As I sit here reflecting on this race, I realize that there were many factors that contributed to it not being a great day. I was traveling on my own given Brian’s training schedule. This is atypical since both he and Brenna typically accompany me to my races. I woke up [later than I should] and felt rushed although I had all my things laid out and ready to go. I was sweating even before leaving the house and once outside felt very warm. It was 73* and sunny with 73% humidity. I took my oatmeal to go and ate it on the way, but was not able to finish it. I did not have a long time to wait before the start which is not usual for me. A highlight of my morning was seeing Bart Yasso at the start line.
Today was a real test of my commitment to this process. I “completed” the Runners World Classic half marathon. I say “completed” because I ran 10.48 miles – not 13.1. I was detoured at mile 7 and rejoined the race course just prior to mile 10 because I had fallen too far behind the 3:00 time limit. I was the last runner for the first 3.5 miles and thought I might get lost since the 2 women ahead of me seemed to be walking/jogging and I was only walking. My heart rate was 152 at the start line and I really struggled to get it below 140. I walked almost the entire course and did try to shuffle a few times when my heart rate lowered but it would quickly rise and I would have to stop and walk again. I was so grateful for words of encouragement along the way from Melissa [my new Facebook friend from the AMR HR marathon training group] who was volunteering at the finish line. It was great to see her and Bart Yasso around 3 miles too.
Caution – Heartrate training in progress
The second half of the race was better for me with my heart rate staying closer to and below 140, but I decided to not try to shuffle at all. As I approached the finish line, Bart announced my name and said that he knew I was doing the heart rate thing and said good job. It was great. Melissa must have told him what I was doing when they saw me earlier and he remembered! Finally, a got a really cool medal put on me by Melissa.
In summary, Yes. I was in last place in the race for over 3 miles. Yes. I had to be detoured because I was way over the time limit. Yes. I walked virtually the whole thing. Yes. I was asked to move to the sidewalk because they had to open the roads. Yes. I was asked if I was still in the race. Yes. I stayed true to my heart rate marathon training plan.
OVERALL PLACE 510 of 546 WOMENS RANK 270 of 299 AGE GRADE 42.61% PACE mins/mile
