Tory's Half Marathon Report

[Guest guest]

Half Marathon Race Report

So what did you do today? Me? I ran 13.1 miles.

On purpose.

I'm sorry. It still stuns me that I do this.

On purpose.

So today was my first half marathon. I had signed up for it about three

weeks ago. Originally I had planned to do a half marathon in November at the

Seattle Marathon. I joined SeattleFit (of USAFit) and found that I was

already running the mileage that the full marathoners were, so I decided to

keep doing their mileage and decide later if I wanted to switch to the full

marathon. So one of the activities on our schedule was to participate in the

annual Super Jock and Jill Labor Day Half Marathon. (Super Jock and Jill is

an AWESOME running store in Seattle.)

So today was the day! I got up dark and early and downed a granola bar to

get things going. After a hot bath in which I was hoping to relax my back

muscles that had been spasming for a few days, I had my pre-race meal of

oatmeal, blueberries, and tea. I was really relaxed this morning, for some

reason. I knew the nerves were there, but I had decided in advance that all

I really had to do was get to the start line. That meant that between now

and the start line was immaterial and anything after the start line was

immaterial. So I just chose not to think about it.

See, denial CAN be a good thing!

We headed out about 7:00. Roy was running the 4+ miler, so we were both

dolled up in our running togs. I decided against wearing my new

because I wasn't sure if the back problems were a coincidence or due to new

shoes, so my Adidas happily went with me. Before going I locked Charley

Horse firmly in his corral with an admonition to stay there and not move. He

likes to accompany me on races. I even discovered that he can SWIM during

the Danskin Triathlon. Stupid horse.

We got to the site and grabbed our goodies. The half marathoners got an

AWESOME running shirt made of Coolmax with the Super Jock and Jill

Half Marathon embroidered on the arm. Now these shirts go for about $45, so

this alone was worth the price of admission! We then perused the vendors who

were setting things up. I decided to grab a little packet of Jelly Belly

" JBz " chocolates and take them with me. They're cool! They are like M & Ms but

every one has a different flavored candy coating. I tucked those into my

running belt, affixed my race number (1165), did some light stretching, and

got in the bathroom line for the second time.

You know it's funny. Bingham warns in his book, " Marathoning for

Mortals " that as soon as you get to the marathon you need to get in the

bathroom line. Then when you're finished, get BACK into the bathroom line

again. The man in a genius! Talk about nervous bladder! The line by time

three was HUGE and we worried that we might not make the start line in time,

which would be a bummer because it's a " gun start. " Fortunately we did.

Five minutes before the start we made our way back...back...back to seed

ourselves among the 11 minute milers. The half marathon run and 4 milers

start together, so Roy and I could hang out with each other for the first

two miles. A " gun start " means that the clock starts for everyone at the

same time, regardless of when you actually cross the start line. (Other

races your timing chip marks both a start time and a finish time.) It took

about 30 seconds or so to get to the start line. There were a LOT of people

there. I'd say nearly 1000 starting all at once in two traffic lanes.

The first .25 mile was uphill a little bit. As soon as we crested the hill

the view was amazing! Below us was this neverending line of people all out

there to celebrate health, fitness, and raise money for the Puget Sound

Blood Center. Above us were hot air balloons floating low enough to watch

the start and marvel at the nuts out running. The sky was a brilliant blue.

The fog had just burned off leaving a clarity that can only be found on

crisp Fall mornings. Birds were singing in the trees, men were peeing at the

side of the road, it was a good day to be alive.

Yeah, not even a mile in and three men had already pulled off to take a pit

stop. Definitely one of the classier moments of the day! At least it gave us

a chuckle! Perhaps these gentlemen had not read Bingham's advice!

Roy and I ran together laughing and joking for the first mile. " Woo hoo! " I

yelled as we hit mile marker one. " One down! Twelve to go! " Hey, I'm a glass

if half full kinda gal! As we hit mile two we could see where he would have

to veer off to run through the park on the Samamish River Trail. We said our

goodbyes and " I love yous " and he took off on his run while I continued on

mine.

The day was glorious, as I said before. Our trail took us from Woodinville

into Bothell, through the University of Washington Bothell campus, through

the Cascadia Community College campus, through neighborhoods, downtown,

along a river, over a river, along it some more. The air was fresh and warm,

but not too warm. The trees still held their full compliment of leaves so we

were shaded as we passed under them.

My goal was to run no less than an 11 minute mile average. I had never run

this mileage without stopping before so I wasn't sure what I would be able

to accomplish. I set Dude, my Garmin Forerunner, to warn me if I fell below

an 11 minute mile pace. I set my heart rate monitor to warn me if my heart

rate got too high. I was a beeping and a bleeping for 13 miles! I'm sure I

drove some of the other runners crazy. (Actually, Dude is very quiet. You

can hardly hear him, and I did try to keep my HR in control so it was really

only on the hills that it went off for an extended period of time.)

And hills! There were hills, but you know what? I love hills! I'm good on

hills! Hills ROCK!

Okay, I'm lying. Who loves hills? But I do well on them and tend to just

greet them with " It is what it is. " After all what's the option? Go around?

Float? Stop? You've got to take them head on, so I did and found that every

time we hit a hill I passed people right and left.

At each mile Dude would let me know how I did and I was astounded to find

that not only was I hitting sub 11 minute miles on every lap, but was

hitting mostly sub 10 minute miles. Now I know there are runners out there

who would scoff, but I'm a relatively new runner and speed has never been my

talent. I'm Stamina Girl not Speedy Girl. We started our run at 9:00 a.m.

and without fail every single mile marker came on a ten minute marker!

At mile one I felt good. At mile two I felt better. At mile seven I realized

that I had only a 10k left to run! I felt AWESOME! At mile nine I had only a

5k left to run! Woo! I find that breaking those long runs down that way

makes them seem more doable.

The on-route support for this race was awesome. Many high school cross

country teams were out at water stops. What neat kids! For many of them,

this was their last day before school started and there they were out

handing ME water! I made sure to thank them and tell them how much they

rocked at every stop. In fact, I think it is SO important to be sure to

thank race support. Without them, we wouldn't be able to be out there. Let's

hear it for race volunteers!

At mile 11 I was marveling that I had only 2 miles left to go. My friend,

, had said she'd be at mile 11 to cheer me on so I took off my

headphones to look for her. Unfortunately I didn’t see her, but that was

okay. Things happen. I just decided to keep going. I took inventory (checked

all components to see what was going on with them) and realized I was still

feeling pretty good except some soreness in my right knee, gluts, and hips.

Nothing major.

Suddenly who was running with me but Charley! Damn that horse! He must have

escaped the corral and hitched a ride into Bothell! I shooed him away and

told him to jump in the river. I took inventory again, everything was still

there, and checked Dude. I had about a mile and a half to go and was feeling

good! Yeah, things hurt, but I only had a mile and a half to go!

Woo! Mile 12 marker! By this time we were on the Samamish River Trail

running along the Samamish River. It was BEAUTIFUL! As I ran past a bridge I

thought that it would make an excellent Pooh Sticks bridge. Perhaps if you

waited long enough, Eeyore might float by on his back! Okay, so I was

starting to get a little punchy about mile 12.

I woo-hooed as I passed the mile 12 sign and rounded the bend. A mile left

to go! Oh look! There are some people up there with signs how neat. I just

think that is the COOLEST thing to see family members cheering on their

loved ones. I’ve always been a little sad that my family can’t come to my

events. (Not that they probably would anyhow but maybe for something like a

marathon they would.) As I got closer the sign came into focus, it said “Go

Tory?” “Go Tory?” GO TORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was for ME! Oh my gosh I nearly

started crying! Suddenly the pain was gone and my big goofy grin got bigger

and goofier! There was ! Not only had she come to cheer me on, but she

had made a SIGN! Her girls were screaming “Go Tory! Yay Tory!” and I was

yelling “Oh my gosh! You guys are so awesome! Thank you SO much!” I almost

ran over to them, but then remembered I was running a race so I should

probably continue! And who was with them? Roy! He snapped pictures and

cheered me on and called out that he loved me. Wow! That was JUST what I

needed to finish strong!

Up the hill, around the corner, “Plant five!” (I give high-fives to plants

when I run yeah, I know. I’m strange.) Big smile! Burst of speed! Passing

you passing you more speed hey, is that Griffiths volunteering? More

speed, into the Redhook Brewery people are cheering, I’m grinning and

someone is calling my name over a loudspeaker and WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I

just ran a half marathon!

I stumbled a few feet past the finish line and took off my timing chip,

handing it to a volunteer. (Thank you volunteer!) and went in search of

water! Water! Tears filled my eyes because I’d done it and I get all oogey

and weepy at finish lines when I meet a new goal. I grabbed some water from

a guy “Bless your soul, that is JUST what I need!” and found Roy in the

crowd. I was tired, but not TOO tired. In fact, I was feeling pretty darn

good!

After stretching, snagging more goodies, and inhaling an apple we made our

way back towards the car. I thought I’d missed my chance to thank as

Roy said he thought they were going right home. Nope! She was still there! I

went down and gave her a BIG hug! Thank you SO much for doing that! That was

WONDERFUL! And you know what? Not only had the sign said “Go Tory” but on

the other side it said “Go Roy” so Roy had a cheering party too when he

passed them on the 4 miler! What neat people! They didn’t need to give up

their holiday morning to do that, but they did. That just meant the world to

me.

So now I’m recovering from my post-race sushi feed (mmmm sushi). I’m feeling

great! I am looking forward to the marathon in November, hoping I can finish

feeling good like I did today. I’m a little intimidated by double the

mileage, but hey let’s think of it as three 8 mile races separated by two 1

milers. Yeah, that’s not too bad! I can do that!

When I got home, Roy presented me with this family portrait he drew. Isn't

he the best? <http://i.xanga.com/msteechur/t/Family%20portrait.JPG>

Splits:

ü Mile 1: 10:15

ü Mile 2: 10:10

ü Mile 3: 9:45

ü Mile 4: 9:49

ü Mile 5: 10:13

ü Mile 6: 10:07

ü Mile 7: 10:09 (gnarly hills on this one)

ü Mile 8: 9:47

ü Mile 9: 8:34 (woo)

ü Mile 10: 9:52

ü Mile 11: 10:08

ü Mile 12: 9:52

ü Mile 13: 9:55

By the way, Dude said that the course was actually 13.4 miles, so double woo

on that!

<file:///W:/teechur.gif>

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

Tory Klementsen, MCP A+

Career and Technology Educator

www.teechur.com

www.msteechur.com

-The successful person will do the things that the unsuccessful person will

not.