This race had been in the back of my head and penciled on my calendar for a few months now. I knew it was 2 days after my niece's first birthday (in San Antonio), and had been thinking I might be able to combine the two during one trip out of town. I waited to decide for sure until the weekend after the marathon, to see how running and biking went. If my bike was awful, I had told myself I was going to need to stay here and bike. Well, my biking was awful, but I think it was awful for everyone, so I decided I could go, provided I rode my trainer for 3 hours as punishment for playing over the weekend. I also value my family more than anything else, and first birthdays only come once.
So, anyway, I knew Laurie was going to do the race as well, and we had spoken about it some throughout the week. I told her I wasn't sure what to expect, but that I thought I could probably do a 2:00-2:05. She wrote back to that email saying "I think you should do a 1:59:59." Damn her. She somehow knew what my super secret goal was, and it just further reiterated that I had to actually try for that goal now, instead of doing a 2:05 or so which would still be a huge PR. I've had a sub-2 hour half marathon in my head since crushing my 10k pr on Thanksgiving, but didn't know when I would get the chance to try it out.
Today was the day. The 3M course is a very fast point-to-point course that is net downhill. I stayed with friends last night and woke up this morning to a very brisk, clear 44 degree morning. I could see the stars as I drove to the race start, and that excited me. I did not meet up wtih Laurie beforehand, so I was totally on my own at this race, which is so different for me. It is kind of fun sometimes though - I feel like I have to prove that I'm not a baby and that I can go do things on my own like a big kid, and hold my own while doing them. So I did the usual race morning prep and made it to the start line a few minutes before the gun went off. I saw Chris on the sideline, there cheering for his sister. It was nice to see a familiar face in the midst of being a big girl by myself.
The race started and the first mile was mostly uphill. I reassured myself I would get to go down soon enough, but it still played with my flat-Houston mind a little bit. I didn't look too closely at the mile 1 split because I was expecting it to be slow anyway. Before the race and during the first mile, I had let myself off the hook a little bit, saying I was insane to think I could break 2, and that running a 2:05 would still be plenty challenging and respectable. Then I saw the clock at mile 2 - 18:19. I was dead on pace for a 1:59:59, and my mile 1 had been pretty slow. So that means I ran a fast mile 2 without absolutely killing myself. I was back in the game. And I stayed in the game - for a good long while. By mile 6, I was well under 9:00 pace. Holy cow! What was going on? Laurie was right! I saw Peter right around mile 7 and he hopped in and ran a few steps with me. I told him I was doing great, and better than expected. He put a little more pep in my step for the next mile or so. I slowed a tiny bit by mile 9, but was still exactly at 9:00 pace. At one point I looked up and saw more breath than I have ever seen. It was still pretty cold and there was a little cloud of warm air surrounding each runner as they pounded away. It would have been a cool picture, but apparently the new Kathleen doesn't have time to stop and take pictures in the middle of a race.
We turned east (on the mostly southward course), and it was the section of the course with the most uphills. They hurt, but I told myself I had no business walking and that I certainly did not deserve to walk at this point, even if for just a few seconds. I had slowed a tiny bit again at the end of mile 9, but had challenged myself to beat my 5k pr, starting at mile 10. I arrived at the start line of my 5k at 1:30:22. Wow. Who is this girl again running for me? I think I like her! By this time, my IT band started to act up pretty bad, kindly reminding me it is still mad at me from the marathon and that I clearly have some TLC to give it once this race is over. I had to walk for about 20 seconds at a time every 4-5 minutes to give it a break. The last 5k was close to campus, and I was happy to be back in the middle of my old stomping grounds. Mile 11 ended right by Double Daves - where I spent way too many Monday nights with the water ski team, and mile 12 began crossing Dean Keaton to head towards the stadium. I was on the home stretch and about to take at least 22 minutes off my half marathon pr. How lucky am I? I said a quick prayer of thanks, and wished more people could have something to be this passionate about, and a way to experience the kind of joy I get to experience so often because of all of "this."
As the stadium drew nearer, I was getting more and more excited. A lady on the side line yelled "you're almost there, empty your tank!" I thought that was pretty cool, but was not quite ready to empty my tank just yet because I did not know if another hill stood between me and the finish line or not. Luke was near the stadium, after already finishing his race, and gave me a shout out. It was nice again to see a familiar Houston face. I yelled back that I was about to take 22 minutes off my pr and that it was all good. He just shook his head. I spoke briefly to another runner expressing my concern about one last hill (you know, in the MS150, the last hill you go up once you turn right on MLK right after the stadium). He said he didn't think there was another hill and I said I wasn't sure because I know this race course is different from the MS150, but they ended about the same block, so I didn't know where the hill was. Turns out, the hill was about 2 feet west of where we went, so no hill. Once I crossed MLK, I could finally see the finish line - down a hill. Now was time to empty the tank. I had a little grin on my face because I couldn't wait to tell Laurie I not only did what she told me to do, but that I beat it by some 2 minutes. I decided I needed to come in under 1:58, and that I wanted the clock time to still start with a 1. I picked it up a bit and sprinted to the finish, and my final chip time was 1:57:51. (oh yeah, I beat my 5k pr by 29 seconds...).
I really wasn't sure if I could break 2 hours, and I know that just over a year ago I was discussing with my friend Jill that if I started running just halfs, and training all out for them, that I still did not think I could break 2 hours. I also didn't know how my 2 weeks-post marathon legs would respond to me asking them to do yet again something they have never done before. At one point I looked down at my legs and found it simply amazing how capable they are, and how much they have learned in just the past few months. I like my legs, they are good little legs (not to say they don't act up sometimes), and have taken me places I never imagined. Now, look down and thank your legs too, no matter how much you like or dislike them right now, because they are all you have, and are way more than some people have. Love the legs.
I also decided at some point that I should only run even number pace increments from now on. In the marathon, I ran exactly 10:00 pace through 14 or so, and that made math very easy. Forget trying to do the math for a 10:15 pace or something like that. This morning I stayed at exactly 9:00 pace. That made it quite easy to do math at each mile marker. I was great until mile 12. 9x12...9x12...?!?#$^#%%*( What is 9x12? I didn't know! I told myself just to run fast from that point and it wouldn't matter. Never mind the fact that I have said before that I like to do math during races because it gives me something else to focus on. I think maybe I have a math pace, just like t, i, and r paces. Anything faster than math pace, and I can't do math. My math threshold seems to be somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00 min/mile. What's yours? Also, I guess 8:00 would be the next pace in my whole number pace idea, but the thought of that is too scary to entertain, so I'll just get really good at my 9 times tables for now.
Post Race Food Report:
After the race I walked around a bit then hopped on a school bus back to the start and my car. Somewhere between mile 10 and the school bus (don't really remember), finding a Burger King became almost as important a task as breaking 2:00. I don't eat fast food very often, but Burger King is my all time favorite breakfast. I told myself that not only did I get to have a ham, egg, and cheese croissant, but that I could also have cini-mini's for doing so well. I made it to a Burger King with 7 minutes to spare. It was everything I hoped it would be, despite the fact they gave me sausage instead of ham!
Numbers for the day:
Total time: 1:57:51
Pace: 9:00 (although I like 8:59 better and that is what my garmin said, so I'm telling myself I ran faster than 9:00 miles...I bet they were really like 8:59:51 minute miles)
Avg HR: 181 (as always, so fun)
Age group: 130/338 (wow! I'm finally not at the total back)
Overall: 1810/4021
Splits:
1: 9:18
2: 9:01
3: 8:56
4: 8:56
5: 8:31
6: 9:07
7: 9:13
8: 9:07
9: 8:56
10: 9:12
11: 8:56
12: 9:02
13: 8:41 (a year ago, I couldn't even run one mile this fast)
.1: :49
P.S. Sometime during the last 2 weeks, Laurie also threw out an Ironman goal for myself. Oddly, once again, it is exactly what my super secret goal is. For fear of jinxing myself and looking like a total idiot, I'm keeping that number to myself. I'll let you know if she was right in 11 short weeks. Today, after the race when I spoke to Laurie - she did it again! This time throwing out a number for next year's marathon, and again the same # that popped in my head on the school bus back to my car. Each time she has done this, my first thought is "damn you Laurie!" because someone else telling me my goal time kind of makes it more real and scares the hell out of me. She seems to have been a pretty good judge of my ability thus far, so I only hope I can continue to meet her expecations (...because they happen to be mine as well).
So, anyway, I knew Laurie was going to do the race as well, and we had spoken about it some throughout the week. I told her I wasn't sure what to expect, but that I thought I could probably do a 2:00-2:05. She wrote back to that email saying "I think you should do a 1:59:59." Damn her. She somehow knew what my super secret goal was, and it just further reiterated that I had to actually try for that goal now, instead of doing a 2:05 or so which would still be a huge PR. I've had a sub-2 hour half marathon in my head since crushing my 10k pr on Thanksgiving, but didn't know when I would get the chance to try it out.
Today was the day. The 3M course is a very fast point-to-point course that is net downhill. I stayed with friends last night and woke up this morning to a very brisk, clear 44 degree morning. I could see the stars as I drove to the race start, and that excited me. I did not meet up wtih Laurie beforehand, so I was totally on my own at this race, which is so different for me. It is kind of fun sometimes though - I feel like I have to prove that I'm not a baby and that I can go do things on my own like a big kid, and hold my own while doing them. So I did the usual race morning prep and made it to the start line a few minutes before the gun went off. I saw Chris on the sideline, there cheering for his sister. It was nice to see a familiar face in the midst of being a big girl by myself.
The race started and the first mile was mostly uphill. I reassured myself I would get to go down soon enough, but it still played with my flat-Houston mind a little bit. I didn't look too closely at the mile 1 split because I was expecting it to be slow anyway. Before the race and during the first mile, I had let myself off the hook a little bit, saying I was insane to think I could break 2, and that running a 2:05 would still be plenty challenging and respectable. Then I saw the clock at mile 2 - 18:19. I was dead on pace for a 1:59:59, and my mile 1 had been pretty slow. So that means I ran a fast mile 2 without absolutely killing myself. I was back in the game. And I stayed in the game - for a good long while. By mile 6, I was well under 9:00 pace. Holy cow! What was going on? Laurie was right! I saw Peter right around mile 7 and he hopped in and ran a few steps with me. I told him I was doing great, and better than expected. He put a little more pep in my step for the next mile or so. I slowed a tiny bit by mile 9, but was still exactly at 9:00 pace. At one point I looked up and saw more breath than I have ever seen. It was still pretty cold and there was a little cloud of warm air surrounding each runner as they pounded away. It would have been a cool picture, but apparently the new Kathleen doesn't have time to stop and take pictures in the middle of a race.
We turned east (on the mostly southward course), and it was the section of the course with the most uphills. They hurt, but I told myself I had no business walking and that I certainly did not deserve to walk at this point, even if for just a few seconds. I had slowed a tiny bit again at the end of mile 9, but had challenged myself to beat my 5k pr, starting at mile 10. I arrived at the start line of my 5k at 1:30:22. Wow. Who is this girl again running for me? I think I like her! By this time, my IT band started to act up pretty bad, kindly reminding me it is still mad at me from the marathon and that I clearly have some TLC to give it once this race is over. I had to walk for about 20 seconds at a time every 4-5 minutes to give it a break. The last 5k was close to campus, and I was happy to be back in the middle of my old stomping grounds. Mile 11 ended right by Double Daves - where I spent way too many Monday nights with the water ski team, and mile 12 began crossing Dean Keaton to head towards the stadium. I was on the home stretch and about to take at least 22 minutes off my half marathon pr. How lucky am I? I said a quick prayer of thanks, and wished more people could have something to be this passionate about, and a way to experience the kind of joy I get to experience so often because of all of "this."
As the stadium drew nearer, I was getting more and more excited. A lady on the side line yelled "you're almost there, empty your tank!" I thought that was pretty cool, but was not quite ready to empty my tank just yet because I did not know if another hill stood between me and the finish line or not. Luke was near the stadium, after already finishing his race, and gave me a shout out. It was nice again to see a familiar Houston face. I yelled back that I was about to take 22 minutes off my pr and that it was all good. He just shook his head. I spoke briefly to another runner expressing my concern about one last hill (you know, in the MS150, the last hill you go up once you turn right on MLK right after the stadium). He said he didn't think there was another hill and I said I wasn't sure because I know this race course is different from the MS150, but they ended about the same block, so I didn't know where the hill was. Turns out, the hill was about 2 feet west of where we went, so no hill. Once I crossed MLK, I could finally see the finish line - down a hill. Now was time to empty the tank. I had a little grin on my face because I couldn't wait to tell Laurie I not only did what she told me to do, but that I beat it by some 2 minutes. I decided I needed to come in under 1:58, and that I wanted the clock time to still start with a 1. I picked it up a bit and sprinted to the finish, and my final chip time was 1:57:51. (oh yeah, I beat my 5k pr by 29 seconds...).
I really wasn't sure if I could break 2 hours, and I know that just over a year ago I was discussing with my friend Jill that if I started running just halfs, and training all out for them, that I still did not think I could break 2 hours. I also didn't know how my 2 weeks-post marathon legs would respond to me asking them to do yet again something they have never done before. At one point I looked down at my legs and found it simply amazing how capable they are, and how much they have learned in just the past few months. I like my legs, they are good little legs (not to say they don't act up sometimes), and have taken me places I never imagined. Now, look down and thank your legs too, no matter how much you like or dislike them right now, because they are all you have, and are way more than some people have. Love the legs.
I also decided at some point that I should only run even number pace increments from now on. In the marathon, I ran exactly 10:00 pace through 14 or so, and that made math very easy. Forget trying to do the math for a 10:15 pace or something like that. This morning I stayed at exactly 9:00 pace. That made it quite easy to do math at each mile marker. I was great until mile 12. 9x12...9x12...?!?#$^#%%*( What is 9x12? I didn't know! I told myself just to run fast from that point and it wouldn't matter. Never mind the fact that I have said before that I like to do math during races because it gives me something else to focus on. I think maybe I have a math pace, just like t, i, and r paces. Anything faster than math pace, and I can't do math. My math threshold seems to be somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00 min/mile. What's yours? Also, I guess 8:00 would be the next pace in my whole number pace idea, but the thought of that is too scary to entertain, so I'll just get really good at my 9 times tables for now.
Post Race Food Report:
After the race I walked around a bit then hopped on a school bus back to the start and my car. Somewhere between mile 10 and the school bus (don't really remember), finding a Burger King became almost as important a task as breaking 2:00. I don't eat fast food very often, but Burger King is my all time favorite breakfast. I told myself that not only did I get to have a ham, egg, and cheese croissant, but that I could also have cini-mini's for doing so well. I made it to a Burger King with 7 minutes to spare. It was everything I hoped it would be, despite the fact they gave me sausage instead of ham!
Numbers for the day:
Total time: 1:57:51
Pace: 9:00 (although I like 8:59 better and that is what my garmin said, so I'm telling myself I ran faster than 9:00 miles...I bet they were really like 8:59:51 minute miles)
Avg HR: 181 (as always, so fun)
Age group: 130/338 (wow! I'm finally not at the total back)
Overall: 1810/4021
Splits:
1: 9:18
2: 9:01
3: 8:56
4: 8:56
5: 8:31
6: 9:07
7: 9:13
8: 9:07
9: 8:56
10: 9:12
11: 8:56
12: 9:02
13: 8:41 (a year ago, I couldn't even run one mile this fast)
.1: :49
P.S. Sometime during the last 2 weeks, Laurie also threw out an Ironman goal for myself. Oddly, once again, it is exactly what my super secret goal is. For fear of jinxing myself and looking like a total idiot, I'm keeping that number to myself. I'll let you know if she was right in 11 short weeks. Today, after the race when I spoke to Laurie - she did it again! This time throwing out a number for next year's marathon, and again the same # that popped in my head on the school bus back to my car. Each time she has done this, my first thought is "damn you Laurie!" because someone else telling me my goal time kind of makes it more real and scares the hell out of me. She seems to have been a pretty good judge of my ability thus far, so I only hope I can continue to meet her expecations (...because they happen to be mine as well).
Comments
i think you are in Kenny's yoga class with me? I dont really know anyone in the club yet...but hi anyways:)