Monday, June 25, 2012

Finally, a PR!

Not a huge one, but one none the less!  :)


This Sunday was the inaugural Chicago Women's Half Marathon. As you may be aware, i have attempted to PR at the half marathon approximately 8,000 times already this year, and everytime, the race has been yellow flagged because of heat, and every time i have ended up struggling through it coming nowhere near a PR.  


Not that this was any different.  The race was yellow flagged with a 70+ degree start, and upped to red half way through (at the finish it was a sticky 81..) Although it didn't feel quite as hot as the 13.1 two weeks ago (but definitely more humid!)  Many moons back i had set this as my goal half to run a sub 2 either on, or by.  Obviously, it has not been a good year for me.  That or i suck - its still being widely debated.  I had the option to back off, run at a comfortable pace, and just give up until fall, or i could throw caution to the wind and still try to sub 2.  Even if it meant finishing with a 1:59:59. Or puking.


I decided to try my best, and not beat myself up if i didn't make it.  Luckily, two people that i run with through CARA had the same goal as i did, and Shawna, who is a pace leader, is able to comfortably run that time and "paced" us (allowed up to follow her like little puppies) up until the last few miles.
Carolyn, me, and Shawna - in the zone. 
Despite the fact that we are normally quite chatty, we were all pretty silent and trying to conserve our energy.  I felt hot and sweaty by mile two, which is never pretty.  I was able to keep up with Shawna until mile 8, and then i stopped at a water stop and walked through it to catch my breath and dump water on myself.  I was feeling pretty hot and gross, and knew i had to cut back my pace a little bit, which sucked.
The sun eventually hid for mile 10&11 which was wonderful, but i was already pretty fried, and unsuccessfully doing the math to see if i could still meet my goal.  I also saw Matt & Waffles with the greatest sign ever.
Since we are both obsessed with Game of Thrones, we decided to design our own house sigils mine is a ginger fox on a yellow flag (obviously) and my house words are "Martini's are coming"  We are giant nerds.  But at least i can spell - he wrote "Martin's are coming." <3


The last mile, i fell apart.  Like always.  I really need to work on this.  The sun came back, and i just started to feel really sick.  Then i started dry heaving.  Then i just lost it, and i think i took two walk breaks during this mile.  Finally there was a lady right before the 13 mile mark shouting (sub two, sub two!)  So i booked it with everything i had left, and cruised in with 21 seconds to spare.  1:59:39.


At the end they had cold towels, misters, and frozen yogurt.  I was so happy because i felt like my heart was going to explode from the heat.  All the ladies also got yoga mats! The only thing it was lacking was beer.  But thats just me.  After the race, i met up with my friends, who were both nice enough to help pace people (one officially, one unofficially)
me, Keren, Trisha
I'm glad was able to finally pull off this 3 minute PR, especially in unfavorable conditions.  I hope i could do even better on a cool shady day.  I am also now very aware that i consistently slow down in the last half of every race, and i really need to work on that.  I also need to stop flipping out at mile 12.  If anyone has advice on that one....


We had brunch plans with friends immediately after the race, and after that, we went home to deal with our bounty of vegetables for the week!
So much basil!  so much dill!
Seriously, like a pound of dill!  What does one do???
Homemade pickles!
I hope you had a fabulous weekend as well!

29 comments:

  1. First of all, way to go!!! So excited and proud! Second, they served frozen yogurt at the finish line!?!? I knew I should've done this race! Third, did you go the Farmers' Market? Or did you just do a very large grocery trip?

    Those are all the questions I have for now.

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    1. Technically, it was frozen Kefir samples, but when you are melting, any frozen treat will suffice! We actually do a CSA, so i invested in a farm last fall, and now i get a weekly box of their organic veggies all summer!

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  2. YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! I am SO excited for you!!!!!!!!

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  3. CONGRATS on a great PR, despite some pretty awful conditions! And that Game of Thrones sign is hysterical! That drawing is top notch!

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    1. we figured we would be lucky if 1% of the people there got it, haha

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  4. Congrats on the PR!!! Sounds like your body is adapting to the heat! PS Waffles is the cutest spectator ever.

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    1. I don;t know if i will ever be fully acclimatized, but its getting better. And waffles LOVES being at races because of all the people that might pet her!

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  5. Congrats on the shiny new PR! A 3 minute PR is huge!!! I would have melted in that heat. Heat and me do not get along. That is probably why I will always live in the pacific northwest. :-)

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    1. After this summer (which is what, 4 days long so far??) I am SO ready to move!

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  6. Yes! Congrats on the PR! WTG! And you don't suck - the weather sucks this year. Sersiously. Hot hot hot. It's bizarro.

    I am not sure about that last mile melt down. Maybe your fueling? I know you don't take much, but maybe something at 10 would help? Or it not be 198098 gazillion degrees.

    I love the flag! :)

    My grandma makes an awesome dill soup with all her dill :)

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    1. I'm not sure...i took a gel and salt pill. I think it's a mental thing. Like all of a sudden my mind is like "you can't do this, its hot, you should just walk."

      Dill soup sounds amazing!! Those pickles only took up like 10% of the dill, haha.

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  7. Congrats on the sub 2!! So awesome you could PR in the heat :)

    I saw waffles out there- such a cute pup! I was trying to get my BF to bring CB, but he decided to leave him at home :(

    To avoid the 12th mile meltdown, try some progressive runs. They seem to be working brilliantly for me. Also maybe take a gu or salt tab around mile 9.

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    1. Thanks!! I definitely have progressive runs on the schedule for this summer. I was doing them in winter very successfully, but i haven't been doing so great since the heat started. I know its some kind of mental block that i need to learn how to push through!

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  8. Nice! I want to run with friends even if we don't talk...I am all about conserving energy knowing there will be plenty of time to talk after its over.

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    1. It was weird, i didn't say a word, but i was so glad just to have them next to me!!

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  9. Woo hoo not only for a PR, but a SUB 2! I just celebrated vicariously for myself since sub-2 is my goal as well :) Thanks for helping "me" achieve greatness ;) *high five*

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  10. When I saw the sign, I immediately thought the "martians are coming". Don't ask. But martini's did not cross my mind at all. LOL!

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  11. Congrats! My half p.r. came when it was 50 degrees, so running a p.r. in temps over 80 degrees is awesome.

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  12. Congrats on the PR, especially in tough conditions! Great job! :)This year has been so ridiculously hot...I still haven't acclimated. Hopefully I do at some point.

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  13. I'm with Amanda - TOTALLY read that as Martian's are coming!

    CONGRATULATIONS! You are a rock star!

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  14. Nice job! That last mile is tough because you just want to be done. I usually start telling myself "You've run further than this! This is nothing!"

    Yeah, lying doesn't always work.

    Regardless, I think you got revenge on the heat with this PR :-)

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  15. OMG that's so awesome! I'v been trying to PR anything this year and so far...zip! lol. Great job! My half PR is 2:13. I'm just looking to get down to 2:10! Maybe RNR half? Are you doing it?

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  16. Wooohoo!! Sub 2 is def. my future goal but I have some major work before that happens.

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  17. Congratulations on your PR that's awesome!!! I loved the sign and thought that the grammar error was funny! :)

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  18. yay on your PR! I have looked into buying a share, but we can't use that much, or I am not creative enough

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  19. Congrats on the PR!!! Wow...a sub-2 half marathon is incredible. One day one day...

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  20. SO PROUD!!!!! Congrats!!! You are a running machine in this weather!!

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