Mercer Island 1/2 Marathon Race Report

Mercer Island 3/9/08 **Chip Time 2:03:56 ** avg hr 173** max hr 188** PR-YES!

I had trouble sleeping the night before the race and I am not entirely sure why. Kept waking up every hour to stare at the clock and go back to bed. Woke up at 5 a.m. ate my oatmeal and 1/2 a banana, woke the kids and husband and took a long hot shower to warm up/wake up my muscles. I had laid all the gear out the night before, loaded the car, packed breakfast for the family and was ready to go. Got dressed carefully and loaded up the car to leave.

Arrived at the race site about 7:30, ate 1/2 a bagel and continued to drink from my water bottle. Visited the loo and tried to just stay warm while I searched for other teammates. I found most of the team who was racing by 8:15 and we lined up for a group photo. One more trip to the potty and I warmed up for a quick 10 min jog. Lined up in the crowd at the 9-10 min mark and waited for go. I had the added pressure of having to be done within about 2 hours and 15 min. so I could get my husband to the airport so I think that helped my motivation.

Started out slow trying to weave my way out of the pack. I was feeling great and wasn't nervous at all. My race plan was to hold to about 165 for the first 3 miles, about 170-175 for the next 4-10 miles and then see how I felt about pushing it after that. I tried my best to start out slowly but I think I could have pulled back a bit more. I had only run the first 6 miles of the course and had no idea how hilly it was at the end. I felt wonderful for the first 6 miles. I had 24 oz. of Gatorade in

3 flasks with me as I cannot do gel or shot blocks without feeling like I want to hurl. Around mile 6 I was starting to feel a bit of pain in my right hip flexor. I tried to run close to the centerline to avoid the tilt in the road but I ultimately think that this is what aggravated my hip. I took in some gatorade and water at mile 7 and began to feel a bit better. Kept on plan until mile 10 when the first of the hills caught me and my HR skyrocketed. I slowed down as best I could while still trying to keep moving forward.

The remaining 3.1 miles were really tough to keep my HR in check. I had somehow convinced myself that I could break 2 hours on this course even though my first 1/2 in Seattle was 2:11. At the 12 mile mark when I realized it wasn't happening I was bummed out but really pushed it aside and concentrated on making one foot go in front of the other.

When I saw the finish in site I was thrilled. I actually thought I had a bit further to go and was not sure I could make it but I did! I crossed the mat, said 'Hi" to the family, grabbed a banana and water and visited with some teammates to swap times. It was really good to see so many familiar faces at the finish.

I did PR at 2:03:56 which is good. I am not sure how I could have improved on this as I felt like I got to the finish with "nothing left in the tank". I think running the course and knowing where the hills are will help me a great deal for next year.