The 3M Half Marathon in Austin has become one of my favorite January races. It falls near my birthday, so it has just naturally become a part of that celebration. We have a good little group who travels for the race too, so it is also a good weekend in Austin with friends. The race itself is great with a fun, point-to-point course that starts in north Austin and ends in front of the Texas State Capitol. It might be the best finish line in Texas! And because the race is sponsored by 3M, the swag bag is legendary - packed full of useful 3M products (hello post it notes and super glue!).
I wasn't really sure what to expect from myself at this race. I am starting to realize what a special year 2016 was with PRs in almost every distance and course records at almost every attempt. I ran 1:55 in half marathons in November and December and I had not done much structured speedwork since then. My hip had been a bit cranky off and on during the last month....and on and on it goes....isn't it funny how we can talk ourselves into or out of just about anything? The mind can be our biggest obstacle or our biggest ally.
I had a wildly successful race here
last year, like crazy successful. I finally busted through my half marathon PR of 6 years - it was such a perfectly wonderful day. I couldn't believe that I did that and I went on to PR again a month later at
Cowtown. See? It was such a special year! My race plan worked out beautifully last year, I ran with the 1:55 pacers until mile 10 and then I took off on my own ran the last 3.1 miles like a 5K. I was hoping to use a similar plan again this time, however, I was not expecting to get close to my time from last year (1:50:59), but I was hoping to break through that 1:55 streak that I had going on in recent races. Then, right on schedule, I got a message from Stude (The Encourager - remember him?) reminding me to treat the last 5K like a LOFO (last one, fast one). "Be fierce, MK."
Race day weather....I could stop right there, right? Fortunately, we were spared the warm and humid temperatures that have plagued us lately....so, bright side there.....but the wind was another story. I woke up on race morning and looked outside and the hotel pool looked like a small ocean. The wind was blowing hard, directly from the west. As luck would have it, the course runs mostly south and a little southeast with just a few turns to the west. Mr K and I found ourselves in the slowest restroom line ever and had to hustle a bit to make it into the corral. I ended up starting between the 1:50 and 1:55 groups, so the part of my plan that involved the pacers was out the window. Mr K slipped ahead to the 1:45 pace group and ended up beating them to the finish line. What a huge day and huge PR for that guy - he broke 1:45 for the first time!
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| I spotted this pre-race - a good sign! |
The goal for the first couple of miles is to get a nice and steady start and to settle in both mentally and pace-wise. I have gotten in the habit of running by feel, only getting my paces when the miles chime on my watch. I tend to watch my heart rate more to make sure that my perceived effort is matching up with the real thing. I was happily surprised when the first couple of miles came in the 8:40 neighborhood and I made it a goal to keep all my miles under 9:00. Since this was my third time to run this race, I felt fairly familiar with the course and I just focused on taking one mile at a time.
I hit the 5K timing mat at 27:15 and an average pace of 8:45. Off to a great start! I felt more thirsty than usual and hit the water stops more often than in previous years (I only had 1 stop last year). I assumed that this was a side effect of the wind and the humidity was pretty low that day too. The course was winding in and out of the wind - sometimes there was a tough headwind, sometimes a crazy crosswind, and sometimes a sweet tailwind. I tried to keep it even when running into the wind and then haul ass when I had it at my back. Since it was a west wind, I looked forward to running towards the sun (sun in your face, wind at your back was my mantra). I was just thankful that we were not running a westbound point-to-point course!
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| Spoiler alert: There was delicious Lockhart BBQ with these people (Pic: Dewberry) |
This course has a sweet net downhill, but there are several hills in the race. They are nothing huge, but after trending downhill, they probably just feel bigger than they are. Much like with the winds, I worked to keep it steady running up the hill then I ran the downs as fast as I could. I crossed the 10K timing mat in 54:36 with an average pace of 8:47 - holding nice and steady! I'll blame the extra two seconds on the wind.
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| Post race with Drum (Girl is faaaaaast) |
The crowds are probably the best between the 10K mark and the 10 mile mark. The course takes us through some neighborhoods and people really come out to cheer. The Beef Team has a huge cheering section somewhere in here too and they always provide an extra boost. I continued along, focusing on one mile at a time (I still use that advice Meb gave me last year). My plan of keeping my miles under 9:00 was working out nicely, in fact 8:49 was my slowest mile and that came in mile 3. I just kept plugging along, keeping a strong pace but also preparing for my 5K LOFO at mile 10.
I got to 15K in 1:21:40 and an average pace of 8:46 - consistency is the name of my game! I was mentally preparing for a fast finish when I spotted a sign that said "Nasty Women Run Faster." Hell yes they do! That had to be the most perfectly placed sign ever because it gave me just the boost I needed to finish strong!
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| Best race sign ever (Pic: Mama C) |
Soon enough, mile 10 chimed on my watch and I picked up the pace. I had no idea how fast I was going, I didn't look at my watch for that entire mile. I was running hard and my heart rate was up where it should be - nothing left to do but put one foot in front of the other. I was very pleasantly surprised when my watch chimed at 7:59. Just two more to go, MK! I got a little bit of an assist with a nice downhill in the next mile. I was looking ahead and picking out people that I wanted to pick off while trying to keep my mind quiet. Uncomfortable? Yes. Impossible? No. Around the corner and through the University of Texas campus and another mile chimes - 7:54. Yeeehaw!! I was doing it!!
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| Racing ain't pretty, y'all. |
The end of this race is tough because there is a slight uphill right around mile 13. It is hard enough on a regular day because it might as well be a mountain after all of the downhill in the proceeding miles, but it was a real doozie on this day because it took us right back into the headwind. That little hill is probably less than a quarter mile, but it feels like forever. My watch gave me a very encouraging 7:52 for that mile - just turn the corner and sprint to the finish line now!
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| My favorite finish line in all of Texas |
I crossed the finish line in 1:52:11 (avg pace 8:33). I ran this one only 1:12 seconds slower than last year and out of 60+ halves I am pretty certain that it is my third fastest. I wasn't expecting a PR, but I also wasn't expecting to be so close to my course record. It was just the race I needed to show me that last year wasn't a fluke and that I am right where I want to be. The bit of mojo I have been missing has been recovered and I'm ready to work hard for some big goals coming up in 2017.
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