On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2015

Last Sunday was my post-injury half marathon debut.  Although it was 4th time racing the Dexter-Ann Arbor half and my 22nd half marathon, I was anxious.  Anxious about anything and everything.

• Hamstring:  It's not 100% pain-free and I wasn't sure what the combination of 13 miles, hills, and increased pace would do to it.
• Pace:  Could I handle the pace I've been working on during speed work for the duration of the race?  My 9k on Memorial Day was hard and that was less than half the distance.
• Fuel:  I'm finding that my fueling needs have changed since I've started racing again.  What used to sustain me for a 5k or 10k just isn't enough.  I needed to figure out a plan for 13 miles so I didn't bonk.
• Weather:  As if all that wasn't enough to worry about, the forecast changed from 60 degrees and sunny to 50 degrees and 100% chance of rain.  

To help set my mind at ease, I talked through pacing with Coach Terra earlier in the week.  My bestie Megan helped me figure out fueling.  My hamstring was going to be a nagging issue but I could push through for the race.

That left the rain.  I don't mind running in the rain but I wasn't looking forward to the combination of wind, chilly temps, and 13 miles.  I texted Terra the day before and told her as much.  Her response was just what I needed to hear: "You are Detroit Tough.  Face it and embrace it."  Face it and embrace it.  Hmmm...  I liked that.  I was going to use that as my mantra when the going got tough.

Saturday evening when I made my playlist, I put a few special rain-themed songs on it.  I made my chia pudding and added some PB2 for an extra boost.  I laid out my gear, including two CLIF Shots.  I was still a bit jittery but not as nervous as I'd been.  Everything would fall into place.

Race day dawned just as dark and rainy as predicted.  As he always does, Brian drove me to the staging area in Dexter so I didn't have to take a bus from Ann Arbor.  (The course is not looped.)  It was pouring and he kept asking if I still wanted to run it.  I knew he was worried about me but I was ready.  After months of base-training, speed work, and long runs, there was no way I was going to let a little rain stop me from seeing what my hamstring could do.  With a valet stop at the port-a-potty and a kiss good-bye, I ran into the school to stay dry for as long as I could.  

While I waited, I passed the time in a bathroom line talking to a really friendly girl.  Then I found my RUNdetroit friends in the gym and Coach Geo from Detroit Tough.  I did some run drills (high knees, walking lunge with twist, drinking bird) instead of a warm-up mile.  During the National Anthem I finally went outside to wait in the rain.  I found the 1:35 pace team and decided to run with them.  I needed some company, at least for a while.

By the time the race started I was wet enough that it didn't seem bad anymore.  Once I hit the first puddle I was set.  Face it and embrace it.  It was a medium steady rain, never a downpour, and actually kept my body temperature cool enough throughout the race.  All in all it turned out to be much better than expected.

I was running slightly behind the pacers, making sure to stick with them.  I was trying to keep my head in the game, not worrying about how many miles were ahead of me.  One mile at a time; run each one and forget about it.  (More words of wisdom from Coach Terra.)  After turning onto Huron River Drive about 3 miles in, the group spread out a bit. One of the pacers asked me if I was going to pace the group because I seemed fast.  I explained that I was going to hang with them for a while and not try to push the pace.  We got to talking about different races and ran together for a couple of miles.  It was nice to have someone to talk to for a while.  There were also two girls near the pace group that I chatted with a bit.  They were keeping a good pace but accelerating a bit.  At one point I told them my goal was to stay with them or at least keep them in my sights!

I stayed with the pace group for maybe the first 5-6 miles before gradually starting to pick it up a bit.  I didn't get that far ahead because for a while I could still hear the pacer shouting out the splits at each mile.  He had them slightly ahead each time.  I took my gel around 5.5, drank a cup of water at mile 6.  I started to worry because I still had more than half the race to go.  Then I thought about those first 6 miles . . . and I put them behind me.  They were done.  I felt a renewed push and ran on, feeling stronger.  

My hamstring started talking to me at mile 8 but it was manageable.  When I got to mile 10 and there was only 5k left, I really tried to focus on looking forward, staying strong, not worrying about the Garmin.  The next mile went by pretty easily that way.  I chicked a couple of dudes and caught back up to one of the two girls who had been running in the pace group (one was way out of sight).  At the mile 12 water station someone shouted out, "Vegan runner!" which totally made my day!

Coming up off of Huron River Drive onto Main Street is a sizable hill, which I handled pretty well.  I probably used up more energy on that and in the next half mile, however, because by the time I neared the finish I didn't have much left for a final push.  One of the girls that I'd been going back and forth with and had passed before that big hill caught up to me in the final stretch and beat me in the end.  I sure wouldn't have done as well overall without her and we congratulated each other at the finish.  There were a few guys that had been near us that all had similar comments, as well.  I love the camaraderie at this race.  

As soon as I got my medal I looked up to see Brian waiting for me.  By then the rain had just about stopped.  He snapped this picture of me.  You can't fake this happiness!

We hurried over to where the RUNdetroit cheering section was to see Coach Geo finish, along with the rest of the RUNdetroit Flight Club.  I was in such a rush to get over there I forgot to grab a post-race banana!  

I finally had to go get changed into dry clothes (complete change in the car) and then I went down the street to Starbucks for my usual post-race Starbucks coffee and oatmeal.  I seriously run for coffee!

I was so proud of myself for finishing at the goal Terra and I had set.  I'd stuck to my pacing plan, run a negative split, fueled properly, and most importantly raced with happy legs and a happy heart!  

Time 

1:33:21

Pace 

7:07/mile

Fuel 

Chia pudding & banana (pre-race) CLIF Shot (mile 5.5)

Tunes

Caught in the Rain / Preston School of Industry

Back to the Shack / Weezer

Last Raindrop / Fitz & the Tantrums

You Called Me / Mayor Hawthorne

All About That Bass / Meghan Trainor

The Feast and the Famine / Foo Fighters

Believer / American Authors

Sorry I Stole Your Man / Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

Shut Up and Dance / WALK THE MOON

Rainy Taxi / Spoon

I Bet My Life / Imagine Dragons

I'm Shakin' / Jack White

50 Ways to Say Goodbye / Train

Move Like You Stole It / ZZ Ward

Only Happy When it Rains / Garbage

The Innocent / Mayer Hawthorne

Cheer Up Boys (Your Make Up Is Running) / Foo Fighters

One Engine / The Decemberists

Can't Hold Us / Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Brave / Sara Bareilles

Set Fire to the Rain / Adele

Previous DX-A2 race recaps:

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2011

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2012

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2013

Have you run a rainy race?  How did it go?

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2013

Are races sort of like childbirth?  (I've never birthed a child so I can't say for sure.)  Does the exhilaration of a finishing a race make you forget anything that might have sucked about the race itself - hills, heat, bumpy road, or just the fact that you were running for 13.1 miles?  The runner's high is so intense that by the time that shiny finisher's medal is hanging from your neck, you're already geeked about next year's race.

Last weekend I ran Dexter-Ann Arbor for my third year in a row.  Because I'd run it twice already, you'd think I'd remember how tough it is but for some reason I'd blocked it out.  I knew the last mile was rough but somehow I forgot just how tough.  And long.  I swear it's somehow farther than a regular mile!  I also forgot that there are other hills besides that last mile.  Ah well.  

I decided to run with the 1:35 pace group, led by the winner of the Martian 1/2 Marathon.  He ran that in 1:12 so this was just a jog in the park for him!  My goal was to run with the group for most of the race and then break away near the end to finish ahead of the team.  That plan fell apart pretty quickly.  I stayed with them for the first 2 miles but by mile 3 I wanted to go ahead.  I'm just not used to running with a group!  I struck up a conversation with another runner and we broke away from the team.  Because I tend to run faster when I get talking, we picked up the pace and the next 5 miles passed pretty quickly.  At that point, my heart rate was over 190 and I knew I couldn't sustain that pace for the rest of the race.  I slowed down and grabbed a sip of water at the next station.  5 miles to go.

My new goal was to not let the pace leader pass me.  With 2 miles to go I heard him behind me.  That's when the race really gets tough.  It's all uphill, there was a headwind, and I was tired.  Before I knew it, he was racing ahead of me and there was no way I could catch up.  He'd made great time, though, because surprisingly I finished just under our 1:35 time.  My pace was 7:15/mile, which was 15 seconds per mile better than last year's time.  Woot woot!

So, as I was running those last 5 miles, I was thinking about how glad I am that I'm not running another half until September, how challenging this race is, how sore my legs were, how much I don't want to run my marathon if I can't even handle picking up the pace at mile 13, yada yada, yada.  And then I crossed the finish line, saw my time, and all those thoughts were gone and I couldn't wait to run this race again next year.  And yes, when I do I'll still wonder how that last mile is so damn long!

Time
 1:34:58 

Pace 

7:15/mile

Fuel  

Vanilla Chia Pudding (this recipe, minus the cocoa), banana

 Tunes 

Get Ready / Mayer Hawthorne 

All the Time / The Strokes 
Beanbag Chair / Yo La Tengo 
Bulletproof / La Roux 
Dear Rosemary / Foo Fighters 
Little Numbers / Boy 
You Called Me / Mayer Hawthorne 
We Come Running / Youngblood Hawke 
The Edge of Glory / Lady Gaga 
Change / Churchill
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) / Kelly Clarkson 
Mercy / Duffy 
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups 
We Found Love / Rihanna 
I Will Wait / Mumford & Sons 
I'm Shakin' / Jack White 
Hurts Like Heaven / Coldplay 
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor / Arctic Monkeys 
Crushcrushcrush / Paramore 
Kick Drum Heart / The Avett Brothers 
Under Cover of Darkness I / The Strokes 
One More Night / Maroon 5 
Work Around It / Them Swoops 
Blood for Poppies / Garbage 
Chop and Change / The Black Keys 
Can't Hold Us / Macklemore 
Love the Way You Lie (ft. Rihanna) / Eminem

Upcoming Events:

 Flirt with Dirt 10k - June 8th 

Tough Mudder - June 30th 

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2012

Wahoo!! 

Yeah, that's my opening line today.  I'm super excited because I set a new PR yesterday in the Dexter-Arbor 1/2 marathon!  Not only was my time 2 minutes faster than my previous PR (a completely flat course vs. this hilly one, I must note) but it was also 17 minutes faster than I ran this race last year.  Yes, you read that right - 17 minutes faster than last year.  

Racing conditions were absolutely perfect this year.  Temps were in the 60's, it wasn't humid, and there was a refreshing breeze that that didn't develop into a full-blown wind until later in the day.  And, most importantly, my stomach was behaving.  (HUGE sigh of relief!)

Jaime, my sis-in-law, did the race with me.  It was her first 1/2 marathon (running - she's walked two).  Brian dropped us off in Dexter about an hour before the start time.  We had a lot of fun people-watching before the race!  (Seriously, how do you run 13 miles in some of these outfits?)

The race went amazingly well.  I started out with the 8:01 pace group, just because that's where I ended up.  My last two races have gone well but I knew this course was a challenge.  I didn't want to start out too fast and then hit a wall later on.  Well . . . starting out slow didn't exactly happen.  I pretty much ran under 7:30's for the first couple miles and then started to add on a few seconds with each passing mile after that.  So I did slow down a little bit.  (ha ha)  

I loved being able to take in the beauty of Huron River Drive - the lake, the trees, and the winding road.  It is such a scenic run, especially on a day like Sunday.  I felt like I could have kept running for hours.  

Well, until I hit mile 12.  I hit mile 12 just as I'd come powering up a pretty big hill and really given it my all.  The clock at the mile marker read 1:30 and I was determined to finish under 1:40.  But I was getting so tired at that point.  It was right then that I caught up to the 7:38/mile pace group leader and I started to run with her.  Her cheering me on and encouraging me to go faster, even though I wasn't in her group, gave me the boost to keep pushing myself at the end and finish strong.

  
Knowing Jaime was back there chasing me helped, too.  She finished in 2:06.  Go Jaime!  (She was just glad she made it to the end without a stretcher.)

After the race there was a lot of good fruit - grapes, oranges, apples, and bananas - plus bagels, bread, and cookies from Zingerman's.  There was also pizza.  I just loaded up my plate with fruit and went to Starbucks for coffee. 
 

Time 

1:38:09

Pace 

7:30/mile

Fuel 

Vanilla Almond Luna Bar, banana

Tunes

Best Day of Your Life / Katie Herzig

Don't Look Back / She & Him

Somebody That I Used to Know / Gotye

Little Talks / Of Monsters and Men

Gold on the Ceiling / The Black Keys

I'm Shakin' / Jack White

The Edge of Glory / Lady Gaga

Someday / Langhorne Slim and The Law

Words / Otto Vector

Murray / Pete Yorn

Mercy / Duffy

Dear Rosemary / Foo Fighters

From Now On / The Features

Sixteen Saltines / Jack White

You Belong With Me / Taylor Swift

Roots Radicals / Rancid

Money Maker / The Black Keys

So Says I / The Shins

She / Green Day

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) / Kelly Clarkson

Arlandria / Foo Fighters

One Engine / The Decemberists

Shake It Out / Florence + The Machine

Party Rock Anthem / LMFAO

The Way We Move / Langhorne Slim and The Law

Party in the CIA / Weird Al Yankovic

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups

Little Lion Man / Mumford & Sons

EXPO NOTES: 

• New this year are tech shirts instead of cotton tee shirts - YAY!!  Plus they come in both men's and women's sizes.  I ordered a women's medium because they tend to run small.  Bad news?  This particular brand doesn't.  Good news?  They let me trade for a small!  Who lets you trade shirt sizes at expos?  No one!  Unless you're at DX-A2!  I love these people!!
• I found out about an upcoming obstacle race called Rock the World on June 30th in Lansing.  Only 2 weeks after Tough Mudder but it sure sounds tempting . . .  There's also another one at Willow Metro Park at the end of September so maybe I'll wait for that.
• I had my vertical jump tested - only 13.8 inches.  No WNBA for me.  (Wah-wah.)

All in all, a well organized race experience from start to finish!

Next up: Flirt With Dirt 10K trail run - Saturday, June 9th

Have you run Dexter-Ann Arbor?
 

On the Run: DX-A2 1/2 Marathon 2011

Sunday was the Dexter-Ann Arbor ½ Marathon.  Last year I ran the 10k because the ½ was full.  This year I made sure to sign up early because I’ve heard such great things about the run (and then they didn’t cap it so everyone could enter).  The course is basically Huron River Drive from Dexter to Ann Arbor and it is quite beautiful.  It’s a paved road with some ups and downs but nothing too challenging in terms of terrain.  There are lots of trees on either side of the road and glimpses of the water here and there. 

Although my last race left me feeling less than pumped up about running, I was still looking forward to this run.  My friend Katie was running, too, which helped.  The weather was supposed to be gorgeous – a bit on the hot side but sunny and dry.  And at 8:30 in the morning, how hot can it really be? 

Turns out it can be VERY HOT.  Not only was it hot but also it was humid, so already breathing was difficult.  Then around mile 2 I started to get a stomach ache.  Nothing too bad, just a little bloated.  By mile 4 it started cramping up.  By mile 6 it felt like there was a conga line working its way through my large intestine and I was so bloated that I could hardly breathe.  I thought my chest strap was going to burst off.  My heart rate had been at a steady 195 for the past few miles.  I thought I was dying.  My stomach pain made every step more unbearable than the last. I didn’t know how I would ever finish.  I was imagining myself as Simon Pegg in Run Fatboy Run, the scene where he is bloody and bruised, limping along the marathon route, refusing to get in the emergency vehicle so he can finish the race.  Although I was neither bloody nor bruised and would have flagged down the emergency vehicle in a second if I had seen it.

Finally I did something I have never done in any race – I walked.  I pulled over, slowed down, and I walked.  I felt like such a loser.  I was only halfway to the end and I was walking.  I walked until my heart rate dropped into the 170’s and then I ran again.  When my heart rate was up again and I couldn’t take it anymore, I walked until it went down.  I ran/walked/ran/walked the rest of the race.  I stopped and walked too many times to count.  At that point I didn’t even care.  I didn’t care how long it took me or how many people passed me.  I just had to get to the end.  And I did…but it wasn’t pretty.  There was no sprint, no real feeling of triumph.  Well, triumph that I didn’t throw up or pass out, I guess.  When I met up with Katie I found out that she, too, had contemplated hitching a ride back on the emergency vehicle so I felt a little less wimpy.

It was my slowest time for a half marathon ever but not by much. Considering how much I walked, I was surprised my time wasn’t worse. Not that it even mattered.  I survived.  I did what I had to do to take care of myself given the conditions of the weather and my body, so I learned an important lesson.  At the end of the day it’s only a run and it’s not worth killing yourself over it.  I also learned a few more things: 

- Running more in the heat would probably be helpful if I ever plan on running a summer race again.  Also running at least once in the past 2 weeks might have been a good thing.

- Drinking water and Gatorade can actually be quite beneficial, even if you have to slow down and walk to do so.  

- “I’d Do Anything for Love” by Meat Loaf isn’t quite the power ballad I hoped it would be and may actually have done me more harm than good.

So I'll chalk this up to a good old-fashioned (and quite humbling) learning experience.  I have another race in a few weeks and if I'm smart, I'll be a little better prepared.

*Sorry there aren’t any pictures.  I was too miserable to take any or have my picture taken, but you can check me out at www.runphotos.com (bib #2891).  I actually look way less miserable than I felt.  Go figure!

Time 

1:55:11

Pace 

8:47/mile

Fuel 

Toasted Nuts and Cranberry Luna Bar, soy yogurt, banana

Tunes

Good Day / Tally Hall

Pumped Up Kicks / Foster the People

Telephone / Pomplamoose

Song Away / Hockey

Born This Way / Lady Gaga

Float On / Goldspot

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper / Blue Oyster Cult

Misery / Maroon 5

Under Cover of Darkness / The Strokes

Shut Up and Drive / Rihanna

Charlie Mix / Otto Vector

100 Miles and Runnin’ / N.W.A.

Our Time Now / Plain White T’s

A Matter of Time / Foo Fighters

That Someone is You / R.E.M.

Bad Romance / Lady Gaga

Kick Drum Heart / The Avett Brothers

Selfish Man / Flogging Molly

Ours / The Bravery

Second Chance / Peter Bjorn and John

Discipline / Nine Inch Nails

I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) / Meat Loaf

Chop and Change / The Black Keys

Eye of the Tiger / Survivor

Run This Town (ft. Rihanna and Kanye West) / Jay-Z

Fighter / Christina Aguilera

Not Afraid / Eminem

Power (remix ft. Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz) / Kanye West

The Underdog / Spoon

Black Swan / Thom York

Long Walk Home / American Mars