Bornagainmotherrunner: Rungirl 13.1 race recap

Ahhh, rungirl. This was my second half marathon. My first was a spur of the moment, fly by the seat of my pants kind of race. I didn't know if I could run 13.1 miles. I was in good shape (thanks to Orange County Fitness) but long distance running was not yet in my bag of tricks. Pull ups and burpees, yes. Running so long you rub your armpit skin off? Not yet. I made it, but it left me longing to feel like I had raced it.
I toed the line of this race after running consistently for a year, averaging about 25-30 miles a week. During my 'training' for the half, I upped my easy run mileage to six miles and my long runs to 10, 11, 12 and 13 miles. I still basically ran 5k specific workouts, but I got up to about 35 miles a week. I felt much more prepared for this run. However, I still lacked the experience to know how hard to push, or when to really try to push the pace.
This was the perfect run to gain that experience. The start was in a park and the course brought you out to a lovely wooded, winding road. There were rolling hills, but they were imperceptible. The downhills, on the other hand, were noticeable-and I loved them.
It was a two loop course and on both significant downhills I took the coasting opportunity to eat the fruit snacks I had stashed in my sports bra. The cool thing about this race being a two loop course is that you get a scenic stretch outside the park, and then inside the park (which covers about 3 miles) you have constant support from spectators. This made the run go by quickly. It was a wet 39 degrees outside and that helped make it easier to keep the pace brisk. Like I said, I am unfamiliar with the nuances of racing this distance, so I kept it cool and comfortable but made sure my legs were turning over at a decent clip. I ran back and forth with some younger girls for a while, but lost them at one of the aid stations when they stopped to drink. I concentrated on enjoying myself and marveled at how easily that came. The quiet woods, the cold air, and the unspoken camaraderie laced with competition among the women created the perfect atmosphere in which to experience those rare moments in running where you feel alive, present, strong, and free. There were uncertain times when I choked on water and cursed my broken iphone but the bulk of this race was spent in a happy cruise. Before I knew it, we were on the second loop heading back into the park for the last 3 miles of the race. I picked up the pace slightly. There was a girl who passed me around mile 5 who I wanted to reel in. I knew she was motivated to do well because she looked at her watch like every 30 seconds. I began to let go of the tight grip I had on my pace.
Sadly, I have an iphone that is literally held together with KT tape and one Angry Birds bandaid. As soon as the race started I somehow hit repeat for songs as I tried to pull up my carefully planned playlist. So I was stuck listening to one song on repeat unless I wanted to fight with my frozen hand to slap the correct areas of the cracked screen in order to get a different repeated song. To add insult to injury, it was so cold outside that my frozen hand didn't register on the screen as belonging to a live human being until every 4th or 5th slap. After one particularly bad fight with my phone somewhere out on the wooded road, I gave up and listened to 'Work Bitch' by Britney Spears for the last 4 miles of the race. I know. It actually helped, though. There is one part that reminds me of running fast on a track and it felt great every four minutes when it would come back on.
So, as Britney chanted to me that I would have to work for the hot body I was craving, I ran the last 3 miles almost as I would a 5k. My style anyway; a careful, swift trot. I passed my husband, preened for him as he took pics, and with about half a mile to go I finally felt done. My body must have sensed an approaching finish line because my nose began to run uncontrollably and I'm pretty sure I was grunting. I got within sprinting distance of the girl I was chasing and in the process passed about 4 women. I never passed the faster girl, but I approached the clock and saw 1:50 and sprinted to beat the changing minute. Final official time: 1:50. 35th overall out of 832 and 8th in my age group. I didn't run as fast as I possibly could have, but I got a little more comfortable with the distance and closer to doing it next time. I started my Nike Plus watch a little late and it still had the course at 13.20 miles and my half marathon time at 1:48. While that time would have had me jumping for joy, I am ok with waiting for the next half to secure it officially.

After the race I wanted badly to meet up with friends and hang out in the festive atmosphere, but my sweat soaked tank top quickly had me shaking uncontrollably. I ended up hightailing it to the heated car.
All in all, this was a well run race that I will certainly do again. It provided the experience I need to tackle my next half more aggressively and taught me that 13.1 miles isn't a bad racing distance. It's actually pretty pleasant when you coast along at my pace. My goal is to make the next one suck from mile 8 onward and hopefully end up with a satisfying pr. I will post training info here when I begin my first-ever-real-deal-by-the-book training program for the Gusher Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k in March 2014 <3