Two Cities Half Marathon

(Photo at mile marker 12). Readers of my blog know that I was a bit apprehensive about this race; I haven't been able to train well for the past month due to foot problems (which my genius coach figured out) and then glute problems due to the technique change we made to help my foot. Still, I knew it was possible that I could come out with a good race. I'd trained very well prior to the injuries and it wasn't THAT long ago, so presumably some fitness carried over. It did.

The conditions were perfect for the race. It was overcast and 53F (11.7C), with a gentle breeze. Nice. I wore shorts and my Wasatch Walkers shirt, and enjoyed the many comments from runners as usual. "Hey, that speedwalker is beating us!" and "How does she do that" and in this race, "Aw, that's the SECOND one of those powerwalkers that has passed me". One of the reasons I wanted to do this race is that it has a walking division that attracts other racewalkers. It's not judged, but everyone I saw was following the rules. They do say that if the officials see you running they will DQ you, so I guess the threat is enough, for the most part.

The race was to start at 7:30 am. I warmed up for about 10 min, starting at 7:15 (7 min walking plus a few min stretching), and thinking I'd be back in plenty of time. I was, but the race started early! Yikes! Thank goodness for chip timing! Still, that meant I didn't see any of the other racewalkers at the start. In fact, I didn't catch any of them until mile 6, but that's another story.

I started well, doing the first mile in 9:37 and feeling good. My left hip felt a little sore but not too bad, and I felt I was moving smoothly. My pace goal was 6:09/km (9:55/mile) and so that was a reasonable speed; a little fast, but I was settling in well. The second-fourth miles felt pretty good, and I did them in 9:59, 10:00, and 9:51; a little slower on average than I needed to, but it was pretty close to my desired pace. My hip started to feel better and didn't really bother me too much during the race. I noticed it, but it didn't hinder me a lot that I could tell.

Miles 5-6 weren't so great. It was still pretty flat (there were a few small gradual hills on the course, and one large hill, but that was at mile 8), but I just felt it was hard to keep my speed - my HR dropped a bit, and then it occurred to me after that maybe I ought to take some GU - I think I was a bit low on carbs. I took the GU about 54 min in (mile 5.5 or so) and did miles 5 and 6 in 10:05 and 10:14. I was getting a bit nervous about maintaining my pace when I spotted another racewalker (found out later her name is Diana). She was moving well and looked fit, and I thought I'd really better turn on the speed. I'm so glad I saw her and the other walkers in the next few miles - that spurred me on to work much harder than I would have otherwise. It came at the perfect time. A little competition is a good thing!

I got to 10K in 1:01:27, right on pace for the sub-2:10 I wanted. I thought it might be hard to hold that, as the last 5 miles included the largest hill plus some smaller hills, but I figured I still had a pretty good shot at a new PR (my old PR was 2:11:57). I walked as fast as I could down the hill and got to mile 7 in 9:39 :). Around mile 7.5 I saw 2 more racewalkers (found out later they were Art Klein and Lila), and one of them had a Junior Olympics shirt on. I was a bit intimidated, but they weren't moving fast enough that I couldn't overtake them. I just worried that they'd catch me later if I tired. I waved at them and said "good job" and kept going. Then I saw yet ANOTHER racewalker just ahead (James on his bib). He was moving very well at that point, but I passed him and hoped I could hold on. I also figured that if I couldn't, well, at least he was a guy so it didn't matter too much. I got to mile 8 in 9:53, and was feeling tired but decent. I thought "8K to go...I can do this" and was repeating one of my favorite race mantras that I learned from Jeannie Harms, a Canadian racewalker, "the longer I go the stronger I go" as I tackled the big hill.

It was a pretty nasty hill, but I felt strong and knew I had to take it quickly if I wanted to stay ahead of the other walkers. I managed to do a 10:11 up to mile 9, going up that big hill! I felt elated. I knew if I could just hold that pace I'd have a new PR and probably the win as well. By this time everything was starting to hurt a bit - my legs were quite tired, and I felt they were the limiting factor rather than my wind. Usually it's the other way around, and I know this time that was due to the lack of hard training in the last month, but I figured I could hold it for a little bit. I reached mile 10 in 10:11 also, which was a bit slower since it was a much more gradual uphill. I was still pleased. My watch said 1:39:45, so to PR I just had to do the last 5K in 32:12 or less. I thought I could do a 31:xx for sure --- I felt at least as good as when I did the 5K race after the 20K a few weeks back, and doing that gave me the confidence to push to the finish. I'm glad I did that workout!

I sped up a bit and got to mile 11 in 10:05, but then I tired just a bit and hit an aid station, slowing me down a little. Everything HURT now. My legs, my left hip, and even my obliques. I thought my form wasn't going to be so great for the video Loren was going to take at mile 12, but I really didn't care. I just wanted to be done! I made it to mile 12 in 10:17, and when I saw the split I decided I had to do better for the next mile. I saw Loren and the kids not long after, and they cheered for me a lot - it made me smile and I picked it up as best as I could. I knew that I only had about 11 min left to go. I got to mile 13 in 10:08 (ave HR only 165, but I was really working --- like I said, my legs gave out before my wind this time), and the last 0.1 felt like forever, even though it was 1:03. My watch said 2:11:20 at the finish, though my official chip time when I picked up my award was 2:11:18. The last 5K took me just 31:33, which I think is 9 sec slower than the 5K I did after the 20K a few weeks ago. Not bad at all!

I was SO relieved to finish and just walked slowly for about 10 min. I only had one GI cramp during the race, at mile 10, but when I crossed the finish I knew I'd have to find a bathroom soon. Thankfully, at the end of the finishers area there were lots of porta-potties. I continued to have problems for most of the day :(. Maybe I'll have to seek some medical advice for this, as I've tried lots of different dietary modifications with not much luck yet.

Garmin connect data here.

Official race results here.

Video at start of mile 13 here.

With Michelle after the race:


With my award:


More pictures here (mostly of the family afterward)