Half marathon 'race' report

Hard to call it a race when I didn't go very fast :) But it was a race!  So, the numbers:

Miles: 13.1
Time to finish: ~1:42
Time spent walking: ~10 minutes (bad stitch!)
Finished: 13 out of ~700 in my category

... and here is the story behind the numbers ...  The race started off ok.  I've been having what i can only classify as shin splint issues on my left leg, one of my friends refers to this as my 'wimp spot' so i will too :) So my wimp spot was really bothering me but i knew i wanted to finish so instead of fighting the pain i just relaxed into it. I think this was the best for the long run b/c it meant i didn't run funny. After a while the pain became my friend :) Once I relaxed into a nice stride the first half of the run was decent ... i was on target to beat 1:40 so i was somewhat happy with that ... but i didn't feel like i was pushing so i figured i could pick up the pace for the second half.

I had to take a bathroom break at the 1/2 way point and then ended up with a wicked stitch ... I tried walking for about 2 minutes, then realized it wasn't going away so i may as well run thru it. It was pretty painfull for about 10 minutes ... i don't think i was running very fast. More like a slow motion jog ... ok, i was basically walking :)  Thankfully it subsided to a more managable pain just before the big climb and i really enjoyed the slow hill climb. At the bottom everyone was passing me and I felt really slow ... but by the time we got to the mid-way pont i was passing people back ...it felt good. I started picking up the pace over the hill.

Over the hill it got really cold. I'd been pretty warm up to this point and wasn't expecting it. My legs seized up on me and my quads were like dangling blocks of ice. The race turned purely mental at this point and I had no idea how far left in the race (or how long i'd been running - i couldn't find my watch the morning of the race) ... so i just kept running. Once people around me were speeding up i figured we were close to the end and then started recognizing street signs. I couldn't convince my ice block-legs to go faster so i just paced it out to the finish. I didn't break 1:40 so wasn't really happy with my time ... but not too bad i guess. But of course now i have to do another one ... i want to go faster :)

So i'm pretending to be a runner ...

I used to be ... a long, long time ago ... a runner. I can't claim that anymore.  But this weekend, for a short (ha) 13 miles, I am going to pretend to be a runner!

I've had 6 weeks to train ... (yes, it's already been 6 weeks since worlds) so i'm not expecting much .. but I will finish, and I will try to go fast. :) We will see. My fastest run has been at 6.5 minute miles ... but i know i can't sustain that for 13 miles. I am hopeing to finish around 1:35ish ... we will see! 

How did  i end up in this 'situation' you ask? Well, two of my good friends convinced me it would be fun ... ok, maybe they didn't use the word 'fun', but perhaps 'different', a 'challenge', and a 'change of pace'. That all sounded good back in Australia when i was prepping for Worlds :) And in theory 6 weeks is enough to get into shape, right? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to find out :)

So i've done a couple of 13 mile runs at this point - i know i can finish. I just don't know how fast i will be ... First of all, my body does not remember how to go fast anymore. I haven't done intervals in ... forever ... and my body is still in 'i can go for 24+ hours' mode. Funny how the human body adapts to survive.  I will have to have a serious chat with my legs on Sunday before the start ... they need to understand that this is like an OCup race - go hard or go home ... but i haven't been able to convince them of that yet. We will see :)

Whatever happens, it will indeed be a challange, a change of pace, and something different! And if i am seriously considering off-road triathlons next season I need to start running at some point. What better time? Next i'll have to enter a swimming race ... um, what did i just say? I need to re-learn how to swim first ... :)

To add to the fun, we recently got about 4 inches of snow and so far it's sticking ... although the temps are much nicer running temps today. So the run will be a bit chilly... but i'm Canadian so that should mean I'll go faster right? Right (it's all about having the right attitude!) :)