RunDisneyGoofy: Racing Flower City 1/2 Marathon 2016

The day of the half marathon started with my parents picking up Critter and I at 6:15 in the morning. I had to wake Critter up (not the case any more as she now thinks 5am is wake up time...). We parked on the street and my parents got Critter into the stroller and her snow suit to help keep her warm as it was in the low 40's (ideal racing temps but not so much for hanging around). I sat in the car and pumped.

Around 7:00 we headed over to the War Memorial where they had the whole building for us to use. I hit up the bathroom and headed over to the start since it was just outside the doors of the building at 7:30. They had several different pacers and I started near the 1:40 pacer but when the race was about to begin all the pacers moved up and I was near the 1:50 people. Oh well, I was still near the front of the race and it would thin out fairly quickly since there were just over 3000 people.

I took the first few miles easy and kind of used them to warm up and settle into a pace. It was a great day for a race. I hit the 5k split in 23:46 (7:40 pace). Thanks to the timing mats on the course I have these stats since I never start a watch during the race and run based on how I feel. By about mile 3 I was caught up to the 1:45 pacer and began to push the pace a bit so that I could meet the goal I set for myself of 1:40. In all honesty I would be happy with anything under 2 hours but I have been running strong and wanted to see how much I could push myself and still be somewhat comfortable. I have other races coming up and need to stay healthy and recover quickly so I can keep training.

We hit a smooth/flat patch for a bit and I was cruising and catching up to the 1:40 pacer. I passed my mom, dad and Critter--tossing them my mittens. Not sure what the mile was for the next timing mat (probably 10k?) but I crossed it in 46:10 (7:14 pace). At this point the course gets "awful" in that you climb some serious hills. They are fairly gradual but there are several of them with fast downhills so it really takes some mental toughness as they fall right in the middle of the race and go for a few miles. Plus there is Mt. Hope cemetery with quite a few twists and turns for a mile plus. I had the 1:40 pacer in my sights and was close for 3 miles and passed him in the cemetery. Funny side note, I ran with my ipod and "Dig a Little Deeper" from Princess and the Frog was on as I ran through the cemetery. I found it funny.

Exiting the cemetery I hit that timing mat in 1:09:59 (7:41 pace--those hills were tough but I didn't lose the 1:40 pacer). Once I was out of the cemetery I knew it was flat-ish for the rest of the course and began the "crush." This is where I start to pick up the pace and keep it cruising. I was feeling strong and just kept pushing the pace and working on catching the next person in front of me. In front of the 1:40 pacer we were spread out somewhat.

I crossed the finish line in 1:37:31 with my last portion having a 7:15 pace and my overall pace being a 7:27. This was a HUGE PR for me. I broke my PR from 13 years prior while I was still in college! It must be the magic of the Sparkle Skirt I was wearing and the fact I really wanted to get some good corral placement for Disney. Mission accomplished!

I was happy to see my Critter and gave her my bling. She liked it and was all smiles holding it and playing with the ribbon. It is noisy near the finish so of course she was wearing her headphones. I am so thankful that my parents take such good care of her while I am out racing so that I can focus on running.

While I waited inside to check the results she was all smiles with my medal. I ended up placing 3rd in my age group but since we weren't sticking around due to needing to get to a family party I would have to pick up my award at the store later in the week. What a nice surprise that was to get an age group award.