I have so many thoughts about the half marathon! Going to try to get them down here, but wouldn't be surprised if I think of other stuff I want to write about in more detail later on.
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| Dreary marathon morning in Pittsburgh, but an amazing view! |
I woke up at about 2 in the morning. One of the noisy neighbors from the night before was back and locked out of his room, apparently, as the silence was occasionally punctuated by him banging on a door and shouting '911!' Since I wasn't planning on getting up until 3:30 I messed around on the internet on my phone for a bit hoping to get sleepy again, and then finally decided to start on breakfast at around 3 when it became clear that I wasn't going to get back to sleep. I was expecting to try to get the normal pre-race bathroom business out of the way after eating, but took the fact that I didn't even need my coffee to get things moving as a good omen for the day.
I'd "practiced" this breakfast on my last couple of long runs after crashing hard at the end of the course preview run, but finding those specific bagels was surprisingly difficult! Leave it to me to pick something that you can't buy just anywhere. First breakfast was in the books - 2 mini bagels, pb, extra-sugary coffee beverage.
I puttered around a bit longer, checking the hockey score since I'd gone to bed when the game was starting (Pens lost, boo), looking at the weather (still fluctuating, but looking increasingly like we wouldn't get rained on - there was a chance the clouds would clear out and a UV warning, so I decided to go ahead and put on sunscreen just in case), applied copious amounts of Body Glide, even if I didn't think I'd need it in some of them, then started nudging Mike awake around 4. I wanted to leave for the SCRR pre-race suite at around 5:15 and he usually takes about an hour to really get going.
Once he was in the shower I started getting dressed. After one last look at the weather I settled on my capris over my long shorts (really only about six inches difference on the legs, but the capris are high-waisted and more comfortable overall), but even if it was going to stay chilly I wasn't going to change my mind about wearing my Atayne singlet, which I had picked out months in advance (and assuming it would be warm like the last few years) and hoped would be nice and visible in any photos or video I turned up in. I like wearing long arm warmers instead of long sleeves as they're a little more adjustable on the fly in case it did get warm, but provided plenty of coverage if it stayed cool. Socks and shoes were my usual as well, and I was comfortable using the waist pouch even if I'd only run with it a few times. SCRR hat gives an extra pop of visibility in a crowd (I'm short!) and gets a few extra cheers and smiles from other members of the group.
I spent a few minutes chatting with Evan and re-packing everything into my gear check bag and my overnight bag that Evan would be taking back to the car later. I left my credit card and ID with him as well as the wristband he'd need for after the race, in case I wanted to visit the beer tent or buy any finisher gear, etc. and pulled on my (ridiculously large and fluffy) throwaway sweatshirt since it was still a bit drizzly and definitely cold. I had a Picky bar for closer to the start time, and planned on snagging a banana at the SCRR breakfast.
I think we made it out the door around 5:25, and got all of two blocks down the street when I realized that we'd left our gear check bags! Thankfully I was keeping my phone on me in order to let Evan and my mom track me on the RaceJoy app the marathon was providing for live tracking, so I called him and let him know that we were headed back. Mike held the elevator while I dashed back to our room and grabbed the bags from Evan at the door.
We made our way towards the Westin successfully on the second attempt, having to detour from the most direct route a few times due to the corral and security barricades, and made it up to the suite a little before 6. The place was already a total zoo, so I nabbed my banana and we found a quietish corner to sit until bag check opened. At 6 we were downstairs again for bag check but no one was around and the wind was kind of gross (and it was still just a little bit rainy) so we ducked back into the lobby for five minutes and then were successfully able to drop off our bags. The SCRR picture was scheduled for 6:30 so it seemed like a good time to head back up and take advantage of the bathrooms. Unfortunately in the ten or so minutes we were gone, a gigantic line formed - for the ladies room only, of course.
By the time I got through that line, we had missed the group picture for the second day in a row, and it was definitely time to get to our corral. I wanted to be near the front if possible. I was assigned to the last corral - D - but wanted to run at (or better than) the pace of the last group in C (10:30). I guess I could have asked to move up at the expo, but didn't really have any race times to back me up and didn't bother since chip time is chip time no matter what. Since we were about an hour out from our presumed start, I ate my Picky bar.
On the way out of the Westin I ran into one of the ladies I'd run the course preview with and gave her an excited hi and a hug in case I didn't see her later on. I was pretty sure she'd been pushing closer to her race pace than I was on the training runs, which turned out to be correct, but she did message me later to thank me for the hug because she got split up from the people she was planning on running with. That sharing of race energy and encouragement definitely became a theme for the day for me.
We wound up a dingy alley towards the corrals and eventually turned onto Penn, where the majority of people were milling around. The lines for the porta potties were astonishing and though my bladder kept trying to convince me I needed to go, I was reasonably sure that was only nerves.
It was a zoo! So many people crammed into one not terribly wide street, dancing nervously to the pop music being piped over the loudspeaker. One of the news crews had a helicopter hovering over the Grant St garage at the end of the street. By the time they did the national anthem and released the handcycles, all traces of rain were gone and it looked like the sun might even peek through an occasional break in the clouds. The tops of my feet/ankles were giving me some weird twinges that they never have before, but I was chalking that up to nerves, too (and it amounted to nothing once we got moving, so I guess I was right about that).
Once they released Corral B I ate my banana, and we started shuffling towards the start line that was still pretty far in the distance. Mike took off to take advantage of an open batch of porta potties on a side street. The crowd kept moving up, several blocks, and I couldn't spot him again behind me. There were loads of discarded jackets and blankets thrown over the barricades at this point but I was keeping mine until just before they let us go.
This was about when I realized that I hadn't reset the Garmin app I used during the 5k for the half marathon distance (you have to put in the meters & target finishing time in seconds). Thank goodness for smartphones! I was able to quickly update the parameters after getting Google to do some math for me, and shoot off a quick email to my mom that we hadn't started yet.
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| This pic is worth it for the expression of sheer terror on my face. |
Finally, it was time for Corral D to be released, and I had pretty much achieved my wish of being in the front, though I'd hoped Mike would be with me. I shrugged off my jacket, Goodwill tag still attached, and put it over a barrier and got ready for the gun. It was cool but I knew once I got moving it would be fine. And then we were off! I started my watch as we crossed the timing mat (I think I actually was a couple seconds early but not much), then managed to get RaceJoy started and get my phone tucked away into my waist pouch where I wouldn't have to worry about it again. No selfies for me in this race - I wanted to focus and do my best on pacing and enjoy the atmosphere without the extra distraction.
Miles 1-3 (Planned pace: 10:45 / Actual: 10:45, 10:46, 10:47)
I was flying solo, but not for long! Before we were even off Liberty, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and then give me a sideways kind of hug. I was expecting Mike to have finally found me in the masses, but instead, the friend-from-the-internet from the preview run had spotted me and ran over to say hi and good luck. We chatted for a second and then he headed out ahead of me. In this case I was pretty sure he'd be faster than me, but before I had much of a chance to get distracted by the crowds and everyone around me, there was Mike! I guess my part of the group had moved up further than some of the other people we were around. I got another hug and watched him take off as well, because he was going to do his best to go sub-2 after coming in around 2:05 last year.
And then I was mostly by myself. I knew I didn't have a pace group to hang with (I don't even know where the 2:15 group was - somewhere in C, and I wanted to beat the 2:30 group) so it was down to me, my watch, and the crowds. I'd gotten a very good grasp of the course and its turns and planned on running tangents, so I placed myself to one side of the road and tried to not get too excited and take off like I did on Saturday. I was largely successful, remembering to lap my watch at each mile marker (it was pretty close anyway but I liked having the reassurance) and grabbing as many high fives and power ups from onlookers and signs as possible. Pacing was solid here, exactly what I wanted. There was a lady running in front of me with no shoes or socks - I can't even imagine!
The sun started peeking through the clouds right before we passed the first aid station. I took some gatorade, which slowed me just a bit, and I had one chew every mile just like I trained with. I ran past the section of the course where I stood and cheered in the rain last year (I didn't see any of the 3 people I knew running but had a blast anyway) and grinned like an idiot. Then it was time for our first "hill" - the 16th Street bridge! Legs were still pretty fresh and I've run this bridge loads at this point (though usually in the opposite direction) so this wasn't a big deal and I felt good as I coasted into the North shore.
Miles 4-6 (Planned pace: 10:30 / Actual: 10:53, 10:11, 10:26)
It was a good thing that my legs were strong, because we followed that bridge with another hill! It slowed me a little bit, but I made up for it thanks to the slight downhill + crowd support in the next mile. Having planned to take turns as closely as possible, I tended to stick to the left or right side of the road and managed to spot a photographer here. I've been frustratingly un-photographed at my bigger races sometimes so I was planning on mugging for as many people with cameras as possible in the hopes of getting at least one decent photo.
I missed the mimosa folks as we passed by the next aid station, so I settled for another gatorade and chew as we looped under 279 and up around Allegheny Center/Nova Place (we covered the same area but in the opposite direction the day before). It's a bit hilly but the crowds in this area were just absolutely awesome. Lots of great signs, music, and overall atmosphere.
The last mile in this segment was around PNC Park and up by Heinz Field and was new to the course this year. More awesome people, though unfortunately in this section I saw my first course casualty, a lady who had tripped over a speed bump that I'd heard all the runners in front of me calling out warnings about. Yikes - I hope she was able to get up and keep going! As we rounded Heinz Field I passed a guy running in an inflatable Bullseye costume (Woody's horse from Toy Story).
Miles 7-9 (Planned pace: 10:15 / Actual 10:20, 10:34, 10:27)
The sun had decided to make an appearance after all, and you can tell that my pacing became "do my best" instead of "do the plan," partly thanks to the difference in running under clouds and under sun. It was the first time that I was conscious of feeling a little bit tired, but I pushed it away from my mind as I looked ever forward. There was another fluid stop before the West End Bridge, and as we crossed it I kept looking off to my left to take in the skyline. It had turned into an absolutely gorgeous Pittsburgh day and the clouds were quickly diminishing beyond even what the forecast had predicted. Many people had reminded us, especially as first timers, to make sure to take time to enjoy the day instead of focusing solely on pacing and time, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity to take in what had been one of my favorite views during our training runs.
I got the closest to crying as I would as we came off the bridge and headed into the West End. Even before we were done crossing I could hear the faint strains of brass instruments in the distance, and a group of teens were greeting us with the Rocky theme. "Wrong town, but I'll take it," I said to no one in particular, and as we got closer I felt myself welling up a bit. Old band nerds never die, and even now if I think about too hard I start tearing up again. I told myself to run with the emotion instead, and gave them a big cheer as I headed up, guess what, another hill! I was excited to get to the turn here, as I'd watched a few Youtube videos with a really excellent band that was stationed there last year. Not sure if it was the same group, as I was on the other side of the turn and out of there much more quickly than I expected. There was a nice little downhill out of the West End that quickly took us back up towards Carson St.
The miles were really clicking by, much to my surprise, but also really cemented my revised pacing plan. The end of eight and beginning of nine have some uphill sections that don't have a lot of crowd support, and the sun was really blasting us. We passed under the entrance to the Duquesne Incline, which was pretty cool (and the incline was featured on the medals this year!). The flats of the South Side beckoned, though, and we pushed forward. As the spotty shade greeted us, so did more crowds, including the guy offering full cans of beer (I declined) and some fun music and signs. At the fluid station here, I baptized myself as a "real runner" by dumping a cup of ice water down my back after taking a cup of gatorade in the more traditional way.
Miles 10-12 (Planned pace: 10:00 if all the stars aligned / Actual: 10:30, 10:51, 10:25)
I was so grateful for the crowd energy and level terrain here. 10 is supposedly the flattest on the course, and it was just what we needed at that point. I zoned out here a bit, I think, I wasn't dragging, and my watch was still predicting a finish time of around 2:20, but since I'd been briefly on pace for my A goal of 2:15 earlier on and I knew that the one really big hill of the course was imminent, I wanted to stay as focused as possible. Another fluid stop, another cup of water on my back, and a gummy worm from someone on the sidewalk that I had been looking forward to, but ultimately wasn't really able to eat.
As we split from the full right before the bridge (they had another block and loop before turning onto it), I said out loud, "Okay, now we get to do the fun part" but the folks around me didn't seem too amused. Oh well! Here we go. It felt steep. Steeper than it did during training, but I was moving faster than I did then, even if my legs did feel like I was trudging through molasses. I hadn't walked up to this point (other than maybe a few steps at fluid stations in order to not collide with people and/or choke on gatorade) and I was determined that I wasn't going to start doing it just because of a little (big) hill. The wind was blasting us here but at least it kind of offset the sun, so I wasn't complaining.
Mile 12 (my previous longest long run distance) started somewhere on the bridge and amazingly, I saw a familiar pair of shoulders come into sight in front of me. The other person I knew who was running the course (we used to take kettlebell classes together) had appeared at exactly the right moment. I called out her name and came alongside her to give the same kind of hug I'd gotten from my other friend at the beginning of the race. She said she was hurting and I gave some quick encouragement before heading up the last portion of the uphill, my feet faster and lighter for having met a friendly face. I was tempted to turn around and flip the bridge the bird as I hit the far side, but didn't want the folks behind me to think my reaction was directed at them.
And of course, the bridge wasn't the last of it, as Uptown brought one last uphill segment for a few blocks before going into our final descent. I was prepared for it, at least, got up it well enough, and even made up some time on the downhill portion! My right hip started to whine at me, just a little, in this segment, but it wasn't enough to distract or worry me (and it hasn't given me grief since) or even slow me down.
Miles 13-13.1 (Planned pace: whatever I had left / Actual: (9:43, 8:11)
Hash House Harriers were giving out cups of beer, but I was on the wrong side of the street and pretty determined at this point to get things done. My watch was flirting with 2:20+ as my predicted finish and my gut reaction was "Oh HELL no." I stopped looking at it after that and focused on using the downhill to the best of my advantage. Evan was maybe going to be waiting for me on Fifth by PPG Paints Arena, which was just down the hill from the hotel, so I stayed to that side of the pavement in case he was there. I didn't see him, though I couldn't be sure if I just missed him or if he wasn't there. And then we were making the last few turns into downtown (one of which was different from what I remembered on the course map?) over some brick roads and one last merciful downhill.
On the final stretch I heard them calling out some sort of winner, I think maybe the female marathon finisher? It wasn't time for thinking, though, and I looked at the clock as I crossed, but couldn't make myself do the math, though if my watch was correct (it was) I'd come in under 2:20 like I wanted.
Final result: 2:19:02
The finishing chute was chaos, just on a bigger scale than any race I've done before. I got my medal, and posed for a couple of photographers, then took some water and snacks while trying to look for Mike. I'd set up tracking for both of us and had gotten enough notifications that I knew he'd finished some time before, but I wasn't sure if he'd still be waiting for me in the chute or if he would have moved down to the reunion area at the park. I grabbed a heat sheet and decided to skip the lines for an "official" finisher photo in favor of keeping moving. I didn't feel weak or faint, but my calves seemed dangerously on the verge of cramping.
The crowds got more intense as we moved into the park, and the single step up I had to make onto the curb there made my calves complain a LOT. Go figure, running 13 miles is kind of hard! I spotted the reunion spot and pointed myself in that general direction, and saw Mike peering over the crowd looking for me. Thinking I'd be clever, I circled around a little bit to try to surprise him, then ended up surprising myself as my left calf completely seized up when I went to give him a hug from behind! That was a brand new sensation that I hope I never feel again... this was no ordinary charlie horse - the entire thing was locked up and I couldn't bend my ankle in any way to get relief. Fortunately Mike was able to massage it into submission relatively quickly and after that we exchanged results - PRs all around!
He managed to get under 2, though not by as much as his race brain tried to tell him, and mine was an automatic PR for my first attempt, and closer to my A goal than my B goal, at that! So our next step was to go get in line for the PR bell, which is an awesome thing they have for you if you hit a PR. It was quite a line (I'm guessing because the course was flatter/faster this year?) but it moved pretty quickly and gave us time to do a speedy recap of our races.
As you can see, it had turned into a gloriously beautiful day, but I was so glad that we were done running. We meandered over to the tent where I picked up my Steel Challenge medal, and got a few extra free samples while I messaged Evan to see where he was. It turned out that he wasn't able to find anywhere to put the car after loading up our luggage, so was just going to wait for us back up by the arena. Womp womp. Instead of being disappointed I focused on the food and massage I knew were waiting for me in the SCRR tent.
We lined up to get our bags from the gear check and then grabbed the most glorious pile of carbohydrates I've ever seen in my life. These people knew what they were doing - macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, and a literal buffet of cupcakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, and CHOCOLATE MILK. The tent itself was full, but there was a little bit of space fenced in outside the back of the tent, and that sunny spot was perfect for gingerly lowering ourselves to the ground and stuffing our faces.
I kicked off my shoes, peeled off my socks, and inspected my feet - everything looked fine! I have one little area on the inside of the ball of each foot that likes to get these tiny blisters, but even that looked no worse than it did on any given training run.
The tent also had private restrooms (well, porta potties - but they were the nicest, cleanest ones I've ever encountered in my life) which I took advantage of, thanking my body for not deciding to make me stop during the race. They even had little foot-pump sinks with real water and soap and paper towels! Everyone said this tent was worth the price of membership and they're not kidding. It was fantastic, and we hadn't even gotten to the best part yet.
After we had rested up a bit and I'd swapped to my slip-on shoes, we put our names on the list for massages (they were understandably busy but had about a dozen tables set up). We came up pretty quickly and were escorted back to a table where a very talented lady spent about ten minutes massaging my tender hips, legs, and feet. It was glorious. The moment I got horizontal I just about fell asleep, but of course a painless massage isn't much of a massage at all, and mostly I tried not to embarrass myself by groaning audibly as she hit every tender spot I could feel and a few I didn't notice until then. I told the lady at least twice that she was a saint and thanked her profusely as she sent me on my way feeling quite sleepy and relaxed.
By then, I'd started to get a chill from being out of the sun and pulled on my checked jacket while I waited for Mike's massage to wrap up. We had originally planned on hitting an afterparty at Wigle Whiskey where they were giving out free boozy shakes to runners, but I think we were both feeling the effort and lack of sleep at that point and were ready to be done. I messaged Evan to let him know we were headed his way, and after another stop for me to pull on my compression socks and sweatpants (also checked - I was getting COLD as my body was still working overtime to cool off and the wind had picked up again), we met up and navigated out of town surprisingly quickly, crossing over a few of the last turns from the half course that were now reopened.
The last mind-bending thing of the day happened right outside the Squirrel Hill tunnel as we headed east. Traffic was a little crazy as basically you have two good choices on marathon day - come participate, or stay home. The people who take the third option, trying to get around anyway, tend to get pretty irritable and drive like it. So when the car in front of us threw on their brakes so hard that it put up smoke, it was a real relief that we were able to stop in time, and even moreso that the car behind us was able to, too. It became clear right away that if we'd been even ten or fifteen seconds quicker getting out of town, we would have been tangled up in a 5-6 car wreck that had just happened in front of the car in front of us. People were piling out of the cars, kids crying, all looking to be caused by one older couple who stopped short(?) and then a few folks caught in a chain reaction behind them.
We moved around them cautiously before proceeding, and I was so grateful that we were safe, and hopeful that everyone there would be all right too. I can't imaging coming down from the incredible high of this accomplishment only to have that happen.
Spent the rest of the day eating and recovering, laying in bed for a bit then hopping in the tub for a good long soak before turning into bed around 6pm. I got a solid seven hours or so, was awake for about three, then went back for another couple before my bladder and the cats woke me up around 7:30.
All things considered I feel pretty good. My left calf is sore from that monster of a cramp, and last night the outside of my left foot felt oddly swollen (though not so severely or with any pain that would make me think it's anything serious), so I iced it before bed and today it seems all right. Today I got my grocery shopping done and I think I'm going to head out here in a bit to get my medal engraved at the only place that's doing it that's even remotely close to convenient.
So I'm pretty happy. And already thinking about what comes next. Like I said, probably more reflective thoughts later, but I wanted to get this all out while I had time (I took today off to do chores and rest up) and it was fresh in my mind.
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| Dipper, modeling my 2015-2017 medals from the 5K |
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