Mercer Half Race Report 2008
I woke up at 7am and did not get much sleep the night before, but wasn’t worried about that. I was mostly worried about my lower back which I aggravated doing a 10 mile run a week before and hadn’t run since to let it heal. For hydration I had a couple big glasses of water right when I woke. I then ate yogurt with a chopped up banana in it. That was all I could eat as my stomach usually doesn’t like to co-operate early in the morning before a race. I usually have a bit of anxiety before a race, but since this was just a run I was pretty relaxed. Not much to worry about, just put on some running shoes and head out the door.
I left the house with my sister, who was visiting from out of town and doing the 5k, at about 7:45 so I could make it for the team photo. I had to park a mile or so away from the start, but that was perfect for a brisk walk to warm up the legs. After the team photo, I did some stretching and went to the bathroom.
I was very happy with the weather, a little cool and no rain. I even took off my team brooks long sleeve shirt as I get really hot when I run. I went with shorts and a tank top. This turned out to be perfect.
Race strategy: Run a relaxed pace the first five miles and hope it’s at 45 minutes. Speed up a bit if needed for miles 5-10 and do what I can to be at 1:30 at mile 10. After mile 10, give it my all to get under 2hrs.
9am came around and it was time to get in the pack to race. The gun sounded and we were all off! The first mile was mostly me realizing I should have moved up to the 8-9 min pace group as my pace was really slow since I could not get around anyone. Maybe this actually helped me start out slow and save my energy. I was forcing myself to keep my HR down a bit for the first five miles. I was keeping my heart rate at about 170. The first few miles went ok, but I was having a little bit of arch pain in my left foot from the angle of the road. Luckily it went away around mile four and I was keeping a solid pace. At mile five I was very happy with my time. I was meeting my pre race goals. The next few miles felt great, I was trying to find someone to pace behind. I found someone who had a similar pace and stayed right behind them.
For fuel I ate one Clif Block every few miles. I had pretty good energy during the race.
At mile eight, I was very happy that my back was hanging in there with no pain. All I could think of was get to mile 10 so I can start my finishing pace and wrap this thing up. It seemed to take a long time to go from mile 8.5 – 10 as most of it was a steady climb. I was right at my goal, a bit over 1:30. Right at mile 10 I sped up and was really cruising. My heart rate jumped up to high 170’s. I then saw there was a pretty long climb ahead. I hit the hill and tried to keep my pace, but inevitably was slowed down a bit and the hill did a number on my legs. I kept pushing hard, my back was tightening and I was now feeling a bit sick. At mile 11.5, I went all out. I had my fishing pole out and was picking runners I was going to pass. I absolutely love doing this near the end of the race. The hill took a lot of steam out of my legs and I was wishing I was doing my normal sprint. I kept going hard and finally saw the last climb to the finish. My sister was cheering me on and taking photos, I went all out up the hill and passed a few last people right before the finish. Right after I finished I knew I gave it my all as I put my hands on my knees and didn’t want to move anywhere for a bit.
My chip time was 1:56:12. I was very happy with my time as this was the 1st half marathon I trained for. (Did one a few years ago)
This is one of the first races I’ve done where I had a race plan and everything went to plan. My pace felt like it was perfect for the entire race. What a great day! It was great to be part of a team for this race!
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