NEW 13.1 PR!!! Savannah Rock 'n' Roll 2013

Sorry for the lack of blogs this year, life gets hectic. What else can I say. I'm not a writer, so this stuff doesn't come natural to me. As my BFF Shonna put it, I'd much rather be living it than writing about it!!

Anyway, this race certainly deserves a post.

Long story short, I ran my ass off at the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half and I achieved my ultimate goal of getting a sub 2-hour half. Something that last year, I didn't think I would EVER be capable of doing. The closest I have ever been was at the Palmetto Bluff Half at the beginning of this year when I came in at 2:03 - but even that course was short (12.8 miles), so it probably would have been more like a 2:05 or 2:06. My goal for this race was to beat 2:05 at the very least.

First off, I have to apologize to MRTT – I didn't really participate in very many group runs this time around. I was very selfish in the way I wanted to train for this on my own, in my own way. I ran mainly on my lunch breaks because I didn't want to get up so early to drive somewhere to run (I am very spoiled since we moved to a house next to an awesome park. I got used to running alone again, but I didn't mind. Now that my big race is over, I hope to be more active in the group runs. :)

The week before the race, I had just completed a Whole Life Challenge with my awesome gym - the FTC. It was an 8 week lifestyle challenge. We did baseline testing and the final testing was a week before the race. My numbers didn't change THAT much in terms of weight or inches lost. The only significant improvement was that I was able to add 10# to my 1RM back squat (new PR of 160#). I'm proud of that, but the area that I thought I would improve on the most was the 1 mile run. I got a new PR, but only by 8 seconds (7:20). :( That was a bit discouraging as the race was approaching.

So since the challenge was over, I pretty much did what you should NOT have done after changing your diet... I ATE CARBS! You know, the BAD ones! It was glorious! I told myself that I'm just fueling for the race. Pasta, rice, white potatoes - in various forms. Oh baby. Shonna and her family came down Thursday and we had Mellow Mushroom pizza. YUMMMM. Then the night before the race we had ribeyes and potatoes. Oh and birthday cake and ice cream - it was Scarlett's birthday (Shonna's daughter)!

Birthday girl Scarlett, photobombing my flat mama!

On race morning, I ate an English muffin with peanut butter and chia seeds. I also had half of a banana on the way there. It wasn't as cold as I was anticipating. We took photos with MRTT and then went to get in a long port-a-potty line. We made it just in time to run over to corral #6, which was where the 2 hour pacer was. A couple minutes later, we were off! Woohoo! Then, oops, I forgot to start my watch... good thing it was only late by a few seconds.

just a few MRTT that were running this race of 18,000 runners!

Shonna and I ran together, following the 2 hour pacer as best as we could. The pacer was a fast little lady! A 2 hour half marathon pace is about 9:10 pace. My first mile was 8:35! WTF? I think I psyched myself out thinking there was no way I could keep up with that pace. The pacer did slow down for the 2nd mile - never quite to 9:10 though. It was so crowded with people all over the place that short lil me could barely push my way though people. I felt like I was saying "sorry" a lot to other runners that I bumped. Shonna managed to stay close to the pacer, but I was struggling to keep up for a while.

At about mile 5, the course entered downtown and the lanes opened up a bit, thank goodness. Shonna and I managed to run ahead of the pacer! I knew the downtown section would be fun with all the spectators and energy. Right after we crossed the 10K mark - the pacer caught up to us and eventually faded away into the distance. I swear, I think she was on pace for a 1:55, not 2:00. I ran into Shiloh's son who started in the same corral. I told him I'd try to follow him since we lost the pacer, but we eventually ate his dust too!

When the course left downtown around mile 8-9, I looked at our pace and we were still hitting high 8 minute miles - even without the pacer. I was surprised by this. I felt fine and thought I could keep that pace until the end. But it was here that I parted ways with Shonna. Though we didn't run the whole thing together, I don't think I would have been able to make it so far and keep that pace for that long. Thanks girl!!! xoxoxox! So from then on it was up to me, myself and I to make my goal!

The last 3 miles of the race was a blur. I remember grabbing an orange slice from someone, stopping for a split second to ring the Gordonston bell "for power" and seeing someone run to the side of the road and puke. Miraculously, I felt great, never had to breathe very heavily - but I told myself that I would push it on the last mile. On the final long straightaway, I knew there would be small hills (hills that I cursed last year!) but then the turn to the finish wasn't far after the last hill. When I crossed the 12 mile mark I looked at my time and realized that even if I ran the last 1.1 miles in a 10 minute pace, I would still get a sub 2!!! I think I got a bit verklempt for just a few moments thinking that I was about to achieve something I thought was impossible.

Once I reached the last turn to the finish, I knew I was golden. I ran it in pretty strong with a huge smile on my face. After I crossed the line, stopped my watch, looked down at it and saw this:

1:57... OMG!

I screamed a scream of joy and badassness, the guy next to me did too and we gave each other a high five! His hand actually slipped off of mine and he kind of slapped my face, but I didn't care!! I was so damn excited!!! I found Joel in the madness of the finish line and he PR'ed too - a redemption for his run last year. Shonna came in shortly after with a shiny new PR! PRs for everyone!

Me, sandwiched by my BFFs!

In this race, I hit a 10K PR as well as 10 mile PR!!!

Things that made this possible:
1. Fueling at miles 4, 7 and 10 (thanks Hammer!)
2. Running with a pace group and running buddy (thank you Shonna!)
3. Fleet Feet Savannah CREW's intermediate half training plan (Thank you CREW!! I ran 3x/week: speedwork one day, tempo day, long run one day)
4. Strength training and conditioning with crossfit at the FTC!!! (Thanks FTC!! I cross-trained on my running off-days)

Holy crap, how'd I do that?

With all those things, I knew I could trust my training and just go for it. I knew my lungs and body would be able to handle it because of crossfit -- I've pushed myself to what I thought were my limits, but realized I had more power in me to dig deeper. I actually never really got to the point where I wanted to quit. The only thing I was really worried about was my feet. I knew the pounding would kill my feet. Luckily they didn't really start hurting me until mile 12. I also knew that I'd probably have to hit the bathrooms pretty hard after my running effort. I was right. As soon as I sat down to rest my feet, the cramps started and I had to take my wipes with me to the port-a-pots! LOL I never forget to pack my Immodium!!

So what's my new goal? I told myself that if I ever hit a sub-2 half, I would start training for a marathon. So Marine Corps Marathon 2014, here I come!!!