Cap City Half Marathon - Race Report
Epic post.
Today officially started race season for me! It's going to be a busy season, too with both running and cycling races. But today I ran the Cap City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio. If you remember, last year slinksgirl, buckeyeschild and I walked this race and had a grand time doing it. The entire time I was walking that race last year I was thinking about how much I'd rather be running it, so I committed myself to running it this year. And I did!
My training up to this point has been pretty lax. I've been working late at work and skipping out on my long runs, so to be incredibly honest I was not prepared for this race. That said, I knew it was a run/walk so I decided to do it anyway and see what time I got. Any finish time was better than no finish time at all. I picked up my packet on Wednesday after work during the Health and Fitness Expo party at the Convention Center downtown. It was kind of a big deal with lots of vendors and things and just lots going on. I didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal or I would have planned on staying longer. But because parking was $8 Mike and I decided it would be best if he just dropped me off and picked me up after I got my packet.
Yesterday I flubbed up and had Chipotle for lunch and totally forgot about how much that messes up my insides afterward. I was in a world of hurt almost immediately and took to chugging Pepto Bismal at the urging of Mike in hopes that I would be ok to race today. I took a bunch last night, and a buch this morning, and I may have taken too much but it did the trick. Thank goodness!
Race day weather forecast was a high in the mid-60s and around 53-55 this morning. It was overcast and breezy. Perfect Andrea weather for a run. I really enjoyed the weather!
I got up with plenty of time this morning and ate a good breakfast of leftover pizza. Then waltzed out the door at 6:45 thinking I had loads of time to get there before I met up with my old boss, Andy. About a mile down the road I realized that I had forgotten my iPhone arm band so I turned around to get that. 6:55 and I headed out thinking I still had plenty of time. I wanted to stop at the ATM and get cash for parking, so I did and on the way out of the parking lot I realized that I totally forgot to attach my bib and my chip. Stupid. So I went back home yet again. 7:12 and I left my house for the last time, panicking that I would be late and miss the start of the race. This fear was not unfounded.
I headed downtown and made great time until I hit the Neil avenue exit (the exit I needed to take) off of 670, 7:25. Traffic was backed up from the ramp about a 1/4 mile and was not moving at all. I finally parked and got out of my car at 7:50. I was supposed to meet Andy at 7:45 for a group picture so I literally ran to the start for a ways but because of the crowds had to walk the last part of it. I found him at 7:57 and not enough time for a picture so we parted ways and off we went. I had enough time to find my corral and then the race started. I cut it super close!
The course was run backwards from how they set it up last year, and I liked this one a lot better. We didn't run on the Olentangy trail as I'd heard lots of people complain last year that that portion of the race was way too crowded. This time we went down Spring street to Olentangy, took Olentangy to Lane, took Lane to High, High down to Nationwide (and can I say that being this close to the finish line, seeing it, but still having miles to go SUCKED ASS), and then we wound our way through German Villiage until we hit High street again, came back down High street, cut over by the Riffe Center, and then finished down Front Street to Nationwide. All in all a great route. Very few hills and lots of people cheering us on the whole way.
I put myself in the second to last corral and had no hopes whatsoever about what my pace would be. I'd never run more than 6 miles before so was expecting the worst. I put 3.5 hours of music in my playlist because I was worried it would take me that long. This turned out to be totally unfounded. Which was kind of nice. The first few miles were a breeze and I caught up with and passed the 3:00, 2:50, and 2:45 pace groups. I was running at a comfortable pace for me (about 10:30/mile) and figured I'd just stick to that pace until I got too tired to keep going and if I got passed by the pacers I'd do my best to stick with them. Only then did I even hope to have a finish time of 2:30.
We passed a DJ at mile 2 and I looked up and realized it was a friend from work who moonlights as a DJ, Brian Detoto (be warned, music plays automatically on that page). I waved and he gave me a shoutout as I ran past. That was awesome!
The next few miles down to campus were uneventful. I was running comfortably, I wasn't tired, I was feeling good. I passed my previous long run of 6 miles and was still feeling great. Mile 7 I got a cramp. I walked for a teeny bit and it went a way but it worried me. They never go away for long. Almost immediately after I started running again I got a sweet text from Mike telling me to "Keep the eye on the tiger". It was greatly appreciated. Especially considering it was this right where I came up to Nationwide Boulevard and got excited because the finish line was so close! Only to be routed east, instead of west and off to the rest of the 1/2 course. That was a huge blow.
Around mile 8.5 I started getting sore hips. My hips have been bothering me for months but never before now have they hurt during a run, they've always been sore after one. But they got sore really fast. Along with my sore hips, I also got stomach cramps. As an aside, I always seem to have a sore stomach when I do long races like this. Same thing happened during both Tour de Cure and Pelotonia. It's why eating during the long rides is a waste of time. It just makes me feel sick. I should have remembered that bit though because I got a Gu thinking it would settle my stomach and that just made it worse. So miles 8, 9, and 10 were filled with sore hips and an upset stomach. And walking. About mile 9 I started doing a 1/4 mile walk, 1-1.5 mile run because my hips were bothering me so much. By that point I was simply impressed I had run as much as I had, so the short walking spurts were not at all discouraging.
We got back onto High Street and quickly hit mile 11. I was trying to strategize at this point. I hit mile 11 right at 2:10 and I was desperate to finish in 2:30. But I didn't know whether I should try to do 2 10 minute miles to the finish or try to do a faster run with a walk in the middle. I settled for the latter, though it didn't do me much good. My hips protested the faster pace and my run/walk combo became much more frequent. I was seriously hurting.
From mile 12 on I simply struggled. My hands and feet had started swelling and I had sweat so much that salt had crystalized on my face. (I know, it's super gross!) I wasn't going as fast as I wanted to, but I refused to walk. I was worried my hips were going to seize up on me so I kept going in hopes they would wait until I finished to do so. There were so many people on the hill on Front Street, including faster finishers, cheering us on. I got to the top of the hill at Nationwide Boulevard and took off as fast as I could to the finish, ignoring how much my whole body hurt. My unofficial finish time was 2:37. Close to my 2:30 goal but I didn't hit it. However, considering I've never run this distance before, to have a 12 minute average pace is in my mind phenomenal.
At the finish I was handed a bottle of water but an old coworker, Erik, and I was so thrilled to see someone I knew that I threw myself at it him a bear hug. He was as excited to see me as I was him though with the crowd I had to keep going. He'll be at our party in a few weeks though. I never did meet up with Andy afterward as he said a friend had "issues" and had to leave. No matter. As soon as the race finished, my phone died so we couldn't have met up anyway.
I walked to my car very slowly and made my way home. I washed my face and took this lovely shot of myself with my medal. It's a tad on the huge side, no?
Today officially started race season for me! It's going to be a busy season, too with both running and cycling races. But today I ran the Cap City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio. If you remember, last year slinksgirl, buckeyeschild and I walked this race and had a grand time doing it. The entire time I was walking that race last year I was thinking about how much I'd rather be running it, so I committed myself to running it this year. And I did!
My training up to this point has been pretty lax. I've been working late at work and skipping out on my long runs, so to be incredibly honest I was not prepared for this race. That said, I knew it was a run/walk so I decided to do it anyway and see what time I got. Any finish time was better than no finish time at all. I picked up my packet on Wednesday after work during the Health and Fitness Expo party at the Convention Center downtown. It was kind of a big deal with lots of vendors and things and just lots going on. I didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal or I would have planned on staying longer. But because parking was $8 Mike and I decided it would be best if he just dropped me off and picked me up after I got my packet.
Yesterday I flubbed up and had Chipotle for lunch and totally forgot about how much that messes up my insides afterward. I was in a world of hurt almost immediately and took to chugging Pepto Bismal at the urging of Mike in hopes that I would be ok to race today. I took a bunch last night, and a buch this morning, and I may have taken too much but it did the trick. Thank goodness!
Race day weather forecast was a high in the mid-60s and around 53-55 this morning. It was overcast and breezy. Perfect Andrea weather for a run. I really enjoyed the weather!
I got up with plenty of time this morning and ate a good breakfast of leftover pizza. Then waltzed out the door at 6:45 thinking I had loads of time to get there before I met up with my old boss, Andy. About a mile down the road I realized that I had forgotten my iPhone arm band so I turned around to get that. 6:55 and I headed out thinking I still had plenty of time. I wanted to stop at the ATM and get cash for parking, so I did and on the way out of the parking lot I realized that I totally forgot to attach my bib and my chip. Stupid. So I went back home yet again. 7:12 and I left my house for the last time, panicking that I would be late and miss the start of the race. This fear was not unfounded.
I headed downtown and made great time until I hit the Neil avenue exit (the exit I needed to take) off of 670, 7:25. Traffic was backed up from the ramp about a 1/4 mile and was not moving at all. I finally parked and got out of my car at 7:50. I was supposed to meet Andy at 7:45 for a group picture so I literally ran to the start for a ways but because of the crowds had to walk the last part of it. I found him at 7:57 and not enough time for a picture so we parted ways and off we went. I had enough time to find my corral and then the race started. I cut it super close!
The course was run backwards from how they set it up last year, and I liked this one a lot better. We didn't run on the Olentangy trail as I'd heard lots of people complain last year that that portion of the race was way too crowded. This time we went down Spring street to Olentangy, took Olentangy to Lane, took Lane to High, High down to Nationwide (and can I say that being this close to the finish line, seeing it, but still having miles to go SUCKED ASS), and then we wound our way through German Villiage until we hit High street again, came back down High street, cut over by the Riffe Center, and then finished down Front Street to Nationwide. All in all a great route. Very few hills and lots of people cheering us on the whole way.
I put myself in the second to last corral and had no hopes whatsoever about what my pace would be. I'd never run more than 6 miles before so was expecting the worst. I put 3.5 hours of music in my playlist because I was worried it would take me that long. This turned out to be totally unfounded. Which was kind of nice. The first few miles were a breeze and I caught up with and passed the 3:00, 2:50, and 2:45 pace groups. I was running at a comfortable pace for me (about 10:30/mile) and figured I'd just stick to that pace until I got too tired to keep going and if I got passed by the pacers I'd do my best to stick with them. Only then did I even hope to have a finish time of 2:30.
We passed a DJ at mile 2 and I looked up and realized it was a friend from work who moonlights as a DJ, Brian Detoto (be warned, music plays automatically on that page). I waved and he gave me a shoutout as I ran past. That was awesome!
The next few miles down to campus were uneventful. I was running comfortably, I wasn't tired, I was feeling good. I passed my previous long run of 6 miles and was still feeling great. Mile 7 I got a cramp. I walked for a teeny bit and it went a way but it worried me. They never go away for long. Almost immediately after I started running again I got a sweet text from Mike telling me to "Keep the eye on the tiger". It was greatly appreciated. Especially considering it was this right where I came up to Nationwide Boulevard and got excited because the finish line was so close! Only to be routed east, instead of west and off to the rest of the 1/2 course. That was a huge blow.
Around mile 8.5 I started getting sore hips. My hips have been bothering me for months but never before now have they hurt during a run, they've always been sore after one. But they got sore really fast. Along with my sore hips, I also got stomach cramps. As an aside, I always seem to have a sore stomach when I do long races like this. Same thing happened during both Tour de Cure and Pelotonia. It's why eating during the long rides is a waste of time. It just makes me feel sick. I should have remembered that bit though because I got a Gu thinking it would settle my stomach and that just made it worse. So miles 8, 9, and 10 were filled with sore hips and an upset stomach. And walking. About mile 9 I started doing a 1/4 mile walk, 1-1.5 mile run because my hips were bothering me so much. By that point I was simply impressed I had run as much as I had, so the short walking spurts were not at all discouraging.
We got back onto High Street and quickly hit mile 11. I was trying to strategize at this point. I hit mile 11 right at 2:10 and I was desperate to finish in 2:30. But I didn't know whether I should try to do 2 10 minute miles to the finish or try to do a faster run with a walk in the middle. I settled for the latter, though it didn't do me much good. My hips protested the faster pace and my run/walk combo became much more frequent. I was seriously hurting.
From mile 12 on I simply struggled. My hands and feet had started swelling and I had sweat so much that salt had crystalized on my face. (I know, it's super gross!) I wasn't going as fast as I wanted to, but I refused to walk. I was worried my hips were going to seize up on me so I kept going in hopes they would wait until I finished to do so. There were so many people on the hill on Front Street, including faster finishers, cheering us on. I got to the top of the hill at Nationwide Boulevard and took off as fast as I could to the finish, ignoring how much my whole body hurt. My unofficial finish time was 2:37. Close to my 2:30 goal but I didn't hit it. However, considering I've never run this distance before, to have a 12 minute average pace is in my mind phenomenal.
At the finish I was handed a bottle of water but an old coworker, Erik, and I was so thrilled to see someone I knew that I threw myself at it him a bear hug. He was as excited to see me as I was him though with the crowd I had to keep going. He'll be at our party in a few weeks though. I never did meet up with Andy afterward as he said a friend had "issues" and had to leave. No matter. As soon as the race finished, my phone died so we couldn't have met up anyway.
I walked to my car very slowly and made my way home. I washed my face and took this lovely shot of myself with my medal. It's a tad on the huge side, no?