Post-race wrap-up

This past Sunday I crossed my first half-marathon off the bucket list when I ran the Dallas White Rock half. While it's still fresh in mind I want to take notes on how it went, what worked, and what I'd do differently next time.

And oh yes, there will be a next time. The yucky weather notwithstanding, the race was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. In fact, I've already found a few local races in the next few months I'm eyeing. Not sure if I'll do all 3 or just one or two, but this is definitely a first with more to come.

Training

So how did we get here? It's been a goal of mine for a few years, at least since I did my first triathlon in 2008. The run was my least favorite leg of the tri, and I got a stress fracture in my hip from overtraining/poor form. Despite that, I was still determined that one day I would become a runner and complete a half-marathon.

This fall, hearing another friend talk about training for a half, I decided now was as good a time as any. I bought the Chi Running DVD and book and found that the running form they teach felt natural and easy. I used a Runner's World 9-week beginner's training plan and followed it pretty faithfully.

I remember the excitement of my first 5 mile run in years, when I realized I felt great at the end and could have gone even further. During the last 9 weeks I had several "longest run I've ever done" days, and I felt pretty good on all of them. And by the end, I could do a 6 mile run the day after a 10 mile run, both pushing Daniel in our BOB Ironman stroller. Given that before this fall I had never run 6 miles before, that felt like quite an accomplishment!

Some days it was like the stars were all aligned: I felt great, the weather was good, my energy level was high, and the miles disappeared effortlessly under my feet. But I think my best runs were the ones where I wasn't 100%, or I was pushing D in his stroller, or I was tired from all the overtime hours at work. My pace those days might not have been anything to write home about, but I think those "just show up" days were some of my best training.

Of course I was hoping my first race would be one of those ideal days with great weather and perfect health, but it wasn't. It was 45 degrees and rainy and I was still recovering from a sinus infection that had kept me in bed all day the previous Sunday. (Incidentally, it turns out running all-out in cold rainy weather for 2 hours isn't helpful when you're trying to get over a cough...I know, weird, right?) Despite the weather and the lingering cough though the day was great.

Race day

Sunday morning I woke up at 4:45 and dressed. I had done a dry run the day before and put all my clothes in a bag, so that I could just empty the bag the next morning. I layered cheap sweats and a long sleeve tee over my running shorts and tech tank, with a running cap and a fleece beanie and gloves. I put my car keys and phone, earbuds, and ID in a SPI belt and brought a cheap disposable poncho to wear pre-race. I ate a granola bar and drank a chia fresca before leaving the house. I grabbed a Red Bull and Power Bar for the drive/train ride to Fair Park, a Shot Bloc for closer to race time, and put 2 GUs on my SPI belt to eat during the race.

Having been advised to avoid the parking hassle, I opted to drive to a DART station close to downtown then take the green line train to Fair Park. I was a little nervous taking the DART at 6am on a Sunday but I needn't have worried. There were plenty of other runners there and it was a fun atmosphere. We got to Fair Park at 6:20 and I added my keys and ID to my drop bag I'd checked in the day before with a change of clothes, then went to the Coliseum to wait till the start.

Around 7:45 I headed for the start corrals and shed the sweats and poncho (all discarded clothes are donated to charity). I made a game-time decision to keep the long sleeve tee and gloves though. The first wave started around 8 and as each wave started, we moved closer and closer to the start line. Finally around 8:20 my wave reached the start and I was off.

It rained fairly heavily on the drive in, but had only drizzled since, so I was hopeful that we'd have a dry race. Alas, the drops started to fall as the race was starting. I kept the long sleeve tee and gloves on till about 5 miles in, when they became soaked and were just making me colder. My apprehension aside though, the rain and cold didn't really bother me except for the inevitable puddles that soaked my shoes.

My intention going in was to stick close to the 2:10 pacers (holding up a flag so they were easy to spot), and for the first 3 or 4 miles I did. However I discovered it was hard to stay close because of all the weaving required to dodge slower runners. So I got in front of them and decided to just hold a comfortable pace and keep close to the group. I stayed ahead of them till mile 7 when I decided to make a port-a-potty stop. I watched them pass then caught back up to them around mile 10, then passed them again. With the end in sight I decided to go for it and push as fast as I could, and I finished in 2:08:28, ahead of my 2:10 goal.

So, looking back at everything, here’s what I think I did right:

Clothes: This was a tough call for me.  I had never run in cold or wet conditions and really considered wearing a windbreaker, even going so far as to buy one.  But my veteran runner friends gave the good advice that it was better to just deal with the elements than to break in a new piece of gear on race day and be faced with the decision of whether to discard an expensive brand-new jacket or have to wear or carry it the whole race.  The mantra of any athlete is to play it like you practiced and not try new things on the big day.  So, by mile 5, I was down to shorts and tank.  Now that it’s getting colder I’ll get some long sleeve compression tops to run in, and may use that on a later winter race day.  For this time though, I was fine.  Plus, I no doubt looked much tougher than the sissy runners who were all bundled up, right? ;) I know they must have all been thinking, “wow, what a bad-ass!”

DART: It was definitely nice not to have to stress about parking or wonder what time I would arrive, and it was fun hanging out with the other runners on the train.

Water: I carried my handheld 10oz water flask so I could skip the crowded water tables if I wanted to, and for the most part I did.  I’d stop for Gatorade sometimes if I needed a quick break, and when my flask got low I topped it off at a water stop.  This worked well and kept me hydrated.

Headphones: Not all races allow headphones but White Rock does.  I didn’t really listen to music that much other than as background but it was nice to have the option.  I also took advantage of the Siri voice command feature to dictate texts to Kevin to update him on my progress so he’d know when to look for me.

And, here are the things I might do differently next time:

Bathroom stop: I stopped once, around 7 miles, and ended up having to wait several minutes for a port-a-potty.  The standing and waiting really made me feel cold and wet and it took me a few minutes to warm up again.  And I didn’t have to go all that badly.  I probably wasn’t going to make it the full 13 miles without a stop, but next time I’m going to hold out longer, and hopefully wait for one without a line.  I could have finished several minutes faster without that delay.  The silver lining though is that in my effort to catch up to the 2:10 pace group I probably made a faster pace through miles 7-10 than I would have otherwise.

Food: I didn’t really do anything wrong there, but I should have carried one or two extra GUs just in case.  I wasn’t starving by the end but probably would have had another one if I’d had the option.  Rookie error-bike events always have food at rest stops, but running races apparently don’t.

Corral: When I registered and had to estimate my finish time I guessed very conservatively at 3:15 and inadvertently sandbagged myself and got assigned to a slow corral.  I got it changed to 2:15 at the expo but next time I’ll err on the slightly aggressive side when I estimate my finish time.  Of course, having actually run a half now, I have a better idea how to predict my finish time.

Breathing:  A few times I caught myself on the verge of hyperventilating because I had been taking too-shallow breaths.  When I’d focus on taking deep lung breaths I felt find, but I’ll need to work on that focus for later races.

I’m sure I’ll think of a few other things, but really for a first race, I think I did pretty well, not just at running the actual race but with my preparation and logistics.  I did a 9-week training plan calling for 4 runs a week, and I made nearly all of them while balancing mommy duty and having a work schedule that included late evenings and sometimes 7 day workweeks.  Then I planned out my race day carefully, taking the advice of friends who’ve been there, done that.  Despite the bad weather, I had a great time and even managed to beat my goal.  Not bad for a first-timer!