I got my butt handed to me in this race. If you followed along on my Instagram or over at Women's Running Insta, you got an overview of the day. I mean you guys, my times just got slower and slower and at one point I literally was struggling to breathe. We read and talk about "never give up!" "keep pushing", "fight for it!" and in those hard, hard miles I couldn't seem to muster any of that. I just wanted to stop on the side of the road, have a cold one (anything) and just rest. It was hard to accept my feelings as I always have something left in the reserve tank. Even in those hard Boston miles, I still felt strong, I never thought about stopping and I kept pushing.
The plan for the morning was for Jerold and I to go to the race solo. My Mom was happy to hang out with the kids and we were planning to leave by 4:15 am and be back before noon. Yeah, things went a little different than the plan! Josh decided that he really (really) wanted to come with us - please, please can I come. I didn't want to say no to him, so okay, Josh can come with us. Well, when I rolled out of bed before 4 am, Megan was at my bedside saying she want to come as well. Please Mommy, please can I come, it's not fair - you can't take Josh and leave me. In those moments I knew the plan was going to go out the window a bit - it's hard for Jerold to get around on his bike with two kids on their bikes and I was hoping he would be there for various points in the race including start and finish. At first I sat both kids down (Elle was in total dreamland and never woke up) and said maybe its better if Mommy and Daddy go to the race and come straight back before noon. Well, yeah - they were pretty darn stubborn and there were some tears, so I'm like - gosh if they really want to come to a race and see me run, then why the heck not?
I promise they were happy - they were just super hot and sun in their eyes at this point! :)
Well, by the time we actually got on the road, it was well after 5 am and I had a sinking feeling in my heart that I was going to be SO rushed to make it to the start on time. We arrived at 6:30 am (7 am start) and I bolted out of the car and started my warm up. Half mile done (was supposed to be a mile) and dynamic stretching completed while I waited to get my bib. Got the bib, had to GO badly to the restroom, the line was huge and the announcer was saying that they would start the half marathon at 7 AM sharp - not a minute later. Crap. The time was about 6:47 am. A nice lady points me in the direction of an uncrowded restroom and I take off running toward it. A short line, I was in and out and then jogged back to the starting line just was they were about to start the gun. I felt a little flushed and a tiny bit like I need five more minutes (!), Jerold was asking me about a picture and I couldn't focus on any of it. I also realized that I forgot to put the GU (I like to take one at around mile 7 or 8 in a half) in my back pocket. OOPS.
At 7 am sharp we were off and running.
Mile 1: 6:59 (Crap. Started faster than coach wanted. This mile was supposed to be between 7:10 and 7:20)
Mile 2: 7:00 (This is the mile pace that I supposed to run the whole race. The instructions were to keep running one 7 minute mile after another - and I knew I was in shape to do it.)
Mile 3: 7:04
Mile 4: 6:57
Mile 5: 7:10
Mile 6: 7:15 (I felt the humidity a lot at this point. The sun was ablaze and no shade)
Mile 7: 7:19
Mile 8: 7:28 (humm, this is NOT 7 minute pace, but there is still time to recover)
Mile 9: 7:44 (whoa. I knew I was in real trouble here) - I was thinking about the forgotten GU and maybe that would have given me a boost?!
Mile 10: 7:51 (what?)
Mile 11: 8:25 (This was the mile I debated on stopping. I was jogging and felt so, so bad during this mile. It was so humid and hot and I was by myself at this point)
Mile 12: 7:33 (decided I had to find a second gear in this race and salvage whatever I had left)
Mile 13: 7:20 (finish as strong as you can)
Final Time - 1:36:45 (7:24 pace)
A full three minutes slower than what my half marathon times have been this year and I had a whole range of emotions going on.
The good stuff: I won the race for the women. There was a woman running with me and we stayed together for the first few miles and then I went ahead. She caught up and went ahead and we were volleying back and forth for a bit. Then I went ahead until I had a breakdown at mile 9/10 and then she caught up and went went ahead. There was a point where I had to decide what to do - was I going to lose this race on top of the disaster of my pacing/splits? Nope. I knew I had to try. I passed her at the end of 11 and decided to give it whatever I had left. There's that feeling when you pass someone in the last miles of a race and they don't immediately respond - you know you can tough it out, so put the hammer down and don't look back. Try it in your next race!
Inspiring to run with these women!
Here's the thing: it was a tough day out there for everyone. Even on the way back when I saw the front guys - they looked hot and tired too.
Also, not every race is going to be an amazing PR or even the time you desire - but you still put in the effort and that is huge.
I loved hugging the woman afterwards and saying kind words to each other - community!
More good stuff: this time last year I was injured and not running or racing at all!!
Everyone has bad races - we all do. I think the important thing is to pick yourself up and learn from the experience.
Let's talk about the logistics of the Shoreline Half Marathon (In Ventura, CA - about 60 miles north of LA) for a moment:
I thought it was a very well run race! A good amount of bathrooms (Porta potties and regular), water and Gatorade at many mile points, on time start (to beat the heat as much as possible), great volunteers, good swag (medal for all finishers, t-shirt, small bag and water bottle + age group medal award and I got a sweet black bag with many compartments for winning the race!). They had to move the race from the beach location to 8 miles inland (near Ojai, CA - a beautiful mountain town) which made the heat more intense without an ocean breeze. The course was great (run along the Ventura/Ojai bike path) and it finished at Foster Park, a really pretty location.
As far as the heat and humidity training - I need work on this! I have to learn to run stronger in the heat.
SO - I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow to put it to the test (and have fun of course!). I'll be posting all over the place and updating here on running in extreme heat/humidity, so be sure and follow along on my trip to NOLA!
How do you deal with bad races? Do you race again pretty quickly, or take more time for reflection (and training)?
How do you deal with racing in heat and humidity?
Have you ever been to New Orleans (this is my first trip there!)?
xo,
Natalie
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