Buffalo Wallow Races - Half Marathon Race Report!

“If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.” –Bill Rogers

First off, I've been pretty busy lately. I'm missed posting a race report (a 46:52 10K) and several other events that have been going on in my running life. Oh well. My real life must take priority every once in a while. So here's my race report for the half marathon I ran on 11/8:

I totaled up all my mileage for the year and realized I was extremely close to 1000 mi. I added a few junk miles to my training to make it work out that the last mile of my race would be exactly my 1000th mile of the year. My brother was planning on coming to visit and run this race against me. We had been planning this since the marathon in February and I was very excited to see if I could really beat him. I had been training for this race for 12 weeks and set a primary goal of 1:45 and a secondary goal of 1:50. This is coined as the "toughest half marathon course in Texas." I had heard about the hills and didn't really think the 1:45 goal could be achieved on this course.

jon came into town late Friday night. He got to my apartment and we talked for a little while and then headed to bed so we would be well rested for the race. The weather was supposed to be very nice, in the 50s and 60s (F), during the race. jon realized he forgot his socks, so I let him borrow some of mine, and after a quick breakfast bar and cup of water we left for the race.

We got to the start and I introduced jon to several of my running buddies. We warmed up on one of the hills (agh!) and then lined up to start the race.

"Should I stay with him? ... Should I just go at my own pace?... I bet he starts too fast... maybe I'll be able to catch him later..." All these thoughts and more were racing through my head as we lined up to wait for the gun (foghorn).

Miles 1 & 2 - Well, jon got off to a better start than I did. I felt really good and I did not want to push myself too hard and run out of energy in the end. I thought that as long as I could see him I would be okay. I started seeing people running back to the start. This must mean that the mile marker is soon. The two milers are already turning. At the mile marker I looked down at my watch and saw, "7:42.22." Oh crap, that's way too fast. I slowed down a little bit to try and stay on my 8 min goal pace. The second mile was better: 7:59.22.

Mile 3 - This is where you go down a big hill, over a dam, then up a big hill. You see the big hill for about 0.5 mi before you get to the top of it. It looked very daunting, but I made myself look at the road and not be too intimidated by the monster. I could still see my brother ahead of me and only slowed down a little on this mile, 8:04.06.

Miles 4, 5, and 6 - were mostly through residential areas. I did not know where jon was until mile 5.75 or 6. He wasn't that far ahead of me! I was chasing my rabbit & I still felt really good. I was sure I could catch him eventually. 7:55.63, 8:07.49, 8:17.75

On this course you run a 6.5 mi loop twice. The last part of mile 6 & the first part mile 7 was the second huge hill. This was the hill that we had warmed up on. I think it actually did me some good to warm up here because I was familiar with the hill. It did not scare me as much as I thought it would. On this hill someone was cheering for me, "Go Rachel! Keep it up!" I'm not Rachel, but I hope that she was behind me!

After coming off the hill I saw several of my running buddies & they all cheered for me. That gave me a good mental boost and I ended up running this mile in 8:02.95.

For miles 8 & 9 I could see jon most of the way. I felt that I was gaining on him and my body felt awesome. I knew the last hill was approaching, but I wasn't scared. I could start to taste the sweetness of victory on my lips. Maybe that was just salt from my sweat. I ran 8 in 7:57.43 and 9 was my fastest mile of the race: 7:41.19.

Mile 10 is where I first passed jon on the hill (the same hill that I met at mile 3). He decided to walk up the hill, wimp, so I had to climb it and let him know I was right with him. I was huffing and puffing and wheezing and jon looked back, "I thought I recognized that breathing." Yep, you sure did. At the top of the hill he coasted down to the bottom and passed me again. But he knew I was there. He knew I was tracking him. I knew I could catch him... 8:14.76

In mile 11 I was just cruising. I was starting to feel the fatigue that 11 miles can give you, but I also knew jon was just ahead of me. We were in the residential area again. I would see him around a curve for a second then lose sight of him. Around the 11th mile marker is where I ended up passing him. He looked like he was struggling and he gave me a few encouraging words, "You deserve it." He's such a good brother. I did deserve it. ;) 8:18.61

In the 12th mile I started to feel some cramping/spasming in my calf. I have never had a problem with cramping during a run. This is an issue I will have to keep track of. I may have not been hydrated enough. Around 11.5, one of my friends who ran the 2 mi, caught up with me and joined me for the last few miles. This was good company, but I still stayed focused on the goal. This does not put an asterisk on the results of my race. I did it without the help of anything "illegal." I could actually see my 1:45 goal and the goal of beating my brother coming to fruition. 8:17.39

The last full mile I tried to speed up a little. I felt like I was going a lot faster than I really was. Another of my friends ran with me for about 0.5 mi. jon was still behind me. 8:15.80

At the last 1/10th I could finally see the finish line. My friends peeled away from the course so I could finish alone. I didn't know if jon was close behind me, but I knew I needed to finish strong. I raced with every last ounce of energy I had and finished that 0.1 in 45.45. This finished my 1000th mile of the year in 6 days 2 hours 29 minutes and 43.50 seconds. I finished my half marathon in a very satisfying 1:45:40. I beat my brother. This was a very exciting day and I am now looking forward to running my first sub 4 h marathon in March.

I am very grateful to my brother's family for letting him come out here and run with me. I had a lot of fun & really enjoy running with him. I look forward to many more races against him & with him. No matter if I never beat him again, I will always have November 8, 2008.