Race WeekThe week leading up to Houston was less than ideal with a lot of personal and work stress, very little sleep and poor nutrition. To be honest, I think all this kept me from over-thinking the race, so in hindsight it may have helped me! One thing is for sure- my friends Katie Jo and Cam were watching Finn at their house while I was gone. Knowing he was with them instead of being boarded was SO amazing. I slept better on Friday night than I have EVER slept in a hotel before. All the things that occupied my mind during the week were quieted as I traveled to and stayed in Houston. | On Saturday I picked up my packet from the expo, where I mistakenly got into a t-shirt line (I thought it was the race shirt, but it was a special shirt- they gave the race shirt out at the finish line) that took an hour and was so hungry after that I had to leave the expo early to go find food. I did a one day carb load per Featherstone Nutrition advise (high recommend checking out her website and Instagram page). I did this before my last 2 halves and was too strictly carbs only and ended up very hungry in the middle of the night. So this time I allowed myself a turkey swiss sandwich on huge slabs of challah bread and I think it really helped! Goal was about 480-500 grams of carbohydrate. |
Race Day
I stayed at a hotel that was close to the start and finish, which I'm not sure I have ever done before! It was amazing! I was able to wake up, eat my breakfast and go for my warm up run, and then go BACK to my hotel room before the start! It was only 0.2 miles to the Corral A entry! I was a little cold in my shorts and tank top as we waited for the start but it was honestly like being in Fall weather again. It didn't even feel humid, light years different from the weather when I ran my sub-20 5k here in 2020. It was about 44 degrees and 68% humidity this year. The only things that was rough was it was a bit windy. I took a caffeinated precision gel about 15 minutes before the start.
Miles 1-3
I lined up between the 6:30 ad 7:00 pace signs since my "A" goal was 6:45. As with every race there were people that had NO business lining up way ahead of 6:30 and I almost plowed into them in the first half mile. I tried to do as my coach said and not weave and panic, but try to just relax and be in the 6:50-7:00 range. First mile was 6:54 and felt very easy. Mission accomplished. I actually missed the next several splits because I couldn't hear my watch, but I was keeping an eye on my pace and noticed I was dipping in to the 6:30's without even trying. "Yes, this is the dream!" 6:47, 6:37 |
Miles 4-10
These miles were spent trying not to go too fast- I felt amazing so I was running a little faster than planned, but I didn't want to blow the finish, which I knew would be windy. It wasn't as easy as I had hoped to get into a good groove though. I somehow got swallowed up by the 3 hour marathon pace group even though I was running 6:30s and 6:40s and they were too close, moving around a lot and some in front were not keeping a consistent pace. I got a little frustrated and finally sprinted around the front of the group. The marathoners split off around mile 8 and I wondered how much carnage there would be from that group running too fast. Around this time I also took another gel. Miles 4-8: 6:41, 6:42, 6:35, 6:38, 6:39 After the marathoners split off it was much quieter and noticeably more windy. I tried to draft off people but it didn't seem to work and nobody was running my pace. I took one quick drink of water at an aid station since I hadn't had any yet, but that was it. The hydrogels are able to be taken without water and I had hydrated well with electrolytes the day before. I think mile 10 was the most difficult wind-wise. I told myself I didn't have to speed up, just try to keep the pace steady. Miles 9 and 10: 6:36, 6:41 |
Miles 11- Finish
I still wasn't paying super close attention to my splits, but I was doing the math based on my elapsed time and assumed the race was 13.2 miles (I actually hoped of course that it would be closer to 13.1, but it was in fact 13.2 with my terrible tangent running) and realized I may actually hit my dream goal of being in the 1:28's. I at least knew I was track for a PR. Even though I didn't want it, I started another gel with 2 miles to go and took in probably about half of it before tossing it. Despite telling myself I didn't have to speed up, I was able to! Mile 11 was 6:33 and 12 was 6:30. I was getting a side stitch and working desperately to keep it in check. Mile 13 was 6:25 and I sprinted best I could for the last 0.2 for a 1:27:32 finish and huge 2+ minute PR. |
I actually teared up a little at the finish! I'm still shocked that I pulled this off and really excited going into these last weeks of Napa Marathon training. After the finish the volunteers were SO great. Our names were on our bibs and a lot of the volunteers would cheer for you by name and acted genuinely happy for us. They were so sweet. Thank you so much volunteers!
This race now holds my half and 5k PRs. I can't stop thinking about how I only ran 17 seconds per mile slower for 13 miles than my DREAM 5k time in 2020. I ran a 20:02 5k at the end of this half. It makes me want to do another 5k! But also excited to see if I can keep improving in the half and full distances. After Napa I'm going to do some trail running and then will hopefully be motivated and ready for more road running in 2025.
This race now holds my half and 5k PRs. I can't stop thinking about how I only ran 17 seconds per mile slower for 13 miles than my DREAM 5k time in 2020. I ran a 20:02 5k at the end of this half. It makes me want to do another 5k! But also excited to see if I can keep improving in the half and full distances. After Napa I'm going to do some trail running and then will hopefully be motivated and ready for more road running in 2025.
3 days after the race and I just tested positive for COVID for the first time! I evaded it for 4 years, but the 27,000 people in Texas proved to be too much for my last booster. I've spent 4 days on the couch so far with no running. I'm not going to lie, I've been upset about Napa. Before CIM I had that accident with stitches, and now I get sick before peak training for Napa. I can't seem to get to a start line with a full training block under my belt and I'm beyond frustrated about that. I won't get another chance at a road marathon until 2025 and who knows what could happen between then and now. Such a bummer.