Run Like Pre

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."
Steve Prefontaine

The above quote was on the back of a t-shirt I saw while running the Big Sur Half Marathon last Sunday. It helped me get through to the finish.

Not that I have a gift for running, as Pre did. But I was running to the best of my ability, chasing a PR. And I did it--2:26:35, an 11:11 pace!

My fastest half-m time prior to that was 2:28:57, back in May 2007 at the Fargo Half. But that's because I started the race with someone way faster than me, who pulled me along for the first 8 miles, until I couldn't keep up with her any longer. Most of my other half marathon times were well over 2:30. At Disneyland, Sept 2007, I finished in 2:39:05 and at the Big Sur Half 2006, I finished in 2:52:04--a 13:08 pace. So even though I was trying for an 11 minute pace, I'm happy with the result. :-)



This race I dedicated to Irene, who had fractured her hip back in May and required surgery. It's been a long recovery for her, but she remained strong and had a great attitude. Although she couldn't run the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego, a race she had been training for, she still went out on the course and supported the other runners. I'll always appreciate the big hug she gave me at mile 20.

Anyway, after spending all summer recuperating, Irene ran her first race since injury--a 5K--on the same day as my half. That took courage, the kind she displayed these last few months. When I tired during my race, I thought about how tough Irene was in dealing with her adversity and in comparison, tired legs didn't seem like such a big deal. She was expecting a Personal Worst, but I think she did better than that. Her PW is a good 5K time for me. You can read about it on her blog.


My training partner, Bunny, and I planned to meet before the start of the race. She was in a faster corral than me, but we met at MacDonald's at 6:15 and did a warm up jog around the grounds. Then we hit the portapotty lines, dropped off our gear and went to line up in our respective corrals. She was in corral B and I was in C. It was chilly, and had started to drizzle while we waited for the start. I wore a short sleeved top, but decided to wear my jacket, because a good part of the course runs along the ocean and I was concerned about getting too cold. I also wore my running cap, which helped keep the rain off my face.

The rain didn't last, though, and we went through the first couple of miles through town. I looked for SD, but didn't know where he'd be. I had been so self-absorbed, that I forgot to find out what mile markers he'd be out. As we headed to mile 3, we went through a tunnel. There were some spectators on the bridge over the tunnel entrance and I spotted my husband. I called out to him and he took my picture, but I don't know if he got it. I wasn't going to stand still while he focused--I had a PR to catch!

The race headed down Cannery Row, then around mile 5 we turned away from the ocean to run through Pacific Grove. That was the biggest hill, and I slowed down but ran all the way up. It didn't match the hills from my training runs. Then we turned and headed downhill to Lover's Point. The course is an out and back, and right around that time, I saw the male leader, and he was running alone. I was barely past the 5 mile mark and he was at mile 11!

Then we ran along the rugged coastline that makes this race so special. Since I was trying to run 11 minute miles, I only walked at the water stations. I did wear a water belt, but I took a glass at the aid stations. I also didn't stop at a portapotty until past the mile 8 marker, even though I had to "go" since waiting in the starting corral. The lines were too long and I didn't want to lose valuable time, but by mile 8 I couldn't hold it any longer.

As I was running on the left side of the street toward the turnaround, the faster runners were heading back on the right side of the street. I headed toward the middle of the road and looked for Bunny. I finally saw her and called out to her. She was struggling at that point and I later learned that she wasn't feeling well. It was her first race in over 2 years, and she was hoping for a sub-2 hour time. It didn't happen, but she still finished way faster than me.


Finally I got to turn around and was immediately hit with wind. Most of my mile splits were under 11 minutes, but mile 9 was over 14! Dang portapotty lines! I had some catching up to do. I had calculated the elapsed time for each mile based on a 2:23 finish, and knew I had to be at 1:50 by mile 10. So I ate a Gu and picked up the pace. SD was there and called out to me but I didn't see or hear him.

By mile 11, I was pretty tired. At mile 12 I started to question why I run road races. But I nipped that in the bud; I've learned that during long races it's important to keep a positive attitude. I reminded myself that I have the gift of health and strong legs, and to not use it is to waste that gift. And I thought about Irene. That got me through the bad patch and I ran toward mile 13. I was really booking, and told myself, "Just 1/4 mile more. I can hold this pace for 1/4 mile." I saw a woman up ahead who was sprinting towards the finish and she was my rabbit. I didn't catch her, but she still paced me. I was so happy to cross the finish line!

I got my medal, picked up my gear bag, and headed to the food tent. As I waited in line, the sky opened up and it started pouring rain. I'm glad I was done with my race by then! I was also glad that I had a change of clothes in my bag.

Here are my mile splits, per the Garmin:
Mile 1 10:57
Mile 2 10:17
Mile 3 10:14
Mile 4 10:55
Mile 5 10:45
MIle 6 11:23 (this was the hill to downtown Pacific Grove)
Mile 7 10:30
Mile 8 10:51
Mile 9 14:51 (Ouch!)
Mile10 10:50
Mile11 10:59
Mile12 10:57
Mile13 10:27 !!!

Bunny and I trained hard for this race, and I'm happy with my result. If I hadn't run 11 minute miles for the Monster Dash 10 miler, I would never have gone for it for the half. I'm seeing improvement and have hope that with more training I can have the marathon time that I dream of achieving. I don't have all my races planned for 2009, but I signed up for the RnR Seattle at the end of June!

But enough about me. I want to thank SD for taking pictures and putting up with my pre-race bitchyness. And there are a whole slew of congratulations to give out for recent races. My sister Deni, a walker, finished the Nike Women's half with her training partner, L. Twenty-first Century Mom also ran that race, while Juls and Taunya ran the marathon. Laurel ran the Philadelphia Marathon, Michelle ran the Marine Corps Marathon and Sunshine ran the Indianapolis Half-marathon. Danielle ran the Twin Cities Marathon and her race report is truly inspirational. Way to go, everybody! If I missed you, leave a comment and I'll read your race report. I'm so behind in reading everybody's blogs, since I've been traveling so much. I haven't even read all of the race reports of the women I just listed! I hope to catch up by Thanksgiving.