What a difference a month can make...the story of my second half marathon

Yesterday I ran my second half marathon; indeed only the second time I have run over 20km.

If you read my post about my first half (here) you'll know that I over analysed that one and dwelled on the 'what if's' for a day afterwards.
Well, I am happy to report, not this time.

This time I am super pleased because I totally pushed myself to MY limit on the day.

(This is kind of long. If you don't want to read it all just scroll down to the *summary part at the bottom)

I arrived into the city (Brisbane) nice and early and found the start line so I knew where it was.  This already relaxed me a bit.
Then off to find the toilets, as you do.
While hanging around I got to meet up with a few other girls from the running pages. I had met Mon at the GC but the others I had only met on facebook so it was fantastic to meet them in person.

From left to right is Mara-Mon, Runder Woman, me, Kiley and Weight & Run.
 

 So after the little photo opp we all wandered over to the start line.
Now, the big difference that you need to know about this race compared to the GC is that I didn't really have any expectations about time or beating my GC result (which was 1:57:39. I could say PB but that seems a little silly when it is my only time at that distance).
I was going in this race for fun because, in hindsight, I had put a bit of pressure on myself to complete the GC and wanted to enjoy this one more.

Of the 4 other ladies in the above picture one is in marathon training and so was going to go at a slower pace. Two of the ladies were in the same boat as me, this was only their second ever race and they were both hoping for a time better than the GC so were going to stay with the 1:55 pacer. The final person, Lynn, was also hoping for a PB and had planned to stay with the 1:45 pacer.

I can't tell you what clicked or when it clicked but in a really quick decision I decided to go hard and to stick with Lynn if I could.

The gun went off and I stuck with Lynn with the first few km's, and for those first few km's the pace was faster than I have ever done (4:54, 4:30 and 4:42 mins per kilometre) but I just felt ok and I wanted to see what I could do.

Over the story bridge Lynn surged ahead and I just kept her in my sights (thankfully she was in bright yellow so it was easy to do)

There were a LOT of hills in this race. Way more than I realised. It felt like there was a hill every couple of kilometres. In fact the total elevation climb (according to my RunKeeper app) was 792 metres. Felt like it too!

I was constantly scared that the 1:55 balloon was going to pass me and that i'd never keep up if he did so I tried to keep at a steady pace. Looking back now it reminds me of this picture. That 1:55 pacer may as well have been a zombie. I was that scared of him!

 At around the 18km mark I was feeling pretty exhausted. I had pushed so hard at the beginning and was beginning to doubt myself. I couldn't see Lynn anymore and felt like the 1:55 pacer zombie was right behind me.
There was a guy in front of me in a long sleeve running shirt who seemed to be running steady so I planted myself beside him and used him to pace me. After about half a km or so I started to drop back. Then long sleeve guy turned around and gave me this look that said c'mon, keep up. So I did; I caught up and then I think I paced him for the next half a km. We got to the drink station at around the 19.5km mark and he slowed down. I turned a couple of times to see if he was behind me but he'd dropped back, so I just kept going.

At around the 20km mark I had a little conversation to myself that went along the lines of "Hey Brain, remember this; You couldn't have pushed any harder. This was all you had to give today". I was worried that I was going to over analyse this race like last time and wanted to remember that I gave it all that I could on the day.

Through the Botanical gardens and to the finish line.
Rounding the last corner (and another hill to finish) I crossed over in 1:51:32. YES. Arms in the air and all.

Long sleeve guy came in about a minute behind and came over to say thanks. But it was me who was thankful. I can't thank him enough for that look that he gave me when I had started to drop back.

Grabbed my drink and banana and sat down on the lawn, utterly spent but grinning from ear to ear.

I made a quick phone call to my husband and then went over to find the most awesome running bunch and get the group shot we'd been hoping for.



From left to right: Kate (Running in the rain), Mon (Mara-Mon), me, Nic (Running Girl), Gretlyn (Running because I can), Skye (Runder Woman) and Lynn (Weight and Run)

 

After we had all gone our separate ways I went to meet my husband and boys and my Mum who were coming in together.
My boys were signed up to do the 2.2km kids dash so we showed them where the finish was and then went over to the start line. At the last minute the youngest of my two decided that he would like me to run with him. So, a 2.2km warm down it was!
I think it was harder than the half though. He would jog, then walk, then jog and then, out of nowhere, he'd sprint for a 100m or so. I caught up to him after his first burst and asked where that speed came from. In typical 7 year old mentality he replied that someone was going to pass him so he sped up!
They both finished it and I am so proud. The eldest got 11th for his age group and the youngest got 12th for his age group

And now, just over 24 hours later, I am still smiling at the whole day. It's going to take a while to top this one.

*Some summary points and things that I learned between doing my first half and this one:

* In hindsight I don't think that I pushed myself hard enough at the GC half marathon. Because I'd never done over 20km I was worried that I wouldn't have enough left in the tank to finish that race and so went slightly conservative at the start. I am fairly certain that's why I over analysed it. This time I went out hard as I knew I could do the distance

* I am so glad that I had that little conversation with myself at the 20km mark to remind myself that I couldn't push any more. Because of that there isn't any doubt about what I did on the day.

* Backing up a half with a 2.2km kids dash two hours later is probably not the best idea for my legs. Not quite the recovery run that my PT friend suggests.

* My net time was 1:51:03. I grin every time I think about it. Its 6:36 minutes off the GC time. I even did negative splits which is amazing because I was definitely tired in the second half.

* Having my name on my bib was fabulous. Random strangers would yell out "Go Jen" or "You're doing great Jen". It's just what I needed to hear and made a massive difference, to me anyway.

* I did less 'training' for this one but trusted in my ability more. I also went in with a relaxed mindset. Imagine what I can do if train more and combine it with the trust and relaxed mindset! (Another grin as I type)


First Half Marathon recap

Gosh where to start...

I'll start with the dot point details

Race: Gold Coast Half Marathon 7th July 2013

Goal: Well, that depends on when you asked....
          I was only going to do the 10km until January this year when I swapped to half dreams.
          Up until around April the goal was to finish, with resignation that if I had to walk then that would be totally ok.
          In June the goal was to finish in under 2 hours 10 minutes.
          A fortnight before the race the goal went back to just finishing with walking in the mix. Then as quickly as that doubt crept in, it was gone and the goal was back to under 2 hours 10 minutes with a desire and hope to finish in under 2 hours

PB at Half marathon distance: No idea. I had purposely never done any more than 19.75km so that any finish time would be a PB

I hate to even type this as it kind of feels like I am trying to find an excuse but I also went into this race with a very minor soreness from posterior shin splints. I did get acupuncture on it but probably left that a little too late after the fact to have any real impact. I did have physio on it and got it taped with Dynamic tape and that helped wonders. I am lucky that my husband knows an awesome physio who I got to see twice in the last fortnight before the race. (Physio Plus link here)
Prior to the physio I was limping for the first half to one km of each run. With the physio the limp was pretty much gone and the pain minor and gone fairly quickly once I'd warmed up.

So, race day.
The plan was that my husband would drive me to the start then drive back to my sister's house, wake the boys and drive to the halfway point so that they could all cheer me on. But, god bless, my boys (aged 7 and 9) were so excited that they woke up at 4.30am and wanted to come too. So quick dressing and brushing of teeth and we were in the car.
(At this point I was pleased i'd thought to pre-pack some food and drinks for them while making my brekky the night before)

I met my friend in Southport and we walked over to the race area. Wow, so many people. I mean, I knew there were a lot of people in the race but it's still amazing to see thousands of people at a park 5:15 in the morning.

We wandered around, dazed, for a bit and then found the toilet line! (eww, enough said on those)

Before we knew it the time was 5:45 and we could hear them calling to get in lines and we didn't know where the line was! Luckily we just followed the lead of a couple of other people and jumped the barriers rather than try to find the actual correct entrance. It meant we ended up in zone B, when we were meant to be in zone C but we placed ourselves at the back of the pack so as not to get in the way of too many.

Chat chat chat, oh crap, we're moving!
Yep, we were real professionals here ha ha.
Stop, start again, stop, then we were off.

My friend streaked ahead at around the 2km mark and I lost sight of her around the 5km mark.
(She did it in 1:55. Yay for her)

I felt good. I ran at a steady pace I think; I didn't have any tech support to tell me that, but it felt steady.

My husband and boys were at the 10k mark. It was so great to see them and the youngest got a photo that I love because I look how I felt - excited and having fun (which it was)

10k mark (photo by son number 2)

At the halfway turn I felt good. I knew that my time wasn't fabulous as it had taken me a full hour to do the 10km, and I know that I can do it in 54 or 55 minutes normally.
I hadn't felt the need for water yet. I had a gel with me but didn't feel like I needed it which was great too.

Around the 14km mark I decided to have the gel. No real reason other than I wanted the coffee hit!! (I like Endure coffee flavoured gel).
The last 5km felt great. I love the last 5km (or half hour) of any run and it gave me a boost to be passing people who had passed me earlier in the race.

Having all the crowd there for the last 2-3 km was amazing too. I am pretty sure I was grinning like an idiot from 20km onwards because I had never run that far before.

I rounded the last corner and saw 2:22 on the clock. I was devastated but then as I got closer I saw that it was 2:02. (I normally wear glasses for distance so reading it incorrectly wasn't that much of a surprise)
2:02, yay, not under 2 but still under my goal of sub 2h10. I sprinted the last bit and saw the clock as I went over the line at 2:02:51.

My goal had been to stay with the black balloon pace runner which was a 2 hour finish. I know that they started behind me but I never saw them pass me. (Obviously they did though). I was slightly disappointed in that.

Grabbed my drink and fruit and then my medal and shirt and went out to find my family who were waiting at the exit.

With my husband. (Photography by son number 1)

We hung around for a bit then went back to the car so I could grab my phone because my sister was going to text me my net time...

And I'd done it. I cracked 2 hours with a net time of 1:57:39



I was so pleased with myself. We went out to breakfast at an old haunt to celebrate and then headed home.

Then my brain started ticking and I started over analysing...

I hate to say it but I went to bed feeling pretty crap about the race. Waking up I felt even worse.

I had soaked up the atmosphere, but maybe a bit too much. Looking back I think that at times I was so busy soaking up the people around me and the view that I was kind of daydreaming. I guess the positive is that at least it was relaxing!

Questions swirled in my head...
Could I have gone out harder?
Should I have made more effort to stay with my friend?
Should I have given that last 5km even more of a crack?
Did I do enough?

I actually think that I did the last 11.1km in around 57 minutes because I'm pretty sure the first 10km took an hour. So, that's really really good for me.

I'd finished, I didn't have to walk at any stage and i'd done it in under 2 hours goddam it!

Why wasn't my brain focusing on that instead of the self-doubt?

I chatted via email with another friend who had also completed the half for the first time. She felt the same as I did. Although I hated that she had the same feelings I was glad I wasn't alone.
And the longer we chatted the more I eased off on being so hard on myself.
I hope she did too.
I messaged another friend who helped me in the last few months. She made me feel better too.

And slowly, as the day wore on, I started to feel proud again.

Surprisingly, what really helped a lot was good old facebook. Nearly half of my facebook friends either liked or commented (or both) on a photo of me holding my medal. I wasn't expecting that at all.
A couple of other running pages sent a heap of new likes my way and other running pages wrote some fantastic comments to me.
Someone even said I was an inspiration. Me?
A few others said they'd wished they could do it and would try to join me next year.
Wow.

And the best bit - My boys may have caught the running bug! They nagged me all day to sign up to the Brisbane running festival 2.2km dash and they even practised the distance by running around the block with my runkeeper app going until they hit the 2km mark.

So, I have decided to forget last night and this morning. The self doubt was a waste of energy.

And tonight, as I type this, I am happy to tell you that I completed my first half marathon and achieved all my goals in doing so with a PB of 1:57:39

I will go to sleep tonight with a smile on my face and giving myself a pat on the back for job well done.