We set out about 10 minutes behind schedule,
thankfully I had run the Half in 2009 so we knew the ins and outs. Olympia, WA is about 45 minutes from our house.. We found a great parking spot a few blocks
away and snapped a horrible photo, I felt too rushed to get a good one. I left my camera phone in the car, I doubted I would have time to take pictures and didn't want to risk breaking my phone.
We hit the potty lines, which were pretty long and turned on our Garmins. The sky was thick with grey as we made our
way to the start area. It is hard to
know where to line up, there are no pace signs so the start is a bit of a
mess.
Tiffany HERE and Will found us and we
chatted a bit, she also snapped a photo for us, still in our Toss-aways. Just before the start the rain began to
lightly pour, it became more steady and continued to
RAIN THE WHOLE RACE!!
The plan we had discussed was to keep each mile under 9:04 leaving us a
little time to slow on the big hill at mile 9-10 and still make it in under
2:00. This is how it went…
1- 8:54- Weaving around the
crowds, we were in the 11’s pace wise..
It was frustrating not being able to hit our pace. Muscle Man was impressive as a new racer he
was able to spot the opening and work his way around. We had driven parts of the course and he knew
what was coming. He also ran around
cheering me on in 2009. He had some knee
pain earlier in the week so I was worried come race day, thankfully the pain
did not show up on race day!!
2- 8:59- We turned and headed up
the gradual hill. I took off my toss-away which I had stashed at a few races,
finally tossing it to the side. I
dressed wrong for the race, I didn’t think it would rain so heavily, I would
have worn long sleeves had I known. MM
grabbed at water and we plugged along.
Funny my right shoe was a little too loose and his was a little too
tight, but neither of us wanted to stop to fix it.
3- 9:06- Continuing up the hill
we spotted
Lindsay HERE on the side with a GU, I said Hi, I am not sure what she
has to do to keep her Diabetes in check during the race, adds a whole different
element to racing. We passed people left
and right, up on the sidewalk, down to the road, we weaved like pro’s I could
anticipate what he was going to do without saying a word. We Finish each other’s sentences, and used
the same ESP-type thinking for racing. :)
4- 8:55- Into the residential
area, the volunteers at the water stops were GREAT! Cheering, smiling, all the while getting
drenched with rain. MM gave a high five
to a few kids on the side line. There
were cool signs throughout the course that made me smile.
5- 8:51- This mile there were
about 3 photogs, we posed with thumbs up, I waved, trying to catch their
attention. I am hoping we got a few good pictures. My Garmin did not like the overcast skies and
was sporadic with pacing. MM was very focused
on pace, calling out the miles and paces…I was supposed to be pacing him but he
really didn’t need me. At one point his
Math was a little off, so I corrected him, we both laughed about it because he
is the human calculator in the family.. guess I have more running calculator
experience..
6- 8:53- We were getting close to
the 10K mark our time was just shy of our family 10K PR. We looked down at the
6.5 time and knew we were on a good pace to Finish with a sub 2, but we still
had a long way to go and some tough miles ahead. At this point I felt AMAZING! I asked MM if he wanted his Gu, he said he
didn’t…
I knew I should have taken the Gu Chomps in my handheld but I didn’t, a
mistake I would pay for later. MM seemed
great too, I think he wanted to bank a bit more time, his legs began to turn
over faster and faster.
7- 8:37- We were at the top of
the elevation chart for a bit banking time on the down hills knowing the BIG
Hill was coming. There was a gal in the
GROSSEST booty-spandex shorts I have ever seen… BLECH, I sped up to pass her,
no idea how she got in front of us at the pace she was going. I love to people watch in races but some
things I just cant take..
8- 8:38- It felt good to speed up
so we went with it, stride for stride.
We passed a man and woman we had been behind for about 4 miles. Funny how when you race you see the same
group of people if you stick with a pace, we leapfrogged with a few people
throughout the race. MM was breathing
hard but seemed fine, we shook out or arms and tried to stay relaxed.
9-8:14- We curved around to the
PRETTY part of the course with lush trees lining either side, back in 2009 this
was where MM was waiting for me with Gatorade, I smiled at the thought of how his
face lit up when he saw me. There was a
good downhill and MM ran ahead, he is way faster on steep down hills, I let
gravity take over and zoomed past loads of people holding back. We recorded our
fastest mile. MM had a twinge in his back when I caught up, thankfully it
passed quickly.
There were loads of
people cheering in that section, I told Muscle Man to soak it all in, they were
cheering for him.
10-9:13- Starting the HILL we
passed a lot of people and realized we were going 8:30ish pace.. OOPS!! I think
we thought we made it to the top...but that hill goes and goes.. My quads were
burning trying to keep a good pace. I
was hoping the little band who played “Eye of the Tiger” during my first Half
in 09 would be there, but with the rainy weather I am guessing they stayed
home.. BUMMER!!
11- 9:02- We finally made it to
the top, but there was some gradual climbing to do. I am PROUD that we didn’t walk!! There was a man playing a trumpet in his
front yard… dun dun dun dun dun duh….CHARGE!! Recovering from the HILL I started to get very
very cold.
My arms were freezing and my legs felt heavy. I wondered if my body was shutting down since
I didn’t take my Gu mid way, I cursed myself for such a Rookie move!! I was glad to have my husband there with me, I
know he was worried about me, but the best thing I could do was to FINISH! I got very quiet conserving my energy,
putting all I had into one foot in front of the other.
12- 8:55- Our quads were shot and
we did the best we could to get back on pace. We knew our Finish Time would be
a high 1:55 or low 1:56, which is GREAT for hubby's first Half. It took all I had to keep my legs moving, I
was so COLD.. I gave MM my handheld and rubbed my arms, but it barely
helped. We were getting passed left and
right, I said “This is our race! Focus on us!”
We did, everyone melted away. It
was just me and my husband. I felt a
little like I did while reciting our vows on our Wedding Day.
13- 8:33- I love a downhill
Finish!! People were flying by us, we gave it all we could, I was grunting pushing
myself to my limit. I felt horrible, so
COLD and so weak, all I wanted was to be done and to warm up. At this pace I should have been fine, but the
combo of the rain, wrong gear- short sleeves and lack of food must have done me
in. I felt bad, I was not pacing MM, he
was keeping me going. Seeing the state
Capital is amazing, but I could barely enjoy it. A TALL gal passed us, I cheered for her in my
head, I didn’t have the energy to yell.
.17- 7:26- We crossed the FINISH
LINE Hand in hand, soaking wet and smiling. The post race Kiss has never meant
so much!!
This ranks as one of the best Days in my Running life. CONGRATS Muscle Man!!
You did it, killed your goal, while taking care of me..
1:56:11- Official time, he beat me by
a second.. Go Figure!
The post race coffee and pizza was FAB! But I was too cold to hang out. We changed in the car then went to Tall Grandmas to pick up the Little
Studs (THANKS MOM!!) We had a Relaxing day on the couch the rest of Sunday.. Today we have sore quads and big smiles..
True Love is Garmins in Sync :)