Race Report: Georgia Half Marathon

I haven’t done a big “hoopla” race in a long time. I gravitate towards smaller local races where I can get in get out without a lot of hassle. The big races just come with so much baggage (and cost more!) that I am simply not interested in dealing with them very often. Traveling for a race is not something I want to do. I don’t like being forced to go to an expo to pick up my number. I don’t like needing to arrive at the race site extra early to avoid parking concerns. I love my little track club races – roll in 1/2 before start and roll out after finish – no muss, no fuss.

Occasionally, it is kind of fun to participate in all the excitement surrounding a big race and this one was a biggie. I took an extra long lunch at work on Friday to head out to the expo and pick up my race number. In addition to my race number, I picked up a cute T-Shirt and a wrist strap pepper spray. I’ll be doing lots of trail running this summer and fall and I want a little personal security handy.

I decided to sign up for the 1:50 pace group on a whim. After a good half marathon in January, I’ve accomplished all I wanted to do at that distance for now. I still want to set a new PR, but that is a task I’ll reserve for the fall running season. But my good friend McMillan said I could pull a 1:50 half based on my 23:45 5K a few weeks ago. This calculator has been pretty accurate for me in the past so I was intrigued. I had only been training for a 1:55 finish but then again I did PR on this course with a 1:53 when I did this race back in 2008. Maybe it was possible? There was no 1:55 pace group so it was either 1:50 or 2:00 – go hard or go home.

I decided to go for it with the knowledge that I could always drop back if I wasn’t feeling it that day. A 1:50 half would mean 8:23 min/miles the entire time. I was doubtful that I could pull that off when I was training at a slower pace. I remember the course being fairly hilly too (as downtown ATL courses tend to be) so I knew that would work against me as well.

Lewis & I ventured downtown on Saturday for the Black Girls Run! meetup at STATS. I arrived quite late unfortunately (have to work around baby’s schedule and I live a good 45 minutes away from downtown). I was able to meet and chat with Toni & Ashley though and a few women who would be running the race tomorrow. I also won a fancy pair of athletic sunglasses – something I’ve always wanted but would never buy myself!

It was so nice to do some run related chatting with women who are already runners and “black girls” to boot! Not that it matters (much) but we are usually pretty few and far between in races – Kenyans excluded. I really like the mission of this website because I want to see more black girls at races.

DiscoDiva graciously volunteered to drive me to and from the race on Sunday the morning. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this gesture. It is a real hassle to catch the train (MARTA) when you live out in the ‘burbs and with the early race start (7AM) the trains run very slowly. There is also the fact that it is a long walk from the race finish back to the train station. I had to take that walk back in 2008 when I missed The Mister at the finish line. It was cold and I was tired & sore and it was just not fun. Then again, parking is not fun either because it takes forever to leave and the streets are all clogged. See why I think big races are annoying?!?

I was very grateful for the dropoff near the race site at 6AM. DiscoDiva headed off to parts unknown to take a disco nap while I ran the race and I headed to the port o’ potty line. This race always has ample facilities available on all sides of the race area. I was in and out in a flash – that is one benefit of the big races over the small ones. I headed over to the Black Girls Run! tent to work out my pre-race nerves. Again, it was so nice to hook up with some runners prior to the race.

Race day weather was a little too warm for my tastes but I wasn’t too concerned. I wore some running capris and my Half Fanatics singlet. I was glad to have avoided my mistake from the Atlanta Half and gone sleeveless. The weather report called for upper 50′s and the fact that I didn’t feel cold at all confirmed that I had worn the correct attire. However, I knew that not feeling cold at the start meant that I was going to get really hot really early in the race. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with that and was praying for overcast skies with no rain.

Shortly before race start, I moved to my start corral. I found the 1:50 pace group and checked in with the pace group leaders. The lead runner said they would try to run even splits but that it was a hilly course. Oh man! Could I really hang with these guys? I realized that I had never picked up the 1:50 pace group race bib that pace group runners wear on their backs to identify each other. This would later turn out to be a good thing!

The race started and we were off at a startlingly fast pace. I never really warm up until about Mile 4 so to come out of the gate with an 8:23 was jarring. I hung in there though. I kept my eye on the pacer and his little 1:50 flag and fell into a rhythm albeit an uncomfortable one. One thing I liked about running with the pace group was that as long as I had that guy in my sights I could just go on autopilot. I didn’t have to worry about unconsciously slowing down due to slower runners in front of me. That was nice.

That was about the only good thing about running with the pace group that day. I already knew the pace was going to be aggressive for me and I felt the strain early on. The pace wasn’t un-doable if I were running a 10K or something but I quickly realized I could never sustain that pace for 13.1 miles. It was hot outside to me and I was warm and dripping sweat already. The infamous Atlanta rolling hills were in full effect from the beginning of the course which did not help either. After 2.5 miles I knew 1:50 was a lost cause and took a walk break allowing the pace group team to float on past me.

I made the decision then to run today’s race and not some ideal race I had in my head. For once, I didn’t have anything to prove. I’d already earned my sub-2 half in January and I had been racing almost non-stop since. Every race is not supposed to be a PR or a hard-core effort. Plus, I never trained for a 1:50 so I didn’t feel a sense of failure. I decided to back down the pace and I was totally OK with that. I was still glad that I didn’t have a bib on my back because when I’m on track for a 2 hr half and I see someone next to me with a 1:45 pace bib on, I feel sad for them that their race didn’t go well!

I spent the rest of the half having fun with the run. I took in the scenery. I enjoyed my music. I ran fast when I felt like it. I walked when I wanted to. I ran some hills to push myself. I walked some hills because I didn’t feel like putting forth a lot of effort. I chatted briefly with a Marathon Maniac that I noticed on the course and told him I was planning to earn my membership this Fall. I paid attention to spectator signs (“Who Fartleked?” was my favorite).

I ran a new kind of race that I’ve never run before. I never pushed myself to maximum capacity but it wasn’t a lazy run either. When I threw 1:50 out of the window, I recalibrated to a sub-2 finish goal. I felt like this was a respectable time and most importantly one that I could achieve without killing myself. So while I enjoyed this run I wasn’t totally slouching either.

I fueled up twice with Clif Shot Bloks to keep up my energy. I took advantage of the plentiful aide stations and sipped cold Gatorade. My legs felt pretty fresh the whole time in spite of the relentless rolling hills. My feet were a different story. At about Mile 9, I felt a nagging stabbing in my right foot. It felt like a small pebble or something so I stopped and took off my shoe to shake it out. Didn’t help. I tried again, turning my sock inside and out. Didn’t help. I gave up and kept it moving.

I think I must have blocked out how hard this course was in 2008! I remember one bad spot (out of Piedmont Park, up Juniper) but that was it. Everytime I looked we were rolling up another hill. I thought that the race directors would be kind in the later miles of the course but at Mile 11.5 near GA Tech we trudged up the longest incline ever and it was full of construction debris – almost like running in light sand. It also turned chilly and a little bit windy as we were slogging up one of the final hills. How odd that it would be hotter at the start of a race than at the end! I welcomed the cooler temps but wanted to shake my fist at the strong winds.

My foot started bothering me again at Mile 12 and I really wanted to kick up the pace a bit so I could secure my sub-2 finish. I took off my sock again and still could not find the source of the problem. So annoying! The irritation motivated me to step it up and finish this race so I could stop the hurt. Just when I needed it, the Ipod Shuffle gods chose to play Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” That’s my power song. I hightailed it to the finish line. I squeaked by in 1:59:40 just barely getting my sub-2 goal. That put me at 2962/10918 overall, 1016/6159 in the women and 200/1070 in my gender age group. Does that mean I’m better than a midpacker now?

DiscoDiva was waiting at the finish so I didn’t have that awful problem of missing my ride this year. I snagged my fancy new medal and proceeded to hit the food line. On the way, I spotted Lori Palmer from CrossFit Euphoria (my local black girl running motocrossing CrossFittin’ shero!) at the finish line. I congratulated Lori on a great finish (she can run circles around me and had finished long ago) and headed back to the tent to catch my breath. I was the first one to finish. Ashley of BGR and then K.I.M. followed later. She did a fantastic job on her very first half marathon and she didn’t do any training runs longer than 6 miles (don’t quite recommend that LOL).

I had a chance to assess my foot situation and the pebble I was feeling turned out to be a 1-inch wide blister. Ouch! No wonder I couldn’t shake it out of my shoe. I used Body Glide on my feet prior to the race but maybe I neglected this area. I also made the mistake of wearing my bad running socks because I couldn’t find my favorite Smart Wools. This is why you don’t run in stuff that you don’t train in! I put this particular pair of socks out of my rotation because they felt funny on long runs. In spite of legs that felt just fine after the race, I limped back to the car because of that darn blister. SMH.

Blisters and failed pace group PR attempts aside, this was a good race for me. I worked very very hard to pull 2:05 halfs back in October and November. Yet I was able to cruise through this one (on the toughest course) to a sub-2 finish without working too hard. This blows my mind and makes me proud of how far my running has come since I made my Couch To 5K comeback last January.

My season of half marathons is now over. I might sneak one more trail half in if they hold the Granite Grinder this year. If not, I’m done with long races until Fall. It has been a great long run season full of both disappointments and triumphs. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year holds. I have a feeling it is going to be amazing!

Full after 3 short years of running!

P.S. Shouts to my Tweeps (@singlema, @harlemrunner & @laidbackchick) who finished their very first half marathons on Sunday! I was so excited to come back home and see how your races went!

P.P.S. This is the running medal rack that I purchased. I had never heard of such a thing before until I read about it on the Healthy Tipping Point blog! Some people save their race bibs and buy/make special holders for them too.