Chris, before the run.
Me, before the run.
Chris....cold, wet, and really tired.
Julie......cold, wet, and feeling absolutely drained.
May 15, 2011
(I am writing this report just over a month later -- which means, it's gonna be prone to exaggeration as my imagination fills in the blanks :-))
This race was the gift of a friend of a friend -- one of my friends friend was supposed to run this, but she got injured, so she gave me her bib, and we registered Chris to run it as well.....THANKS to J & H for the incredible gift of a race :-))
The kids spent the night at my mom's house, and we were awake by 4, out the door by 4:30. It was a cold & wet morning here in NW Indiana (41* + raining)We are optimists and just *assumed* the weather would clear up by the time the race started.....After some minimal problems finding parking, we were on our way to race HQ. We knew there was race day pick up (which is NEVER available at half's -- and now we know why!) Pick up was marginally shy of a disaster, since I was running under someone else's name, we were in separate lines, and I was panicking b/c I just KNEW they were gonna card me for ID that I was in fact H.P. -- and, since I'm Julie Hasara things weren't gonna work.....Chris's line was moving much faster than mine, and he was headed to gear check as soon as he was bibbed. Apparently EVERYONE else was also headed to gear check then too. By the time I got my bib, gear check was a disaster, and the race was starting in 15 minutes!! We finally got to drop our bag, and make our way to the start line...but, we both had to use the port-a-potty. Along with everyone else. By the time we were done visiting the facilities, race start time had come and gone. We hadn't stretched or warmed up, and we were feeling really off-kilter! We'd never actually been late to the start of a race before!! There were a ton of people who were just as late as we were though -- we walked/jogged to the start line, about 7 blocks from race HQ, and turned one last corner to discover the start mats were RIGHT THERE. We stopped for a bit to stretch and get ready to tackle 13.1 miles.
We later found out the wind was blowing at a whopping 28-32mph, the temperature was 37 degrees, and it rained through the entire race...along the shore of Lake Michigan.
The wind was at our back for nearly the entire 6.5 miles out -- I was feeling great, hadn't gotten in near the training I wanted to, but I was in good spirits, and I'm not kidding when I tell you that any run over 8 miles is 75% mental. The cold wasn't that bad, and the rain was in between drizzle and rain -- so it felt mostly refreshing. As I got closer to the 4.5-5 mile mark, I started looking at those fellas on their way back (it was an out-and-back course) and they all looked defeated. Like, really, really beat. I got scared. I knew that in just a mere 1.5-2 miles, that wind was gonna become my number 1 enemy as it literally tried to stop me from running (32 mph wind is REALLY intense) I had it in my head I was going to run at least 8.5 miles before I took anything resembling a walk break -- which meant AT LEAST 2 miles into this horrific lake-shore wind :-O I kept a steady pace headed out (my Garmin averaged the first 6.5 miles at a 9:47 pace)We came around a bend in the sidewalk, and immediately I was flooded with the looks of distress on the faces of those passing by me -- I knew the turnaround was coming up soon, but I wasn't prepared for this. AT ALL. I hit the turnaround, one of my LEAST favorites for a half -- an actual orange pylon in the sidewalk that you run around -- not so easy in giant gobs of people) There was a large fence for some construction project, and we all knew that was blocking the wind -- but I was NOT prepared for the gust just past the fence. It actually stopped me in my tracks! The rain had also managed to pick up a bit, so now it was really raining! I kept my head down and managed to keep up a really slow pace of 13-ish minute miles for a while. I ran/'slogged' my way to the 9 mile mark, and then I had to give up the fight against the wind! I started walking at the 9, and (as usual) I cried. I failed AGAIN. Why do I spend so much time training, only to fail. It's so defeating, dis-heartening, and depressing. I had planned on just moping my way to the finish line, because my calves were numb from the cold & rain (I was wearing capri's), and my heart was heavy with failure. But, I was so cold and miserable, I just wanted to get done -- and NOW. So, I began to run -- but it was too hard to run my tired and cold body into 32 mph winds, so I decided to play the "speed-walking" game. I wanted to see how fast I 'could' walk and compare it to my slower running miles. It took me a while to get into a fast walking groove, due to the numbness in my fingertips and my shins, but once I did -- I was WALKING a 14:00 mile!!!!! So, I kept at it, it is so much easier to throw these giant hips around and walk a 14 minute mile in that wind, rain and cold than it was to run my 15 minute miles -- YES, I was WALKING faster than I had been jogging!!!! There was new hope with the speed-walking, and the novelty kept me going -- plus, it was fascinating to keep checking my watch and see that I was maintaing a 14 minute mile by walking -- and I was PASSING runners (granted, they had the same look of defeat on their face that I had just a few miles ago -- maybe they should try speed-walking this beast of a race) I started doing the math and realized I was going to have a miserable time, and I let it get me down for a mile or so, then I remembered how cold I was, and how much I just wanted to be done. At about the 12.5 I realized that this was going to be my worst half-marathon time ever -- but, I had worked HARD for every one of those minutes out there. I love the distance, and will likely run this again next year -- I'll just be praying for better weather for sure!!!!
As I came around toward the finish chute I saw Chris and asked him if he broke 2:00 and he nearly laughed and said no, then told me his time... I looked at mine and realized I was still just 10-15 minutes behind him -- which is how we end our half-marathons, with a 10-15 minute space between us -- so, once I realized he struggled every bit as much as I did -- it warmed my heart to know we were both feeling UGH.
I finished and we discovered we had 20 numb fingers, and some really cold & wet bodies. We didn't stick around at all, due to the crappy weather and the lack of post-race anything.....as we walked to the car, we got some free samples of drinks, which was dumb because we couldn't carry them since our fingers were numb.
Once we finally got to the parking garage, we couldn't even put the ticket into the electronic reader, the attendant had to help us. We had a hard time getting into the car -- keys are very small when fingers are so numb!!! We stopped at a Wendy's for some hot food, and by the time we were 15 minutes from home, we had both finally stopped shivering. Once we got home -- we immediately put on warm, dry clothes and then finished warming our hearts by going to get he kids from my mom's. By then the race had become epic in our minds, and it will remain so! It was a crummy time for both of us, but we really fought for every second out there on that last 6.5 miles. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have run under someone else's name -- I only wish I could have run her first half in a better time!!! ;-) Well, there's always next year!!!
Official Times:
Chris:
2:19:04
10:36 mile average
111 out of 125 35-39 year old males
699 out of 2122 finishers
Julie:
2:34:17
11:46 mile average
192 out of 223 female 30-34
1044 out of 2122 finishers
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