As I was falling asleep Monday night, I randomly thought about the 2012 American Family Fitness Half Marathon in Richmond. This was the race where I ran my PR half marathon. It was the best half marathon race I’ve ever run. Best races don’t always mean you ran your best time, but in this case the two things coincided. I thought I’d share the story from the day I put it all on the line in a way I hadn’t ever done before, missed my ultimate goal, but was still rewarded in the end. It was the day that inspired this motivational poster:

I did a flash back of the two times I have run the half in Richmond, but today I want to tell the full story from 2012.
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I woke up on the morning of November 10, 2012 nervous but ready to go. My training had gone well and I had my sights set on a sub-2 half marathon. My previous best time was a 2:07, from my very first half marathon in April 2007. It was time to finally beat that time.

The weather was perfect for a race. It was clear, in the low 40’s at the start and would only warm up to the mid-50’s by the finish. Barry was also running the half that day. We went through our usual pre-race morning routine and then headed down to the hotel lobby to meet up with his parents and my dad. My dad had plans to bike the course and see me several times during the race. I ended up seeing him at least seven times and it greatly helped me to keep going.

I had run this race the previous year, so I knew the course. The only thing that had changed was the finish. They had moved it to Brown’s Island, which meant an even longer and sharper descent to the finish line. My game plan was simple — Go out at a 9:09/mile pace, the pace I would need to run sub-2, and attack the race right from the start. Back then I was in the habit of wearing my Timex stopwatch, and chose to do so for this race so that I wouldn’t be obsessing over my current pace on my Garmin. I kissed Barry good luck, got my corral, and waited. They sent us off to Pitbull’s ‘Don’t Stop the Party’ and I was ready.

I tried to go out at the right pace, but missed the first two mile markers and wasn’t sure if I was too fast, too slow, or right on pace. I also randomly got attached to my “throw away” gloves and felt the need to throw them at my dad.

Finally, we passed the third mile marker and I looked down on my watch to see: 27:27. I thought “well, that makes the math easy.” I was running exactly a 9:09/mile pace!

I had seen my dad twice and I focused on getting to mile 5. This was just before we turned into the park, and I took two or three Shot Bloks. I hadn’t taken in any water, yet, at this point and I didn’t carry my own during races back then.

Thumb’s up!

As we made the turn into the park it quieted down a bit. There aren’t as many spectators, but there are still plenty of people around you running. I focused on passing the 10K mark and then focused on getting up to the water station, where I finally took in some water. After that I had to make my way up the one significant hill of the race and back out of the park. I had another three Shot Bloks just before mile 8.

Still going strong!

Shortly after coming out of the park, you’re on essentially the same road with no turns for about two miles. This is where I started to lose it a bit. Things started to get a little rough and I fell off pace and started really having to fight as the fatigue set in.

If I had dug a little deeper during miles 8-10, I think I may have ultimately broken two hours. But who knows. Shortly after mile 10, I got a second wind and got back on pace. I was trying all I could to pick it up as I ground my way through the final three miles.

Finally, we made the last turn and I careened down the hill towards the finish line. This hill was so sharp, it was all I could do to not fall on my face. I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch, and looked down to see: 2:01:00. A mere 60 seconds off of my goal, just 3 seconds per mile too slow. But you know what? I was elated!

I may have missed my ultimate goal of sub-2 hours, but I covered 13.1 miles 6 minutes faster than I ever had before. I also ran a race with more guts than I ever had before. I was determined to put it all on the line from the start and hold nothing back that day, and I think that’s exactly what I did. I wasn’t the only one with a PR that day, either. Barry ran a 6 minute PR as well, finishing in 1:38:03 — a time he has since bested.

It was PR’s all around and a day of celebration for all. We met back up with my dad and Barry’s parents and grabbed some post-race refreshments. McDonald’s was a sponsor for the race and they were on-site serving up smoothies and coffee. I gladly helped myself to some coffee to get my caffeine fix. We all hung out together on Brown’s Island for a little while and reveled in the accomplishments of the day.

For me, the American Family Fitness Half Marathon was the kind of race day you dream about. The weather is perfect and the stars all align to make for an amazing day. And when the stars align, great things happen.

Tell me about a day when the stars aligned for you.  

All I have to say about this week is I am so ready for us to get back to normal cold weather winter temperatures. This below 0 weather is not the norm for winter in Virginia. It looks like we’ve got another really cold week ahead of us, but hopefully after that it will start to warm up a bit. The 20’s would be a nice change…. 

Monday- Took advantage of the day off of work for MLK Day, and went for an 8 mile run in the morning.

Halfway through my run my feet went completely numb. I stopped and loosened my shoelaces, and also stretched my achilles tendons which were very tight. Slowly, my feet woke back up and I took off running back down the trail.

I also tried out the PowerGels that I got in this month’s StrideBox. The flavor was fine, and they were gel-filled inside. However, I found them very difficult to chew, more so than Shot Bloks. I don’t know if they were just tough to chew due to the cold temperatures, though.

Tuesday- A blizzard moved in on us early Tuesday morning and lasted throughout the day. At one point it was snowing so hard, you couldn’t even see the mountains behind our house.

The dogs had a blast playing together outside and eating all of the snow off of the deck. I chose to stay inside as much as possible, and did a Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones workout. It had been over a week since I last did this workout, and I could definitely feel that.

Wednesday- Rest.

Thursday- Randomly decided to do my 10 mile long run after work, after joking with Barry that eating spaghetti for dinner Wednesday night meant I should be doing my long run. I guess the idea stuck. I ran on the treadmill, since it was below 0 outside with the windchill. I discovered that a towel over the treadmill display screen helps the miles fly by.

Friday- Rest.

Saturday- I was supposed to meet up with Kim for a run, but we rescheduled to Sunday due to the 40 mph winds we were having. I really didn’t want to go, but wasn’t going to say anything if she still wanted to go. I was so relieved when she texted me suggesting we postpone to Sunday. Instead, I tried out the other Jillian Michaels DVD I bought over the holidays- the Burn Fat Boost Metabolism workout.

This one was another winner. It was set up as a 5 minute warm-up, seven 6 minute circuits, and a 5 minute cool-down. All you needed for this one was a mat. The workout was a mixture of core work, strength moves, calisthenics, and kick boxing, and it definitely got my heart rate up and had me working.

Sunday- I met up with Kim for a 3 mile run on the Dora Trail. The weather was much more favorable, so I was glad we postponed.

Total Miles: 21 miles

It has been a strange week for running. With just two days of running this week, I have exceeded last week’s mileage by 6 miles. I guess it’ll be a light weekend in terms of running.

On Monday, I took advantage of the extra day off of work and went for an 8 mile run in the morning on the New River Trail.

I mostly had the trail to myself, as it was pretty cold outside. At one point I saw 5 or 6 wild turkeys. I tried to get a picture, but they were too quick and ran off into the woods. I also missed getting a picture of something else really neat- sled dogs pulling their owners on an old school scooter!

Imagine that, but with two Huskies tethered to it running down the trail. I wish I had gotten a picture, because it was something to see! I did get a picture of their Husky transport set up.

Seeing those dogs made me think of this picture while I was running:

On Wednesday night, Barry and I had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I joked with him that I felt like I should get up and run 10 miles the next morning, since we were carbo-loading. Barry said he didn’t see any reason I shouldn’t. That idea kind of stuck in my head.

Although I did not get up and run 10 miles before work, I did come home and run 10 miles with Sven after work. I don’t think it got above 0 all day with the windchill, so there was no way I was going to run outside. In addition to putting on a good movie, I came up with another way to make the miles fly by while on the treadmill:

A towel over the screen! I usually look at the screen a lot while I run, but covering it up let me get completely absorbed in the movie and the time just flew by. And the main reason I was okay with the idea of running 10 miles in the evening after work? There was no training plan telling me I had to.

Name that movie…. ready, go! 

Has it been a normal or strange week for you as far as workouts are concerned? 

Who else has been having more winter/frigid weather this week? 
I thought we were past that whole ‘Polar Vortex’ thing…

I spent a recent cold, rainy Saturday afternoon creating a few inspirational running posters. I used photos from races and from the trail. Enjoy!

From a snowy trail run at Mountain Lake:

From the Richmond Marathon, circa 2011; Barry headed to the finish:

From the New River State Park Trail:

From the American Family Fitness Half Marathon, Richmond 2012:

From the climb up Mill Mountain during the 2013 Blue Ridge Half Marathon:

From the finish line of the 2013 Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon:

Finally, from the New River State Park Trail:

What are some of your favorite inspirational/motivational quotes?
 

I spent this entire week fighting some kind of virus. I looked up flu symptoms on the CDC website and my symptoms were very similar. I had the chills, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and fatigue. But I’m not convinced I actually had the flu, because from what I’ve heard it totally knocks you off your feet. I think it must have been some kind of “fake flu” that mirrors flu symptoms. Either way, I am feeling better now and am hoping to get back into a regular routine. January is starting off a lot slower than I planned, but at least I’m still able to run.

Monday- Rest. I was feeling exhausted and took a sick day from work.

Tuesday- 3 mile run on the roads around our house in the evening after work. I really struggled on this run and kept thinking it was all in my head, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.

Wednesday- Rest. Barely made it through the workday.

Thursday- Rest.

Friday- I had the day off of work thanks to Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday in Virginia. I slept in, took it easy in the morning and then did a very slow 2 mile run at Bisset Park in the afternoon.

Saturday- After a full week of feeling exhausted and sick, I was finally feeling better so Barry and I headed up to Pandapas Pond for a trail run. I got in a little over 5 miles on the trails. I don’t think I was totally back to my normal self, though, because I felt like I ran out of energy very quickly.

As soon as we got home, I changed into a dry set of running clothes and headed out to meet Kim at the Dora trail. This was her first run back since having her baby, and we ran two miles together.

After all of that, I was ready for bed by 6:30 PM, but I managed to stay up until 9. Then I slept for 12 hours.

Sunday- Rest. I considered cross training, but decided after sleeping so much the night before I better take it easy and not exhaust myself. I did spend some time cleaning and dusting the house, though. So I got my blood flowing a bit.

Total Miles: 12 miles