Happy Tuesday! I am so excited to share today’s race recap with you. You might wonder how I am going to tie this into a Tried it Tuesday post, but I will. Don’t doubt me. Remember to link-up your self too at the end of the post. Posts can run the gamut. Just make sure there is some type of “try” theme in it. You can read more about the weekly link-up here.
If you missed it – I was in Nashville this past weekend to run the Rock N Roll Country Music Marathon.
This was not my first time running the race. I actually ran my first marathon at this race two years ago [Race Recap Here]. Since then the course has slightly changed. The start line is now on Broadway [main Nashville strip downtown] rather than Centennial Park [where the Parthenon is]. Other than that the course was pretty much the same, so I had a pretty good idea going into it all the twists and turns. Oh and the hills….
I noticed them a lot more this time around than I did in 2014. That might be because in 2014 I was more worried about the torrential down pour than the constant climb (it rained 4 inches the morning of the race). Luckily this time the weather cooperated, even though there was a scare of thunderstorms and rain up until the 11th hour.
Just to give you an idea on the hills…
This was right at the start (not even at mile 1) when we were still downtown running by the new Music City Center and Bridgestone Arena.
The race was rather large with 21,000 runners – over 18,000 of them half marathon runners. I was lucky enough to be in coral 3 (but started with coral 2), so I never had to bob and weave, and was able to keep a swift pace through the entire run.
I went back and forth on how to format this recap. Should I go every mile by mile? Should I explain how I trained? Should I go over setting race goals and what were mine? Should I tell all the things I learned throughout the race? Should I tell you the mantras that went through my head mile by mile?
Well long story short I want to tell you all of these things. And rather than sell any one question short I am going to break the topics up in separate posts over the next few weeks. I learned so much about myself as a runner after this race, and I hope I can help other runners do the same.
Call-Out: I am not clenching my fists in this picture. I have my phone in one hand and then a partially eaten GU in the other. It is important to have relaxed hands while running – no ones got time for clenched fists!
So with that being said lets talk about my race and the goals I set for myself going into it.
Before the race I had an idea of what I wanted to do but had no gauge of if it was possible. This is why…
- I trained differently.
- I haven’t raced a race since my marathon in March 2014.
- I haven’t raced a half since my very first half marathon in 2011 (This is technically my third half race, but the other race was part of a training run)
- I did not train with a GPS Watch and never tracked my Pace
I trained 100% differently for this race than I have for any other race. I made the training plan, and based it off my body. For both marathons I have followed a structured training plan and stuck to it to the T. Which is fine, but at week 15/16 I got hurt and my body felt run down. I know my body can not handle the high weekly milage week after week that some can. I need to supplement my running with more cross training….and Michalob Ultra (I kid. Just linking the pic below into the recap. I took this for my brother because it is his favorite beer).
So I did just that! But catered it too the half. I ran twice a week and did cross training the other 5 days. If interested I would love to share my entire training plan for the half in another post. But will keep it to that for now, just for the sense of brevity.
So the week before the race I set my A, B, and C goals, knowing I could accomplish C, I should be able to do B, and if A just so happened I would be on Cloud 9. But wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself because I did not want to ruin the weekend if it did not happen.
A (Long Shot): Run a sub 1:40 half
B (Obtainable): PR the race (Break 1:47)
C (Controllable): Drink Water/Gatorade at each station
Well I am happy to say I achieved all 3 goals….I ran a sub 1:40 half, I PR-ed, and I drank (or at least attempted to get the water in my mouth) at every water station. I could not be happier with the result, and am now even more excited to get back to training for the marathon. Gave me the confidence booster I needed after being injured for so long.
If you are a geek like me you like numbers. Especially as it pertains to running. Below are my splits for each mile. I was happy to see when my pace slowed there was a correlation to hills for the most part. Still have some work to do (Want to see negative splits at the end. Less red, more green), but overall was extremely happy with the pace.
I realize mile 9 is missing. I ran it in 7:03.
I walked away with a PR, an extremely sore body the next day, and a bad cold the day after that! From this, I can truly say I put every ounce of energy into that race, and could not be happier.
Can’t wait for my next race, and to get training for that fall marathon I want sooooo bad!
Check out what everyone else is trying this week…
Thanks again for all the support! Not only on the race, but also with all the Blogiversary giveaways last week!
QUESTIONS
- Do you set goals for races? In life? In general?
- When and what is your next race?
