Wine Country Half
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Time: 2:29:32.170
Pace (Min/Mi): 11:24
Overall Rank: 384
Female Rank: 214
Female 55-59 Rank: 3
That was one tough race! The course itself was relatively flat, but there was some wicked wind blowing and the sun beat relentlessly towards the last three miles. Plus, there was that awful hill at mile 13. Ugh! I'm still sore.
So, I didn't get my 11 minute miles as I hoped. This was actually only my third best time. I was on target, finishing mile 10 at 1:50, when I crashed, figuratively speaking. I tried to rally by telling myself I only had a 5k left, but it was no use. I ate another gel and waited for it to work its magic. It got me to the finish line is about all I can say.
But notice that age group rank--I came in third and got a medal for my effort! I'm so used to the big races, that I didn't dream I would ever place, but my running friend, S., convinced me to check. There were four women in my AG, so I actually came in over two minutes faster than the last runner. This has never happened to me before!
You will recall that I had two goals for this race, and although I didn't finish in the time I wanted, I did reach my other goal. That's right, I went through the entire race without having to stop for a portapotty! I didn't want to lose valuable time like I did at Big Sur. The last portapotty at mile 12 didn't even have a line, but I knew I could wait till the end of the race. Good thing, too, or I wouldn't have gotten that medal.
I dedicated this race to my cousin, Gwen, who has been in the hospital for 36 consecutive days. She has Stage 4 ovarian cancer, which was discovered in January when she went in for what was supposed to be a routine procedure. Gwen is fairly young, and has a toddler, so I don't know how this could have gone undetected. I'll take this opportunity to remind you ladies to put your feet in the stirrups once a year and get that exam.
I haven't spoken to my cousin, but I keep updated on her through the Caring Bridge page that her husband maintains. She sounds like a determined young woman with a positive attitude. And we runners know how far a good attitude will take us. I have to tell you, I'm getting a little tired of all the cancer around me. Acquaintances, friends, and now family members have all battled with the Big C. Let's get a freakin' cure already!
Glycogen depletion doesn't seem like much when you think about someone lying in a hospital bed for over a month. During the race, I never felt sorry for myself, never questioned why I run races; I just kept moving forward. Actually, I was enjoying the race for the first 8 miles. We started on a dirt trail through tall green grass, which I thought was beautiful. And we passed a horse farm that had lots of mares and their babies with long, gangly legs. They were so cute!
I was listening to my iPod the whole time, something I don't normally do, and was singing to Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky." I ran hard and walked through the water stops, although I wore a water belt which held my Ultima drink. The early miles were under 11 minutes, which is too fast but I thought that would give me a cushion for later in the race. That's probably why I folded at the end. But as I headed toward the finish, I managed to sprint past the girl in front of me. Heh heh.
Post race nutrition included an egg and cheese burrito, which I scarfed down. Then SD and I headed to the spa, where we sat in an outdoor mineral bath and admired the view. Darrell ran the half, too, although he was already back at his hotel when I called him. He was here with his wife and another couple, so we got together at a local winery and had barrels of fun.
Here are my mile splits. I had cleverly set my watch to go off every 11 minutes, so that I would easily know if I was on target. However, I forgot to turn off the 1 minute interval, so there went that plan. Sigh. Apparently I'm not only metrically challenged, I'm just challenged. The Garmin shows that I ran farther than 13.1, which is why my overall pace is faster than the official time. Such is life. You'll probably have to click on the image to read it.
This was good practice for the Seattle marathon, which is (ack!) only 12 weeks away. It's clear I need to fit in some tempo runs as well as long runs. I was planning to do three 20 mile runs, but now I have scheduling conflicts. It's really hard to fit in marathon training around the rest of your life. But I'd better do something, cuz I won't get a medal if I hit the wall at mile 10!
Labels: race report
posted by Dori @ 10:30 PM
8 Comments:
Congratulations, Dori!
It always feels good to come away with some well earned hardware!
The picture of you by the water is adorable! What a beautiful smile. Congrats on a great run. I'm sorry about your cousin, but it really does put things into perspective. BTW, I have that same Mary C.C. song on my iPod. It always perks me up. Congrats on your 3rd place finish!
I'm so sorry about your cousin. Good vibes coming her way for recovery.
Congratulations on placing! Sounds like a tough race - who puts a hill at mile 13???
Do you ever look wonderful wonderful in that picture!!
Best wishes for your cousin. What a terrible thing. Hoping for good treatment...
Congratulations on you super run.
Holy moly! How have I missed so many posts? And you are coming to Seattle - to Rock-n-Roll? I'm signed up for that too, though it's with the caveat that if it is hot I won't do it. We are 30 miles south of Seattle, but would love to see you if you have time. Let me know!
CONGRATS on the hardware DORI! WOW! I'm so, so, so impressed!
Seattle Marathon? WOW.
DId you sign up for NY via the lottery? It would be great if all of us get in.
Sorry to hear about your cousin. I lost a very good friend to Ovarian Cancer. It is a nasty, nasty, nasty disease. I'll be sending good wishes your cousin's way.
we are pretty much at EXACTLY the same pace! we should totally do a half together! if i ever run again that is. heh.
You look FANTASTIC! Strong and svelte and fast!
Holy crap--3rd place! I'd kill for that! you totally deserve it!
and best wishes to your cousin. it does put things in perspective doesn't it.
Hey Dori, thanks for the heads up on Amybee's blog. I coincidentally started reading it last week and am really enjoying it! I'll have to look at her older posts and see what she has to say about Buffalo. Hope you are having a good week!
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