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.

Happy Nobel Prize Week

"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied." -Alfred Nobel

Yesterday it was announced that Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Each biochemist (too bad an organic chemist didn't win) had a major contribution in the research of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Shimomura first isolated GFP from jellyfish, Chalfie demonstrated how GFP could be used as a genetic tag, and Tsien furthered the understanding of how the protein fluoresces.
My brother from an asian mother told me that one of these men is actually a runner! How cool is that??
While I probably will never get to go to Sweden and accept my own Nobel Prize, I have touched a winner. Dr. Robert H. Grubbs visited my university this past spring. Yes, Dr. Grubbs of the Grubbs catalyst. This was a great honor for me and for my school.
Tomorrow the Peace Prize will be awarded and Monday the Economics Prize is awarded. Happy Nobel Prize Week!

Sulfa Allergy?

I'm writing this post high on benadryl and with a rash all over my body. This started Sunday morning, 24 h after I got through with the sulfa drug regimen. I know there are cases of delayed onset, but normally a does of steroid shot in the butt takes care of it. This is what the doctor did for me on Monday afternoon. I asked the doc if I could workout and they said it would be fine. So I ran my five miles yesterday (rather slowly I might add) and I went to my Pilates class. After class we were standing around talking and I started to feel a little nauseated and almost blacked out. I sat down and got home quickly to get some sugar in my system. I took benadryl last night and fell asleep watching the Cowboys game (they won!).
This morning I woke up and the rash has spread. I'm not so sure it's sulfa drugs that I'm allergic to. I'm not sure what it is, but I wish I hadn't come into contact with it. I'm not going to run today. I'm just going to sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzz

Life Under a Black light

There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. ~James Thurber

In my Pilates class on Mondays we workout under black lights. I've always loved how I look under a black light & I think all fluorescent lights should be replaced with black lights.
They make you look tanner, they make your teeth whiter, and I just realized the best part of all three days ago ... they make your muscles look awesome!!!
I was in downward dog and lifted one leg to the ceiling to stretch my hip. I opened my body to the side and I bent my knee. Please note, in this position it is hard to keep your shirt from falling up to reveal a bit of tummy. When I looked in the mirror I was amazed. I saw a six pack. Not a six pack of Budweiser either (I don't drink), a six pack of abs! On me!
In regular light, when I'm not contorting my body, I definitely can't see any definition in my abs. That's why I'm moving that we all switch to black lights in the work place, church, school, the gym, dressing rooms, everywhere!! Who's with me?!

I have a test on Saturday so I'll update my training stuff after that. I'm way too busy & too much of a procrastinator.

School's In Session

"We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control." -Pink Floyd

School started last week. I don't have nearly as much free time as I thought I would. I'm only taking one class and I'm not teaching this semester, but I sure am spending a lot more time in the lab. I've been trying to get up early to get my run in before I go to school. Emphasis on the word "trying." I've gotten up at 5:15 a few mornings, gone for my run, and was able to get ready at to the school by 8. The other mornings I've been waking up around 7 and getting to the school around 8:30. This means I have to get my run in when it's super hot outside or on a treadmill. Boring!
I hope I can get into the 5:15 wake up habit. I really like running by myself early in the morning. I also don't feel like an idiot when I'm talking to myself as I run. No one else is up that early to hear me. You see, I've been listening to a "Learn how to speak Chinese" podcast. I listen to the host of the show and repeat the common Chinese phrases. Then, when I get to school, I talk to my Chinese brother. And then he laughs at me because I don't sound Chinese at all.
So, that's what I've been up to since my last post. I finished watching the Olympics, which were awesome! Usain Bolt is amazing. The men's marathon was awesome! Did you hear about Brian Sell? He ran with no socks on (like normal)... but he doesn't normally run in that kind of heat. Here's what Runner's World had to report on his race.
I also just saw this article on Runner's World that goes with the theme of this post: Marathoning 101. Why don't they offer this course at my school? I'd ace it!

Well, I don't have that much time right now to post the last two weeks of my training. I'll get to that later in the week.

Phenomenal - Olympic Weekend Wrap-Up

“When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. Now what's the difference?” -Jesse Owens

As I mentioned last week, I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!! I also hate the Olympics. This juxtaposition is due to my feeling of remorse, regret, disappointment, [insert other synonym here] that I didn't get to participate in gymnastics when I was younger. I see gymnasts like Shawn Johnson and wonder if that could have been me. I doubt that I would have gone as far as the Olympics, but I really think I could have excelled at this sport.


And then I see the 33 year old gymnast, Oksana Chusovitina, and think, "I still have a chance!"; but I really know I don't. And I also realize that if I were any good at gymnastics I probably would have gone to another college and I would not have met my husband. It all worked out well in the end.

Michael Phelps. Awesome. I watched him swim with his relay teammates to his 8th gold of these games. It was phenomenal. I doubt I'll ever see such an athletic feat in my lifetime.

Saturday night was the women's marathon. I watched every minute of coverage for this event with hope that Deena Castor would bring a medal back home to the US. I was extremely saddened when she had to drop out in the early miles. She said she felt a pop in her foot. It takes great courage to drop out of a race of this magnitude, even when something serious is afoot... pun intended. I applaud her ability to realize when she can't go on and I look forward to see what else she can do.

Paula Radcliffe was my next hope for this race. Eight weeks ago she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her femur. I thought she might be able to pull through and medal, but she wasn't able to. It looked like she might drop out in the latter miles of the race, but I think she really did not want to repeat Athens. She was criticized a lot for dropping out of that race four years ago. Deena and Paula were on two ends of the spectrum, and I believe they both did what was best for themselves.

Shalane Flannagan won the bronze in the women's 10 K! Our hopefuls, Lopez Lomong and Bernard Legat, in the men's 15oo m did not qualify for the final race. China's hurdler, Liu Xiang, dropped out of the race after a false start by another runner and disappointed 1.3 billion Chinese. The Jamaicans are the fastest people in the world with Usain "Lightning" Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser taking gold in the men's and women's 100 m races. Tyson Gay said he was 100% in the semifinal heat for the 100 m, but I really think that his hamstring is still injured. I love that he won't give an excuse though.

This year looks to be a great year for the athletes. The Olympics are always a place where character and sportsmanship is displayed. I wasn't around to see Jesse Owens' snub that is mentioned in my quote, but this is part of what the Olympics can bring to the forefront of people's minds. He was a great ambassador for African Americans in the Civil Rights movement. Hopefully, changes like this will begin in countries that continue to violate human rights, e.g. Russia's treatment of the Georgian people and China's role in the Darfur situation.

Runs:

M - 6 mi, 55:04.33

T - 6 mi, 54:01.35

Th - 5 mi, 42:57.51

Hot Dam!

"Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air, can't live, can't breathe with no air" -Jordin Sparks

Saturday I ran the Hot Dam Runs 5 miler. I wasn't expecting much from this race, but I thought I should be able to run it in less than 40 minutes. I was very surprised at how hilly the course was. I felt pretty good in the first mile, but not great. I was having some trouble breathing. Stupid asthma!
For the first 2.5 miles I was leading a woman that I had seen at several races, but she had never beat me. I knew I wasn't feeling up to par, but I didn't want to lose either. She drafted behind me until the turn around and then she passed me. I kept her in my sights the rest of the race, but I never did catch back up to her.
At the Prairie Dog Runs back in February there was a guy who would speed up as soon as I got close to him, then slow down. This went on for the last few miles of that race. It happened again at this race, but only for the first mile then the last half mile. I was so disappointed because I finished just a few seconds behind him. Ben was cheering for me to beat him, but I couldn't. :(
I finished in 40:27, which isn't too bad, but not as fast as I could have gone if I hadn't had any trouble breathing. Oh well. This makes it easier to beat my time at next year's race.

The bigger story this weekend is the Olympics!!! I love the Olympics. It makes me want to be a gymnast or a swimmer. I really can't wait until August 15 then the track and field events start! Here's an awesome rap about the Olympics from Paul Brogan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89X0CP4MuME

The biggest story this week is that two of my friends from college got married!! Yay! I love weddings!

Runs:
T - 3 mi, 26:41.30 - This included my race against Felix!!!
W - 5 mi, 41:03.94
S - Hot Dam Runs 5 mi, 40:27.21; I got 26/60 overall, 7/23 women, 2/3 age group