you!" as we ran by. Of course that definitely got the tears going. At this point she's gone 3 miles past her longest distance ever. She's hurting so badly. And her son has pulled on her heart strings by telling the world that he sees how awesome she is doing. That one took a bit of time to recover from. :)

By the time we were nearing the mile 12 hill, we had run a long stretch. Close to a mile I think. It was the longest run we had since throwing in the walks. As we got closer we decided we would run to the base of the hill and then walk up until we decided to run, or at the top. Whichever happened first. Well, we got to talking to a couple girls and it was a fun distraction. I knew we were heading up the hill, but Crystal did not. She and one of the other girls realized at the same time that we were already about 1/4 of the way up. So we picked a point to get to before walking. We were both feeling the distance. It's a special kind of pain. The kind that's hard to ignore, and when you're not expecting it, it's hard to remember you have earned it. Passing the mile 12 flag was crazy exciting for me. Just one more mile!!! I tried to pump Crystal up with the happy news, but there's a chance she wasn't in the right mindset in that moment.

For the next mile I tried to keep positive and let Crystal know what was coming up. Down the hill- Okay, a couple small inclines that can't really be called hills after what we've done over the last 12 miles- See that intersection right there? That's where we made our first turn at the beginning of the race- Almost there- Around the curve you'll see our final turn into the finisher's chute- Last turn- GO!!

As always, the special kids that live on the Soaring Wings Ranch were there to hand out our medals. Crystal and I got ours and some water and then worked our way through the spectators to find our family. We recouped for a couple minutes and I checked on the location of Joshua. My best guess was they were a little past 12 miles. We decided to walk back up the course, about 1/3 of a mile or so, to cheer them on when they were so close to the end. While we were waiting, Scott texted to say they had just gotten to 12 miles. Crystal started walking back towards the finish line while I started jogging towards everyone else. I saw my brothers soon after Crystal and I separated and yelled and cheered them on until they were too far to hear. I texted Scott to see if he and Krista minded if I met up with them to run the rest with Krista, and he said, "Come on!". So I went one way while my brothers went the other. I cheered them on in my head and pictured them crossing the finish line together. The thought made me smile so big.

I met up with Scott and Krista when they had maybe 3/4 of a mile to go. Krista was all smiles. She joked about hearing Scott's life story and now it was my turn to distract her. So I asked about how things had been going, if they had kept the 3 minute run/1 minute walk intervals, wondering about other runners they had run with, anything to bring a distraction. As we got to the last curve, I told Krista how close she was, pointing and telling her that once we rounded the curve she would see the finishing area. She made kind of a gasping sound and I was so worried that what I said about how close we were made her feel like we actually weren't close enough to the finish. Then with a choke in her voice she said, "That's it? That's the finish??" Scott and I cheerfully said YES and then Krista said, "It's SO CLOSE!!" and started sobbing. I reached over to hug her and she continued to cry as we walked holding each other with barely a quarter mile left.
When she was ready, Krista stood up straight ready to take on the final stretch.

As we got closer to our last turn I was looking for Crystal, Brandon, and Joshua. The night before the race I had told everyone about this sappy vision in my head of how I saw the end of the race. It wasn't something I expected, but I just saw us all crossing the finish line together, no matter when each individual finished. I was hoping that I'd see the other three at the start of the final chute, but as we got to the corner I didn't see them. I knew it would be hard to arrange that, especially without having a way to track where we were. So I wasn't disappointed when I didn't see anyone...

We started the last running interval just before making the last turn and Krista told us she wanted to sprint to the finish. She was not kidding. We made that turn and she took off!! I wasn't actually sure if I could keep up. And then, from the side walking past the roped off final chute, I saw Joshua. And then I saw Brandon. And then Crystal going under the rope (pretty sure finishing off a hamburger as she did so LOL). It happened. We were all six going to finish together. I was so happy. SO. Happy.

Running down the finisher's chute hearing people cheering, knowing that the MC was calling out the names of finishers, and confident that my parents and all the kids were right across the finish line waiting to see all of us finish was the most exhilarating feeling. I feel like I could not hide my pride. I was doing one of my most favorite things in the world. And all my siblings were there with me. Words cannot describe this feeling.

Brandon, Crystal, Joshua, Krista... look what you have done. Look what WE have done.

I don't remember our finishing stats, and I'm not going to look them up. Because it doesn't matter right now. If my siblings decide to do another half marathon, and if they do it for time, maybe the stats will matter then. But right now, to me, it does not matter. We just ran a half marathon together.

We started together. We finished together. Siblings Half Marathon (#1) is in the books! <3

That Time I Got First Place!

I've said it so many times it's almost ridiculous, but the whole "I never thought..." expression has been a regular part of my vocabulary for so many years. The phrase, "Never say never." repeatedly comes to mind. "I'll NEVER do that distance." "I'll NEVER run for speed." "I'll NEVER win an award at a race."

When I started running 10 years ago, if you had told me that one day I'd be in the top three finishers for my age group I would have laughed so very hard. If you had said the same thing even just a few months ago I would have adamantly said you were wrong.
And yet, here I am today with a FIRST PLACE finisher's award in my hand! I have been analyzing, and over analyzing this win all day. Scott finally told me tonight to knock it off. I won. It's amazing!

Let's rewind...

A couple months ago Scott and I heard about a fundraiser one mile race my kid's school was having. In the interest of being supportive we signed up. At the time it was just about helping out and running a fast enough mile to make sure I didn't embarrass myself for signing up in the first wave- finishing in 8:30 or faster. I knew I had done that before, but I was coming off of a PR half marathon and wasn't sure what to expect. Then I had a hard time recovering from that race. Normally I'm back to running comfortably within a week of a half marathon. My first truly comfortable run was almost 2 weeks later, only a week from the one mile race. I was definitely concerned about how I was going to confidently put myself in the wave I signed up for. Scott kept telling me it was only a mile, don't overthink it! I got in two fast mile speed workouts, and then it was race day.

I woke up nervous. I have done countless 5k's, 14 half marathons, and 4 marathons, and yet, I was just as nervous for this silly one mile race. But it wasn't silly. I had a goal in mind. My previous 1 mile PR was 7:47 during a one mile time trial back in November. So, I hoped to PR at this race with a time of 7:45 or faster. I knew my biggest hang up would be the weather. We went from late winter type weather, had a two week long spring, and then full blast into summer. I had hopes I could push through whatever weather we had.

Before the race Scott and I met up with Angela and we got a warm up in. About 9 minutes before the race was to start, Scott made a comment about it being weird that no one was at the starting line. He's used to people milling around long before start time and the two of us being lined up at least 15, but usually closer to 30 minutes before we start. Just a few minutes later runners were called to the line. All of a sudden I was nervous again. It was so warm and felt so humid. A beautiful summer morning in the south... unless you were running a race. :)

The running field for this wave was not big and mostly made of of kids. Between the weather and knowing the high energy these kids have, my goal quickly became to not come in last in this wave, with my sub goal still being to PR.
We were sent off and it didn't take long for me to realize I wouldn't be able to get my 7:45. 1/4 mile in I truly thought I was going to be sick. I looked at my watch to see I had been running a 6:30 pace. WHOA! Fast and amazing, but way too fast to start for sure. I slowed a little but it didn't help the sick feeling. I did talk myself down from it, and it later occurred to me that I had a banana with my breakfast. I can't have bananas before I run. I know this! I don't know why I did this time. Maybe it had nothing to do with how I felt in the first quarter of the race, maybe it had a lot, I don't know.
I was in the back of the pack of runners. A few passed me, I passed a few, and there were a couple kids I played leap frog with, but generally I tried not to think about anyone around me. If I couldn't get 7:45 maybe I could still be close to 8. The course was an out and back route on two streets, so I got to see the lead runners fly by me after they turned around. I was surprised, though I shouldn't have been, to see Scott not too far behind the lead runners. It made me happy. He runs so many races by my side and doesn't race his own pace. I'm glad he did this one for himself. (Next time I'll get him to do a 5k at his own pace!) I took the hairpin turn at the half mile mark and made the move to pass a couple students. In the last quarter mile I was passed for the last time by two boys I had been passing back and forth, and then also a couple adults. Also Angela's daughter passed me and Angela came right next to me. I had seen the participant list and knew there were only few ladies in this wave. A competitive emotion hit me and all I could think was, "BEAT ANGELA!" I was fairly sure I did, but it was super close so I wasn't positive.

The second wave began at 9:30 for the other runners and walkers. This group was significantly larger and included my daughter. When they called the group to the starting line I made my way down the street a little bit so I could try to get some pictures of Evie. I got a couple of her at the start, but her finish snuck up on me and she passed back by before I realized it was her. This girl can run! I have hope she'll put her long legs to use and start training with me. She's got an excellent stride. :)

There was a carnival following the race, and the awards were given out a little while later after the two waves were combined and settled. I was confident Scott would get an award and wanted to stay for that. There were many awards for many age groups. I was incredibly impressed with how fast these kids are! When it got to my age group the MC announced the third place winner, then the second place- Angela!! I was so happy for her. At this point I figured I hadn't actually beat her across the finish line. That was ok with me. But then he said my name for the first place winner! I didn't believe it until Scott nudged me to get up. What in the world!? As best I can tell there were 20 women in my age group. I know that most of the ladies in my age group that normally run races and place weren't at this race and that's where my overanalyzing came in. If they had been there, there's zero chance I would have placed at all. So in my silly head I was wondering if it even counted. Of course it did! At THIS race is all that matters. At THIS race I ran hard. At THIS race I placed first in my age group. Of course it counts.


Official stats:
Clock time- 7:59
Watch time- 7:58
Age Group Place- 1/20
Overall Place- 55/283

I need to be better about not comparing myself to others. Enjoy the moments. And never ever doubt where I belong.

Breaking 2 Hours, Say What!?

"I did it! I ran three miles. I RAN THREE MILES!!! This was my big running goal... man oh man!!! I'M A RUNNER!!!!!"
~Me, May 2008

What a difference 10 years makes!

There is no use trying to build anticipation in this recap. I can't hold it in. So, spoiler alert: I broke two hours, I broke two hours, I BROKE TWO HOURS!!!

In the four or so days since I ran the RussVegas Half Marathon, my mind has gone back and forth between ecstatic giddiness and total denial. Did I really do that? No, it can't be. Oh wait, I did. I really did!!

Last year when I ran RussVegas for the first time, it was a last minute decision (registering just 5 weeks before the race) but for some reason, I got it in the back of my head that I'd see how things went and maybe try and break 2 hours. It was a goal that followed "just finishing" and then "getting a PR". It wasn't a goal I had ever had before. I'm not sure what my thought process leading up to that made me think to add "break 2" to my list.

I didn't break 2 and when my next half training season arrived later in the summer, again in the back of my head, I thought I'd just tuck that goal away for a possibility. I trained with a break 2 plan "just to see how it worked". I was not at all confident in my ability, and wasn't sure why I wanted it as a goal in the first place. Soaring Wings Half Marathon happened and while I did PR I didn't break 2. But that was the race where I knew with all my heart that I wanted to. It needed to be my number one goal. And I needed to make it known to anyone who would listen.

I registered for RussVegas in February after much consideration. One thing being, how in the world was I going to train for a half marathon while on our cruise vacation?? Seems silly to take that into consideration, but I had to. I had a big goal I wanted to make. If I was just running the race for the experience and didn't care about time, I wouldn't concern myself as much with speed days and long runs while on vacation. The answer to the question, in case anyone is wondering, is lots and lots of laps. Or a treadmill of course. Who wants to run on a treadmill when there's an amazing view to be seen from the track though!?

So from the very start of training, I made it known that my number one goal this time was to break 2 hours. Having people know gave me a lot of accountability. It also terrified me. My heart would skip a beat any time I thought about it. In training, I'd visualize myself crossing the finish line after a big race to cross the line at 1:59:59. My long runs all went well (ok except one. We don't talk about it though. lol ) My speed days were awesome. I can't get enough of those. I was feeling confident and quite prepared by the time race day arrive. Not once had I told myself I couldn't make this goal. There was no doubt, only questioning. I knew a sub-2 was in my future, but I did tell myself that it MIGHT not be this time. I feel like I have to leave that little 1% of realism in the mix so that if it didn't happen I wouldn't be devastated. Which is laughable. OF COURSE I'd be devastated!

Race morning I was so nervous. I tried to tell myself it was just another long run. A long run with some speed work thrown in. No big deal! Ha!! Yeah right. :) I went back and forth on what layers to wear. We went back to our car two separate times for things that were forgotten. Thankfully the car was only two blocks from the start line, but still. I tied and retied my shoes half a dozen times. Anything and everything that I thought could affect my race, I messed with. Maybe I just needed to fidget.
About 7:15 we joined the pack of runners behind the 1:55 pacer. While my number one goal was to break 2 hours, my number 2 sub goal was to get Scott a PR, and my number three sub sub goal, that I knew was pretty unrealistic, was to stick with this guy. Turns out, his method of pacing is to take off pretty fast, and then, it seems, slow a bit in the end to reach the goal. I don't know that for fact, but I know that that I held a pace close to what is needed for a 1:55 finish for quite a while and I lost site of him pretty early on, and I know that based on pictures I have seen, he did get his group across the finish line at 1:55. It's interesting to see different strategies.

As I mentioned, I was holding a pretty fast pace. I kept surprising myself whenever I'd look down. For the first half of the race I felt fairly comfortable. I try not to look at my watch too much, but I kept thinking I'd slowed down too much, but then I'd see that I was still holding steady... at an 8:51 average! Knowing that my watch would likely measure the course longer due to weaving and not cutting corners, I had to compensate my pace for that. Standard calculations say a 9:09min/mile is needed for a 2 hour half marathon. I felt like anything under 9:05 would be good for me, but I was hoping to get it around 9 even. Soooo to see 8:51 and I was almost halfway through the race had me pretty stinking excited. :-D And then things started to feel hard.

It's funny how easily my perspective is swayed. Last year the stretch of course from almost 5 1/2 to a little over 7 miles was so nice. It was one nice long road. It smelled like honeysuckle. It was beautiful and green. It had lightly rolling hills. This year, it was long, all on the same road. There was nothing good to smell. And those lightly rolling hills had grown. By mile 7 I knew I had started to slow. Scott had kept a place a little ways ahead of me almost the whole time. He'd fall back to check on me, but he knows that if he's in front of me, that's the way to push me. I'd see him look over his shoulder now and then. A couple times he'd run backwards. Because, you know, it's that easy right? lol

At about 7 1/2 miles he pulled back to let me know we had dipped into current paces in the mid 9's. I picked it back up and told myself to focus on just a section at a time. This was only the second time I've done this race, but being a very visual person, I remembered a surprising amount about what was ahead. Including exactly where I hit my wall last year. It's hard to not think about that feeling, knowing that area is coming soon. Mile 8 may have been the hardest for me mentally. Looking back at my splits, it shows. Miles 8 and 9 are basically tied for my second "slowest" mile. The wind picked up in this section. There were cows on either side, which meant all the smells that are associated, there was also a short, but decent hill. Because this was where I hit my wall last time, I tried to push extra hard. In this middle section of the race, I was pretty convinced I didn't care to try and break 2 again.
My average paced started to slow and I started to wonder if the 9 minute average I as hoping for would be fast enough. We turned onto the campus of Arkansas Tech and wound our way through many groups of students who had spirit stations set up for spectating. All spectators are amazing, but I think it's pretty cool that these college students do this when they could be studying... or sleeping. :) I found my flow again around mile 10. My pace at this point was fluctuating between 8:57 and 8:59. I just needed to hold it here.
Somewhere in the middle of the course, we had started to pass the runners and walkers that did the early start. It's awesome to see how happy they were when we'd give words of encouragement, that they'd then pass back. At one point, I was among a bunch of ladies and as we passed a walker I heard her say "Wow, the women are really kicking booty today!!" Yes, yes we were. Including anyone who was walking.

I was 11 miles in when I realized that I had not seen the 2 hour pacer. I don't know why this surprised me, but it did. That 1% of realism sneaking in I guess. This is the point where I realized as long as I kept moving, I was going to make my goal! Only problem was, the water bottle I was carrying was empty and I was so parched it was distracting. :-O I didn't want to take any time to get water at an aid station because I knew I was cutting things close and the worst hill of the course was coming up, so I played my "Princess" card and asked Scott if he'd be able to catch up to me if I kept going while he filled my bottle. So we go through the aid station, Scott pops off to fill my bottle, and I run through a crowd of volunteers spritzing runners with misty water. It was barely 50 degrees outside, but that mist was incredibly refreshing and so very welcomed!

This aid station leads right to the hill, the train track overpass, that is so steep. Scott caught up as I got to the base. I took a big swig of water and charged up the hill. I made it about 3/4 of the way before I felt like my heart was going to leave my chest. My legs and breathing were fine, fine enough for being a mile from finishing anyway, but my heart was hurting and I really needed it to slow down. I called up to Scott that I was walking for just a second. He turned around and shouted at me to not walk. I hated to disappoint him, but I had to. While walking there was a little boy on the side with a spray bottle. He looked hopeful so I held my arms out and told him to go for it. He smiled so big and went to town. :) It was a short walk, but at this point seconds are precious and I had to pick things up if I wanted to make it. My pace was sitting right around 9:00, but again, I was doubting if this was good enough.

The last mile was my slowest. Which is crazy to me considering my walk was in mile 12, not 13. A majority of mile 13 is on one straight stretch of road, with a gentle incline. Throughout the course there are many inclines. I hesitate to call them hills because for some, they are probably hardly noticeable. I notice them them though. Every. Single. One. The short ones, and definitely the long ones. The ones that go on for blocks and blocks. It felt like this is how mile 13 was. I'd like to drive it sometime and see how it actually is. :) What I did know, was that this was the last stretch, and the next turn I made I would see the finish line. I don't remember seeing a lot on this road. I know it was a busier section of town. I was just so focused on finishing that I wasn't looking around. I do remember, about a block or so from the last turn I saw a man with a medal. I had seen the medal online, and then in person at the expo, but seeing it ON someone was a blast of reality. That was going to be mine!! I congratulated the man, and he told me to keep it up I was almost there.

We made the last turn and Scott was no longer ahead of me. He'd done his job. My own personal pacer. Now we were going to finish this thing together. I looked up and all I saw was the finish line. The clock read 1:58 and some amount of seconds. I felt like we were alone. I didn't see anyone. I heard everything though. Every applause, every shout of encouragement. Those were for me. My finish line kick showed up. Boy, did it show up. I watched the clock turn to 1:59 and tick closer to 2 hours. I knew I had my goal because my chip and watch time were started after the clock, but i NEEDED to beat the clock. I ran harder. I heard the announcers, and realized they were counting down. 10... 9.... 8... They got to five, and somehow I managed to pull from even deeper. I felt like I was going to fall face first over the finish line. At least I would make it though. 3... 2... 1.

1:59:59 I crossed that line.

Chip time: 1:58:50, avg pace 9:04
Garmin: 1:58:51, avg pace 9:01, 13.2 miles
Placement overall: 215/1262
Gender: 61/839
Age group: 11/140

My Garmin tells me I was coming in at a 6:55 pace. I could not contain my smile as I crossed the finish line. I LOVE a good finish line kick, and that kick was AMAZING. I smiled my way to the most precious little girl (a patient at Arkansas Children's Hospital, where race proceeds and fundraising support go) and received my medal. That's when the tears came. Big, happy, sobs. Mixed with a little bit of making sure my breakfast didn't make a return appearance. :-O
I was still in the finisher's area going back and forth between laughing and crying when another runner came up to me and said, "You look like you need a hug! Are you ok?!" I tried to tell her that I was great, but because this complete stranger cared enough to come over to me I started crying again. She hugged me and then said, "You did fantastic. You OWN THIS. You should be so proud" and on and on. When she pulled away I insisted they were happy tears. Scott told her I had just broke 2 hours for the first time. Her eyes opened wide and she exclaimed, "EXCELLENT!" while giving me a fist bump. Her excitement for me was just like a family member or friend would have shown. (Or, at this point, HAVE shown. :-D )

This lady with her caring hug and excited fist bump, the encouragement between runners and walkers, the man with the medal as I was closing in on the finish, the spectators, this is what the running community is about. Age, pace, man or woman, height or weight... none of it matters! We all trained. We are all working hard for the same purpose. It makes me so happy.

Speaking of spectators... I just have to say, no race that I have done has had spectators as good as Soaring Wings. Except this one. Not only were there volunteers at the aid stations who were fantastic, but there were groups of people all along the course. I don't think we went more than a few minutes without seeing at least a couple people. At one point we saw an elderly lady, on her walker all alone, clapping and cheering as if she knew every one who went by. On the complete opposite end of her being a lone spectator, there were multiple sections that had massive groups of people. The whole thing is just so amazing!! It was in these sections with the bigger groups, that I saw a friend and her two kids, who happen to be past students of mine. They were there cheering for their dad, but it was awesome to see familiar faces around the course.

Once the adrenaline rush wore off, the cold set in quickly. We took a few pictures, and started to head back to the car. I kept getting drawn to the finish line chute though. I so badly wanted to stay and cheer and watch people finish. I couldn't get enough. However, shaking from being cold isn't really a good thing, so I forced myself away.

I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out. This was such an awesome experience. And even though mid-race I was seriously thinking I wasn't sure I wanted to try and break 2 again, I'm already considering what more I am capable of doing.
10 years ago I ran three miles for the first time and it wasn't until then that I considered myself a runner. I had no idea what I was capable of at the time. My goal was only to complete a 5k 6 months later.
I once read that a runner will peak 7 years after they started running.... I don't remember what the source was, but I do remember being surprised by the statistic. And of course because I was, and still am learning (one is always learning, right?), I believed it.
I would say I have not peaked yet. The last year has shown me how false it really is. Who decides when a runner peaks anyway? What does it mean to be at my peak? As long as I keep trying, and putting in my best effort, can't I always be at my peak? I don't think it has to mean I've reached the point in my running career where I have gone as fast as I possibly can, and will never get another PR. Maybe this IS it. Maybe the one time I break 2 will be the only time.


On the other hand, maybe not.

Goals are Scary

Two and a half weeks. That's it. In two and a half weeks I'll be celebrating my birthday by going for big break 2 hour goal at the RussVegas Half Marathon. I'm super excited! I'm also terrified. I want it so badly. I've been training so hard. Hard enough that I was even willing to do my runs, speed included, on the track of a cruise ship. 21 total miles- 147 laps. (PR's don't wait for vacation ;) ) I know I'm not the only one to be training while on vacation. I know I'm not the only one to badly want a goal. I also know that anything can happen.

My heart races when I think about the race. I visualize myself crossing the finish line before the clocks turns to 2 hours. I imagine staying with the pacers who will get me there. I only have to take off a minute and 36 seconds from my best half marathon time. But of course there's doubt.

I know I can do this. I CAN do this!

But I. Am. Terrified.

Break 2, here I come!!