The Race of All Races (Half-Marathon #2)!

Where do I even begin? This is going to be a long post, so hold onto your hats!

I dreamed of completing this race after my first half-marathon five years ago. I put it off, saying the time in life was not right. Well, this time was not exactly right either, but after having a good 10K race last year at Mesa Marathon, and being given as a discount code as a result, I decided to go for it. 

The Training:

I started training Thanksgiving 2023. I used the First Half Marathon Training plan from Run to the Finish (2023), and I must say, I really enjoyed it! This plan contained more strength training than I have ever done in a training cycle before. I think it helped! I had some minor ball of foot pain in my left foot, and then my right foot [maybe metatarsalgia (Mayo Clinic, 2021), and towards the end, a little tightness in my right need and left ankle/Achilles, (plus a few days of upper right hamstring pain due to treadmill running six miles one day) but I made it! Praise the Lord!

The Day Before the Race:

I read different things about carb loading, but decided to try the full three-day carb load recommended by Meghann Featherstun (n.d). (I figured that I would rather do it than not do it and wonder if it could have helped.) I purposely took a day off work Thursday so that I could clean the house and do my cooking and "on my feet" stuff so that I could try to rest Friday. I ended up deciding to do a shakeout run and some errands Friday, but it was WORTH IT!

The Shake-Out Run:

My training schedule said one mile. This was three to four, but I wanted to go. Then I doubted myself. Then I wanted to go. I told myself I might regret not going if I didn't, so I went! I wasn't going to demo the new Cielo X1 racing shoes from Hoka, but then they offered me a free fanny pack so why not? When else am I going to run in $275 shoes? Probably not ever. The shakeout went great (a total of 3.32 miles) and I was a little faster running with people, and that encouraged me.

The Expo:

Mesa Marathon held the expo inside this year. Bib pickup was outside, but the timing check, photo walls, and some vendors were inside. This was a nice change given the weather. I did the passport program again, because I am a sucker for free stuff. If I am able to keep running this race and going to the expo, I might eventually earn enough points for a free entry. We will see.

Besides errands, I did set aside some time to paint my nails on Friday. I read that Shalene Flanagan used to do that on the day before a race, and so, I did, too (Sebor, 2020). I went with a color that matched what I wanted to wear and was closest to the orange color I saw on the medals. (Yes, I am that person!) 

I tried to move my meals up an hour, and with that, I was able to go to bed at 8:15 pm. Wow! I am never to bed that early unless I am sick. I did not sleep great, but I did not sleep awfully, either. In total, my watch said I got about 6 hours and 45 minutes of sleep. Pretty good given that I got up at 3:15 am!

Race morning:

I didn't have time to do much at home. I got up, washed my face and did my hair, made coffee for my husband, got dressed, did PT, and then grabbed a no bake peanut butter ball and an eight ounce bottle of water for the car and was out the door. My husband nicely drove me over to the busses, and dropped me off right in front of them, a huge blessing since it was raining!

Race day conditions: 

Not good! I checked the forecast all week and prayed for good conditions. It looked like it might rain all morning, just at the start, or before the start. In the end, conditions could have been worse, but it was mid-forties and raining and not so pleasant. I wore a tank top, hoodie, and rain jacket and stood under the heaters for as long as I could. Then, about 5:30 am, I made a bathroom stop, ate my banana and drank my water, and went for a five minute shakeout (0.47 miles). Then I started unlayering, adding arm sleeves, a garbage bag over my torso, and a hat. The race was supposed to start at 6:30 am, but got delayed until 7:00 am, and then brought back to 6:50 am. I ended up squeezing in an extra bathroom stop before the start, which I think was helpful.

Goals: 

A. Under 2 hours 9:09/mile

B. Under 1:55 8:46/mile

C. Run Hive (2024) race predictor time based on March 2023 15K and 36 years old: 1:51:04 or 1:52:45 and 8:28/mile

Course: 

Point A to Point B. (Thank you, Lord, for bag drop trucks that brought our belongings back to the finish line.) We ran through the streets of Mesa, past orange groves and homes and communities. People were out and about on the course with posters, cowbells, and shouts to encourage. One assisted living community's members were out on the sidewalks in their wheelchairs. Right towards the finish, there was a younger kid with a sign that said, "Tap here to power up." I definitely tapped for the kid! The course was well-marked and police presence was there to ensure safety. The race marked mileage well, and had a few extra signs with fun sayings to increase motivation.

Miles 1-3:

I tried to keep the pace steady and not go out too hard. Coach Elisabeth of Running Explained (2023) says to go out about 10 seconds faster than desired, so when I saw 8:40/mile and it felt good, I went with it. I decided not to run with podcasts, as I usually do, mostly because of the rain. I also wanted to soak up the scenery. I did that, as well as thinking and praying. It was truly a special time!

I grabbed water at mile two and took my berries and oats fruit puree pouch at about mile three/thirty minutes. I had to tug it out of the side pocket of my capri leggings, and when I uncapped it, some of it squirted all over my white gloves. I hoped that people would not think it was blood, especially after Fiona O'Keeffe's Olympic Trials marathon episode (Monti, 2024). I tried to hide my gloves for pictures because of this. 

Miles 4-6:

I tried to hold a steady pace and save anything I could for the end. I told myself to keep getting water at the water stations. I felt a slight tightness in my left calf and had a few side stitches, but breathed through them. [Hearing Emily Sisson talk about breathing through hers and taking second in the Olympic Trials Marathon gave me hope (Chavez, 2024).] I took a strawberry Clif gel at 60 minutes (a little after mile six), but that only to a good samaritan I asked to open it for me, as neither my cold hands nor my teeth would do it! I think I startled him a bit when I asked, as I saw him turn off his earbud and ask me what I said again. Thank you, sir, whoever you are. You saved my race!

Miles 7-10:

This was my neck of the woods, and I enjoyed running through it! I still felt good and was clocking about 8:40 miles and felt good. I told myself to pick up the pace for the last 5K, if I could. To distract myself from the pace, I tried to pick people off. Many brightly colored running outfits gave me things to work for.

Miles 10-13.1:

The end was in sight! I kept picking people off and thought of my husband and parents at the finish line. I just wanted to get to them! I let myself off my water at every stop and fuel every 30 minutes rules here and just ran! I did pickup the pace, dropping from the 8:30-8:40 minutes/mile range to 8:27, 8:24, 8:15, and 7:23 for the final kick. I was working hard at the end! Some of it was vanity, because I wanted my family to see me working hard. Some of it was wanting them to know that it was worth it for them to come out to see me, too. The finish line was a bit bunched up, but I got my medal and someone had opened the gate, so my family got into the runners area with me to get my finish certificate and drop bag.

After the Race:

I got my certificate and finished at 1:52:52, far exceeding my expectations! I wanted to see if I could get down to 8:35 minutes/mile there at the end, and I didn't quite make it officially, but my watch measured long (13.15 miles), probably because of my bobbing and weaving, and on it, I got the 8:35 minutes/mile, and I'll take it. 

Could I have run harder? Probably, but seeing that I have not run a marathon in five years, I wanted to finish, not go out hard and bonk. My calves also hurt pretty bad after I stopped, so they need some work.

As I went to have my husband take pictures of me, it started raining again, harder. (The rain had held off for most of my race). We got pretty wet going back to the car. It was a bit of a circle to get back home, but we did. I stretched, foam rolled those calves, and got dressed to go back out to brunch. Of course I got a hamburger, as is tradition. Then I came home and sat on the couch with a heating pad and blanket for most of the day. Oh, and the rain did eventually go away, letting the sun to come out. A beautiful addition to a beautiful day.

Final Thoughts:

Carb loading worked! I felt sustained energy the entire time. My heart rate was in Zone 5 the entire time, so I think I was pushing myself, but I was not breathing too hard and was even able to try to encourage a few 10K walkers as I passed them in the last few miles.

Family is everything! My husband sacrificed time, money, and so much more to support me in this. (He even ate my evening carb loading pasta meals with me without complaint!) My parents drove about two hours just to see me finish, while they had company. (Sorry cousins!) I was HEALTHY! After all the sickness I was exposed to, that was never a given. I prayed for no rain, and while the Lord did not grant that, he did grant no rain for most of my race. The marathoners had that burst of rain at their hard parts, and I imagine it was not fun.

I shivered for several hours after the race, and not because I was cold anymore. Was it the caffeine? Or as my mom suggested, the endorphins of running? I am not sure, but something to monitor for the future.

All in all, it was an amazing day! Better than I could have hoped or dreamed. Thank you, Lord! Thank you family! Thank you to my home city of Mesa, Arizona for putting on a great race!

References:

Brooks, A. (2023, March 9). Half marathon training schedule: Transition from the 10K to half. Run to the Finish. https://www.runtothefinish.com/half-marathon-training-schedule/

Chavez, C. (Host). (2024, February 7). Emily Sisson after finishing second at the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials (2:22:42). [Audio podcast episode]. In The CITIUS MAG podcast with Chris Chavez. https://citiusmag.com/podcast/citius-mag-podcast-emily-sisson-2024

Featherstun, M. (n.d.). Carb loading: What, why, and how-to. Featherstone Nutrition. https://www.featherstonenutrition.com/carb-loading/

Mayo Clinic. (2021, November 1). Metatarsalgia. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/metatarsalgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354790

Monti, D. (2024). Mantz, O'Keeffe win thrilling Olympic Trials marathon-RRW. Dye Stat. https://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=667933

Run Hive. (2024). Race time predictor. https://runhive.com/tools/race-time-predictor

Scott, E. [@runningexplained]. (2023, August 2). One of the biggest pacing mistakes in racing is going out too fast. Often our goal in the half marathon [Post]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvcqr-GLcLw/

Sebor, J. (2020, January 6). What Olympian Shalene Flanagan does before every race. Women's Running. https://www.womensrunning.com/culture/shalane-flanagan-before-racing/