Tucson Half Marathon 2012

So the last half marathon that I really raced was the GTIS half in 2010.  Which was, incidentally, a PR for me.  Of the four half marathons I've run since then (not counting the 2011 Disneyland Half, which was a DNF), three of them I ran as a pacer, and one I ran more for fun than time.  That, coupled with the fact that the only PR I've set so far in 2012 was in a new event (my first triathlon), meant that I was really hungry for a PR in this event.  I felt my chances were pretty good:  my training had been solid, this would be at a lower elevation, and I'd have lots of support in the form of teammates who were also racing.

That's how I felt right up until I rolled my ankle on an easy Monday run about 3 weeks out from the race.  That was pretty demoralizing; but I tried to keep it in perspective, gave myself a week off, and thought I'd be okay.  I had a couple of decent runs after my recovery period that got me back to thinking positive PR thoughts.

Then I rolled it again!  Eight days before the race, no less!  I was furious and crushed, even in spite of my coach and my teammates assuring and reminding me that I was in taper anyway, that I really had nothing to lose or gain by a few more days of running before the race, and that I wasn't limping too badly.  I gave myself a couple of days off, then went for an easy run on Wednesday that felt so fantastic I followed it up Thursday with a pretty quick (sub-8-minute pace) 5k run.  That was enough to convince me that I could still have a really strong race.

Excitement grew when I arrived in Tucson.  I wound up on the same Saturday morning flight with Lynn, Mary, and Ann from Runner's Edge, and spent a fantastic morning with them going to the expo and then to lunch.  For dinner that night, the 16 of us from Runner's Edge met up at Michelangelo's Ristorante.  I can't say enough how much I enjoy doing races with a big group of friends like this, and how much I love and respect all of them.

So.  Race day.  I caught an early shuttle to the start line (making very sure I was on the correct bus, to the half marathon start rather than the full marathon start.  Thanks to Ed and Wayne for the repeated reminders).  Unfortunately, we runners were told we couldn't wait on the nice warm, comfy bus but would have to debark so the bus could go back into town to get more runners.  Fortunately, there were several heating lamps set up to help ward off the predawn chill.  Unfortunately, those lamps were a good quarter mile away from the portajohn area.  Fortunately, enough people were in line for the portajohns that collective body heat kept those lines from being freezing.

After that, and after a very short warmup consisting of a few strides and not much else, I put myself in line with the runners at the start line.  We were told we'd be released in waves of about 100 or so runners at a time, maybe 30 seconds apart.  I thought I was far enough back that I'd be at the front of the second wave.  Turns out I was not:  I went out at the tail end of the first wave.  Oh well.  I hit PLAY on my iPod and started the music as I started the run.

Appropriately enough, the first song was the Black Eyed Peas:  I Got A Feeling.  Good groove and symbolically optimistic (symbomistic?) lyrics.  I let myself go, pulled along by the beat and the energy of the front runners.  After a few minutes, though, I reminded myself that I needed to slow down:  a glance at my Garmin told me I was running sub-7 minute pace!  Slow down there, cowboy, got 12 miles left to go on this thing!

For the first few miles that proved easier said than done.  I felt strong, light, and fast.  My music was rocking, and my energy and spirits were high (though I was keeping about 37% of my focus on my footing, just to be sure).  I hit the 10k mark in under 49 minutes, which is my fastest 10k time on record.  In fact, my fastest mile of the race was mile 4:  7:24.

Unfortunately, that's when I started to slow down.  Only a little bit, but I definitely eased off my pace for the second half of the race.  I wasn't too worried about that, as I felt I'd built up a decent cushion timewise.  But as mile 7 and mile 8 wrapped up, I had to tell myself enough was enough.  Fortunately, at that point, I was saved by my old friend "Master of Puppets."  The 8-minute song gave me the challenge I needed to push myself for a mile.

Just when I thought I was back up to speed, my right calf started to cramp.  Normally this is a sign of dehydration, but I had been drinking plenty of fluids and then some so I didn't believe it was that.  It might have been stretching issues, but I thought I'd done a sufficient prerace warmup routine.  In any event, I tried to ignore it and push on, though I did slap some BioFreeze on my calf in mile 11.  That worked for a bit, but in mile 12 as the spasms returned with a vengeance I stopped for a very brief (less than 10 seconds) calf stretch.  I also resorted to walking a bit during the last mile, hoping that the rest would convince the spasms to go away.  They did not.  In fact, with less than a quarter mile to go, my left calf decided to get in on the fun, too!

As I topped the last (small) rise and saw the right turn to the finish ahead, and heard the cheers of spectators, I pushed the pace as fast as I dared.  Both my calves were quivering at this point, and I had to concentrate very hard on staying upright even as I forced my legs to move faster.  I'm sure I looked like the wobbly AT-ST from Return of the Jedi as I made my way down the final stretch.  But I saw the finish line clock approaching 1:45:00, and knew I was going to hit my goal.

After finishing my race, I spent the rest of the morning spectating, cheering for the half and full marathon finishers as they came across.  It was very exciting for me to be able to cheer for my Roost and Runner's Edge teammates, especially since when I run a full marathon in these circumstances, I'm never the first one done.  I was very happy for and proud of all my teammates for their accomplishments.

Me?  I'm exceedingly happy with my own race, to be sure.  A five-minute PR and sub-1:45 half marathon?  Yeah, I'll take it!

Official Time: 1:44:21
YTD Race Miles: 147
YTD Total Miles: 1344.6
That's all?: I have an unofficial competition going with a friend of mine who lives in Michigan.  We joke we're always chasing each other's race times.  She had me beat at this distance by a solid five minutes.  Now I've got her by 28 seconds.  I can feel her breathing down my neck.....