Madison Half Marathon Recap

Sorry that I did not have this race recap posted on Monday like I said I would!  Just a warning, it's a long one.

If you have been reading my blog, you know I ran my 2^nd half marathon this past Sunday.  I was nervous the last two weeks leading up to this half because I was sick for a few days, and it really affected my running.  I had set a time goal in my mind, but I did not share it on my blog before the race.  If I had shared my goals before the race, I was worried that I would have to report back that I did not accomplish my goal since my pace was out of whack from being sick.  Well, I’m happy to report that I kicked ass, reached my time goal, and PR’ed hard core! 

My goal was to finish in 2:10, and my finishing time ended up being 2:09:12.  Last years’ time was 2:25:04 with 11:04 pace.  I beat my time by 15 minutes and 52 seconds, putting my pace at 9:50.  I shaved over a minute off my mile pace.  I definitely was pushing myself, but there was room to push myself harder so I could have done even better.  And to think, I was so nervous about not reaching my goal.

I am going with my official time being 2:09:12 because that is what my watch said.  If you look up my results on line though, my time is “officially” 2:15:58.  Obviously, I would go with the quicker time, but here is the story as to why my watch is correct, and the online results are wrong.

The story begins with the fact that I never crossed the start line.  This means, my timing chip did not register until I crossed the Mile 3 time reader, and the time on the clock at the reader was the time from when the very first runner crossed the start line at 7:00.  Why did I not cross start line, you are wondering? 

Well, that’s because I thought the race started at 7:30.  Not 7:00.  Which means I did not show up until 7:05…cue panic and disbelief as I see the last few people trickling out of the starting chute, and I still don’t have my timer on my shoe, or my music started, or my long sleeve taken off, or my number pinned on, or my last bathroom stop taken!!  I look at Nick in horror and go, “Oh my god, I think the race already started!”  Uh, clearly it did.  I whip off my long sleeve, Nick starts pinning on my number, I get out my IPod, tie my chip onto my shoe, yell a quick, “see you at the finish line!” and sprint off to the chute.  I left Nick to handle the dog (we decided to bring Skittles so she wasn’t cooped up all day) and pick up everything I dropped on the sidewalk in my frenzy to start running. 

As I approach the chute, I find a volunteer member standing by a gap in the fence.  I walk over to him, and casually have this conversation as I untangle my headphone cord.

Me:  “So, was start time 7:00?”

Volunteer:  “Sure was.”

Me:  “Crazy, I thought it started at 7:30”

Volunteer:  “*Chuckle* Nope, 7:00” 

He finally looks over at me. “Oh! You’re a participant!”

Me: “Yup, I’m running a little late apparently since I thought it started at 7:30”

Volunteer:  “Ah, well, you have time.  Don’t worry, the walkers are just starting now.”

I realize at this moment that even though I am 5 minutes late, and almost everyone is through the starting chute, everything is going to be ok.  My headphones are in.  I check my shoe laces one last time.  Do a few quick stretches, and off I go. 

I still did not get my last bathroom stop in, and of course all I can think about for the first half mile is how badly I have to pee, and how I really don’t want to slow my time down to use a port-a-potty.  It also hit me at this point I had not crossed the start line, which meant my timing chip didn’t get activated.  Since I was in such panic mode, I didn’t look for the start line, I just joined in at the break in the fence by the volunteer.  The start line was only half a black away too…I just didn’t take the time to think about it, and look to my left.  Instead, I just jumped in and started running.  I then became annoyed that the volunteer didn’t say anything to me, like “Make sure you cross the start line, right there, before you begin.”  We had had a conversation.  He stood there and watched me put on headphones in.  Then he watched me trot away.  Oh well, it was my responsibility not his.

So as I mentioned earlier in the post, my timing chip did not start tracking my time until I crossed the Mile 3 time reader, which was the official time from the 7:00 start, which was at 34:11.  In reality, I crossed that reader around 29 minutes.  This means that when I crossed the finish line it was 2:15:58 since the race had officially started, and that was what my time was recorded as.  I was quicker than this though, so I am going using my watch time as my OFFICAL time. 

Oh well.  Though, my favorite spectator sign from the race was, “Pain is only temporary…Internet results are forever!”  Too bad my internet results will never reflect my true time…

Enough talk of OFFICAL and “official” results.

Even though I started the race in a panic, it ended up being my best race so far.  It was even better than some of the shorter races I have run.  Once I started running, and got into my pace groove, I felt great mentally, emotionally, and physically.  The first big hill, which was the same hill from the Crazylegs race, was not nearly as daunting as it was during that run, and I zoomed up it pretty quickly.

Just before mile 3, I saw my friend’s Heidi and Chris.  Heidi’s brother and sister-in-law were running, and they are MUCH faster than I am, so I was really touched that they stuck around that point to see me run by too!  I slowed just a bit as I ran by them to say I messed up the start time, hence my late arrival.  They got a good laugh out of it

.

There were water stations about every mile and a half, which was awesome, but I passed by the first few because I had to pee and didn’t want to take in more liquid.  I saw Nick and Skittles by Camp Randall which was just before mile 4.  They ran down the sidewalk with me for a couple blocks, and we talked about the craziness of the morning, and being late, and how it was turning out to be a pretty good race despite the chaos.  At the base of the long, gradual, Monroe Street incline, Nick wished me luck and trotted off with Skittles so they could catch me run past on another leg of the course. 

At the mile 6 water station, I knew it had to drink something.  The urge to pee, even though I had not stopped to use the restroom, was completely gone and I was pretty sweaty.  I grabbed water, stopped for a second to drink it down, and continued on my way.  I have yet to master the run and drink technique. 

Right after that water station, I saw Heidi and Chris again.  It is definitely motivating, and extremely encouraging, to see your friends cheering you on.   When I spotted them, a huge smile spread across my face, and little pep was added to my step.

At mile 8, I stopped at the water station again and grabbed a Gatorade this time.  I sweat sooooo much when I run so I decided to alternate between water and Gatorade to help my electrolyte levels, and ensure I didn’t get a tummy ache from too much Gatorade.  At water station at 9.5 miles, I took two waters because I was feeling pretty hot and drained, and the toughest hill of the course was in about ¾ of a mile and I wanted to make sure I was ready for it.  I also saw Nick and Skittles by this station which helped put a smile on my face before heading to the big hill. 

The hill I’m speaking of is the one.  It sucked even more this time than when I ran in earlier.  I put in more miles this time before approaching it than I did in my practice run, and it definitely showed.  In the group of people around me when I started the hill, I was one of the only people to actually run up it.  Most people walked.  I so badly wanted to join them, but I wanted more to not walk at all during this race so I powered through.  My running was barely faster than their walking, but I’m proud of myself for getting over it without walking.  There were a ton of people cheering at the top of the hill, and one of the local running companies had a booth set up with a microphone too, so that also motivated me to keep on trucking. 

I grabbed a Gatorade at the 10.5 mile station, and smiled at the fact that the remainder of the race was mostly downhill or flat.  From mile 10.5 up to mile 12, the race was a little boring.  It was mostly a straight shot, with no shade, and there were not too many spectators.  Starting at mile 12 through to the finish line, that all changed.  There were people everywhere, many shouting out encouraging words, and blasting pump-up music on stereos. 

Since we were so close to the finish line, spectators started encouraging individual runners by reading their names off their bibs.  I had a bunch of people say specifically, “Ashley, you’re doing awesome!! You’re so close the finish line, Ashley!! You’ve got this, girl!”  I love the air of excitement that spectators bring to the race experience.  They cheer on perfect strangers, and know just when to say the right things to give runners the extra boost they desperately need.

The final block, leading up to the finish line, was a bit of an incline, but I was ready to get my medal, my chocolate milk, and my free beer, so I gave it my all and sprinted as quickly as I could.  My legs were exhausted and kind of jellyish so my “sprint” wasn’t too quick, but my heart swelled with pride when I crossed that finish line!!  I stopped my watch, and couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked down and saw I had met my time goal. 

2:09:12.  Such a sweet, sweet, number.  I thought for sure the race was not going to go too well since the morning had started so roughly.  Man, I have never been so happy to be proved wrong!   

If you’re still with me, thank you for taking the time to read through this extremely long post!! 

Now, it’s photo time.

 Post-Race.  All I wanted to do was sit down, but I NEEDED my photo!

Finisher medals.  They were HUGE this year! As you can kind of make out from the picture, it's about the size of my palm.  It's also super heavy, you could probably knock someone out with it.

The awesome neon yellow race shirt.  I wore it to work on Tuesday so I could brag a little.  I am not at all ashamed :)