Columbia Half Marathon Race Report

I ran the Columbia Half Marathon yesterday morning. Um, all I'm going to say is I laid the smack down on that course!! My goal going in was to beat my old time 1:58. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, because I had taken so much time off last month and I haven't done any speedwork since December. Well, I guess "time off" is exactly what I needed. Read on ...

Here I am waiting in the cold before the start. It was 36 and windy. Melanie and I played phone tag, then finally got to wish each other good luck about two minutes before my race started (her marathon started 30 minutes later in Texas).

Megan and Travis came to crew for me at this race. The website said they would have water every two miles, so I brought gatorade (and other goodies) for them to carry just in case I needed it. It turns out they only had 3 water stations and there was powerade at all of them.

Megan played Eye of the Tiger for me on her ipod as I stretched before the race (no pictures...). I think it helped.

Don't be nervous.

We're about to start. I'm standing right behind the side mirror of that truck on the left. I was standing closer to the middle, but I realized I would get trampled so I scooted over moments before we started. There were around 550 runners.

I love this picture. Come on men, follow me! This is somewhere in the first 5k. Just fyi, the man in the orange shorts came in 38 people behind me. And the man pushing the stroller came in 71 people in front of me. If you look closely you can see that it's a double stroller with two toddler-ish age children.

Okay, so I started off too fast. I was in the front of the pack at the start and the first block was completely downhill and it was cold. Three good reasons to go fast. I just couldn't hold back. The thing is, I kept up the pace for a while. I mean, I held off a little, but I knew I was still going too fast (for me). They didn't have any of the miles marked (except 3, 8, and 11) and I didn't realize that. So I kept thinking that I was going too slow. Well, when I got to the man with the microphone yelling, "You're at mile 3!" I looked down at my watch for the first time (thinking I was still somewhere in the first mile) and realized that I had just run the first 5k faster than I have ever run any 5k. What?! At that point I told myself I needed to slow down or I was going to crash and burn and they'd have to find my id (on my bib) and call Travis to scrape me off the street. So I slowed down.

Action shot! Travis and Megan saw me a total of 7 times! It was awesome. I really didn't expect to see them more than twice during the race. So most of the times that I saw them it was a surprise. I say this every time, but it is so motivating to see people who are there especially for you. You really do want to run faster for them. Not that they really care about your time, but it just makes you want to do better.

I kept up a pretty good pace and felt comfortable for the next few miles. The next mile marker was 8. I looked at my watch and I was so beyond my goal time that I didn't know what to do with myself. I think the fact that there weren't mile markers made me go a little faster. And it felt fine. My only fear was that I was going to crash.

This was around mile 11. I knew Megan and Travis would be at this one. Well, they said they would be here and I was really hoping they made it. I knew I only had 2 miles to go and I also knew that the big hill was coming up (from 11.5-13). So I needed major motivation. There was a water stop right here so I was pointing and yelling to them to walk with me through the water stop. I told them I thought I would make it under 1:50, then I dropped my cup and ran. The last couple miles were hard, but I was prepared mentally. I had studied the map and elevation chart before hand, so I knew what to expect. I knew it was right there at the end and I hoped that I had saved enough energy to make it strong to the finish. Megan and Travis jumped in the car and pretty much followed me up the hill (bridge) for half a mile or so. I gave Megan a high five through the open car window. Seeing them right next to me probably took my mind away from the hill. I did notice that I passed a handful of guys and one girl going up this hill. :)

So it was pretty much uphill until right before mile 13. Then we rounded a corner (by the way, I ran those tangents on that course like nobody's business. Apolo Ohno would have been proud.) and saw the finish line--DOWNHILL!! I started sprinting (I don't think anyone noticed). I was searching for Megan and Travis in the crowd. I finally found them right before the finish line.

I finished 1:48:22!
The clock you see is for the 5k (they started fifteen minutes after us). The half marathon clock is to the left behind the flag.

I couldn't believe it. I didn't know that my body was capable of that. I'm excited to run more races with this newfound discovery that I can run fast (well, this is "my" new fast). Seeing my time for this race makes me think that I can get that sub 4 marathon. Hm, I don't know, maybe one day I'll be able to qualify for Boston! Anyway, right now I'm just so excited. I felt good the whole time, and I feel great one day after the race. So for all of those reading who get sidelined by an injury or illness, don't worry. It might be just what you need to reach your running goals. Thanks Megan and Travis for coming and supporting me! And for those interested in Melanie's marathon performance.... I really want to post how she did, but she hasn't posted it yet on her blog. So, you'll have to wait. Her blog is to the right (Rockin' Ralstons).

Official race results here
102/535 overall
25/278 women
8/62 women age 25-29
8:17 pace