Since this was the first year the half marathon was being offered, I was not sure how many ladies would be signed up, or how different things would be from the 5k setup from last year. We headed to the state capitol downtown, and saw all of the vendor and sponsor booths being set up. The whole festival is put on by Kaiser Permanente, and they had all sorts of fun stuff set up - prizes, body composition testing, sports medicine, nutrition, and more.
Nice Scenery!
What I did notice right away was that it was already warm. I wore a sweat jacket, but I was already comfortable in my tank - yikes. Mom and I looked around a bit, found a spot to meet up afterwards, and then I said goodbye and jogged up and down the street a couple times to warm up. There were a lot of women ready to go for the half marathon - turns out it was over 1,000! There were a few in costumes or matching outfits with friends, which was cute. The best part was definitely the pacers - although men are not allowed to run in the Women's Fitness Festival, the pacers are men dressed in women's running clothing and wearing wigs. Hilarious!
We were off right on time at 7:15, and I started going at a comfortable pace of around 10:15/mile for the first few miles. A lot of the course was in the shade, which was awesome. There were water stations at miles 1 and 3, which was pretty comfortable.
By around mile 4-5, I definitely noticed that things were heating up. I could feel myself start to slow down, and was wishing for water almost immediately after leaving mile 3. I hate carrying water with me in a race - I figure there should be enough stations throughout the race course for what you pay for these things, but in this case, with the heat, I should have brought some with me. There were only stations every 3 miles for the rest of the race: miles 6, 9, and 12. I brought some Clif Shot Blocks with me too, which definitely helped keep me going.
I told myself to just keep running between the water stations at Miles 6 and 9. It was awesome that some families that were watching out on their front lawns had hoses and were spraying us as we went by. It felt great! However, I definitely wished that I could take the hose and spray the water directly into my mouth!
I was definitely feeling super slow by Mile 9. I (finally) got more water, and slowed to a walk through the water station so that I could drink it all and not spill. It was tough to get going again after that, but I did. At that point, I was definitely going 11:00/mile or slower, but I made myself keep pushing through.
Finally, at mile 11, I tried to focus on intervals rather than how hot I was and how much I wanted water. I made myself run my regular 10:00/mile pace one block, then run the slow pace the next. That helped me finally get to the next water station at Mile 12! It was actually right after Mile 12, and I was running towards it like, GIVE IT TO ME NOW. I walked through that one and took my time having water there as well.
The last mile was SO hard. I was crawling pace-wise, and sweating all over the place. I was so excited when I made it to the home stretch - hearing all the people cheering gave me a little mental boost. My mom made friends with a group of ladies there to cheer on Kaia runners, and they all cheered for me as I went by. Stepping over that finish line, and grabbing my medal and WATER, felt amazing!
I was so proud of myself for finishing, and doing the best I could throughout! I think next year, if the heat is the same, I will probably plan on doing the 5k again. It's a great event, but don't know if I want to do 13.1 on a day with a high of 106 again. Yikes!
My official results were:
Time: 2:20:34
Pace: 10:45/mile
Place: 355/1143
Age Group Place: 54/141
My mom finished the 5k in 35:09! Yay mom!
I felt awesome that I ran the whole way, and finished another half. I think this will make me much more confident for the rest of my training for the San Francisco Half!
Mom and I hit the free Asics photo booth on our way out:
I didn't feel like eating a ton when finished - I had some banana and a few bites of a Luna Protein bar (they gave out lemon flavor... I thought it had a funky aftertaste and I much prefer the chocolate ones!). Instead, Anne and I got lunch at Jack's Urban Eats - I had Chinese Chicken Salad and Mac n' Cheese. YUM.
It's the last week of school here - happy (almost) summer!
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