Strawberry Plains Half Marathon - Race Report

The Strawberry Plains Half Marathon is the 2^nd part (of 3 races) in the Knoxville Track Club high mileage series. I never intended this race to be anything but a part of my training building up to the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. 

To say I’m not very good at starting slow would be kind. I suck at it. I decided SP would be a “training race” – more than just a run, but not an all-out effort. Not knowing where to start, but knowing for sure I’d have to purpose to be slow, I decided I would start at a 10:30 pace. 

Then I played around with some calculators. I knew I was capable of a 2:10 race – I blew up at Secret City, had a horrible race, walked a lot, and still finished in 2:11. All things considered, by the time I made it to the start line, I’d decided upon a 10:15 pace for the early miles.

Amy, Sharon, & I all had the same strategy so we met up at the start line and stuck together. We positioned ourselves too far back in the line, and had to fight around the crowd. We’d hoped this would keep down our pace, but we over compensated. Along the way, we caught up with Johnny, who had mentioned running with us early in the week. Between passing and slowing down, the first mile wasn’t consistent.

Mile 1 - 10:01

We knew this mile was too fast, so we tried to slow things down a bit. Then we got lost in conversation and noticed our pace getting faster. Between the 4 of us, it seemed like we kept catching ourselves going too quickly.

Mile 2 - 10:02

I’d describe the early miles as rolling. Sharon is a good fit for our group because she naturally runs up hills quickly. I naturally run down quickly. Working as a team, we kept each other in check, although still a bit fast.

Mile 3 – 9:55
Mile 4 - 10:15

Not sure what happened in mile 4 to hit our goal dead on, but it was the only mile we did so. Thankfully, one of the reasons we were having difficulty was because it was too conservative. Truth be told, I should have started around 9:45-10:00. Lesson learned, which was the point of this race.

 posted by the official race Facebook page

Mile 5 - 10:03 

I had done some homework, reading race reports from previous years. Also, our KTC Socialites team page had some discussion of the course. Everything pointed to miles 6-8 being the make or break stretch of this course.

Mile 6 - 10:04

I’m not sure I noticed a real difference at first, but we committed to staying strong through this portion. I can’t say enough how awesome it was to be able to talk through the race with them. I hope we are all at a similar enough paces to do this through at least a portion of the marathon.

 posted by teammate and race volunteer

Mile 7 - 9:56 

I would have sworn the hill of mile 8 was huge and lasted the entire mile. My Garmin reports it was 0.41, and climbed 96 feet. It was tough. Then again, we surged up it, so maybe it was just our pace. Either way, looking back I’m very impressed with the pace for this mile.

Mile 8 - 9:53 

I’m good at downhill running, and I told the group of my plan to pick up some time blazing down it. At this point, we were running our own races. Johnny took a walk break for some fuel. Amy’s IT band issues make her a more conservative downhill runner.

Mile 9 - 9:09

Sharon & I stuck together until we reached the rolling return portion of this course. Her strength on the up hills allowed her to pull away. On one of the ups, I introduced myself to Abbi and chatted with her the next mile or so. I very much enjoyed the distraction.

Mile 10 - 9:35

Amy caught up to me and helped me to keep pushing. She’s typically quiet in late miles, however, so I had a bit of a battle in my head. Its race, its okay to be uncomfortable. Keep pushing. Let’s see just how much you’ve got.

Mile 11- 9:19
Mile 12 - 9:16

I’m not sure at what point it happened, but near the end of the race I got stuck behind a car. For an open course, I saw very few along the way. We’d been instructed to run with traffic, and this gal was stalled ahead of me due to runners ahead of her. After a bit of sucking exhausted, I decided to cross the double yellow line and pass her. It very much seemed that she sped up when she noticed me beside her. Maybe this challenge helped get my legs moving faster and ready for a surge?

Mile 13- 9:07

I’m very proud my last mile was my fastest. Sure the mile included a downhill, but so did mile 9. By this point, I was pushing hard. I had gas left in the tank and I wanted to finish strong. Passing the 13 mile marker, I dug deep and kicked it in high gear. 

Some of my teammates cheered me in as I made one final pass then grunted my way across the finish line.

Last 0.18 - {7:42}

Final 2:07:51

 

Rediscovering My Motivation

I've been experiencing some anxiety when it comes to running. The night before my 10 mile race last month, I had serious race anxiety. The anxiety for this weekend's half started on Tuesday, so I reached out to my Facebook running group. We share our struggles and triumphs, mostly with running but also with life when need be. Our group is dedicated to praying for the members - through racing, injuries, and fear.

(Our group photo, courtesy of Clay)

When I expressed my anxiety to the group, one of the ladies suggested I go back to the drawing board. I race so much these days, getting caught up in PRs and new experiences, I have forgotten why I run in the first place. Turns out, I have had a board laying out each of the reasons I'm a runner.

Several years ago, The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans gave their readers homework - build a motivational board. First up Derek Redmond - "I'm going to finish my race." I remember watching those Olympic games in awe. How could anyone push through injury to finish a race? 

Being active is a part of my life. There are so many things I want to tackle, including a hiking/camping trip through the Appalachian Trail. I've never been camping, so I'm not sure I'll ever be made of sturdy enough stuff to hike the AT in its entirety, but I do enjoy being able to hike on any given day without effort. 

My niece and nephew have grown so much since I made this board! They've been at the finish line of races and I love the encouragement I get from my sister and her whole family. The Princess wanted to bring me flowers at the finish line of one of my first 5Ks. Instead, my mom convinced her to bring me a stuffed animal (from a collection at home). Now I see her gift every night before going to bed.

Something I've gotten away from is having a "race verse." Maybe its because I'm racing too much. Isaiah 40:31 was written on my arm for my first marathon. I repeated 2 Timothy 1:7 over and over during a monster bike climb during my first triathlon. Maybe I should go back to scripture memorization for/during races?

And finally - finishing on the 50. Only this time, instead of going for my fastest 5K time ever, I'll be heading into the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium to run the last 50 yards of 26.2 miles. Right or wrong, this marathon training cycle is all about getting that PR. No clue what a reasonable finishing time might be, but I'm a faster runner than I was 2 years ago when I last races this distance. That's gotta count for something.

Motivation. Sure PRs are part of what motivates me, but they don't tell the whole story. And its about time I remembered that. 

 

Picture It - 2009...

a new runner embarks on a journey of a thousand miles.

Okay so I'm really just talking about 13.1 miles, but it was the very first 13.1 which changed everything.

Looking through pictures for a different blog post, I found this. I ran my first half marathon in the fall of 2009 and cam in last in my age group. My finishing time was 2:44:52, on the slow end of my goal, but under goal none-the-less. I was just happy, after trailing a 70+ woman for the first 5 miles I didn't come in dead last.

This weekend I'll be running my 11th half marathon. I've come a long way in the past 3+ years, literally and figuratively. Saturday will be a training race in preparation for my 3rd round of 26.2. I'm horrid at negative splits and really need to train myself to start slowly. My goal for this weekend is to start significantly slower than I know I'm able to run and go from there.

Despite some unexpected pre-race anxiety, I'm looking forward to finding the way to the start line this weekend.

So today, on this Thankful Throwback Thursday I share these pictures with you.

I'm thankful for my ability to run. For the friends I've made along the way. For the confidence and strength I've gained. And for the love and support my family has given me along the way.

For what are you thankful today?

On Blogging

I love writing. I love the creative outlet writing provides. I love communicating my feelings (and getting feedback on those feelings.) I've been a blogger longer than I've been married.

These days, however, it seems like such a chore. Last month I produced 10 posts. There was a time I churned out 5 a week like nobody's business. I'm just not sure what the problem is, much less what to do about it.

Have I run out of things to talk about? {Surely not.}
Am I interacting more on Twitter and Facebook, thereby cutting down my time to blog?
Have I gotten lazy?
Am I letting fear keep me from sharing the deep, honest posts I have on my heart?

I'd love any suggestions on how to turn this thing around. Perhaps I'm just out of the habit and committing to 3 posts a week no matter what would bring back the love. Maybe my life just isn't as exciting as it use to be (with all the wedding planning, new life, new running experiences and what-not behind me).

My homework

Find a new template to make things pretty around here.
Commit to blogging for February, then reevaluate at the end of the month.

Your homework

What are your favorite type posts?
Hit me up with some questions to answer.

Sandsuck (aka "MY") Creek - Foto Friday

Jay took this picture before we officially purchased our house. The creek took this property from being a rental cabin he was scouting for clients, to potentially being our new home.

I love using it as my "ice bath" after a long run. I love seeing it from the front porch and hot tub. I love hearing it while reading in bed. Never did I dream we'd see so many different versions of the creek this winter.

I was shocked when the temperature dropped enough that parts of it froze. Even more so after this week's snow!

Jay didn't want me getting closer and ruining the snow with footprints, but there she is. Mostly covered in the fluffy white stuff. This creek has as many personalities as me - we were meant for each other!!

Calhoun's 10 Miler - Race Report

These days I don't enjoy writing race reports. I guess I've done so much racing the reports have become old hat. Or maybe I've done too much racing, taking away the excitement I expect each event to hold.

Maybe I just became spoiled to new personal records, so I now have high standards for myself. The problem with that mentality is new PRs every race are unrealistic - at least as much as I race. I'm signed up for 5 all in the first 3 months of the year, with the anticipation of running a 6th. This weekend, I ran my first of the Knoxville Track Club high mileage series.

This would only be my 2nd 10 mile race ever, although I've ran a couple of 15K which would be comparable for pacing. Last year I registered for the Calhoun's 10 miler, but it was cancelled due to unsafe driving weather.

 This year's weather forecast was less than favorable - wind chills in the teens with heavy winds. While the roads were certainly drive-able, I started questioning Friday night if the weather would allow it to be race-able.

The plan was for negative splits, but I didn't account for the terrain. The chart seemed to show a net gain on the way out and net loss on the way back. Problem #1 - I didn't read it well enough to notice the mega hill at mile 1 (and returning at mile 9).

Problem #2 - I didn't consider the wind being at our back on the way out. Deductive reasoning says it therefore must be a headwind on the way back. I made no adjustments for this in my pace plan. A couple of my Ragnar teammates (Amy & Michelle) had planned to run this as a training run, so I joined them at the start line.

"Cemetery Hill" - a hill so infamous it gets a name. I had been forewarned that it was a doozy, and made myself promise to take it easy and not wear myself out. Both Amy & Michelle are stronger than me on hills, so at the base I said "It was great running with you guys" and settled into my own pace for the climb.


Mile 1 - 10:04

I can run downhill like a champ, so I didn't have any trouble catching up with them in the 2nd mile. I'm sure they pulled up a bit when they heard me swishing behind them. We chatted about books and tried to keep a steady pace. As a mostly downhill mile, I was okay with being a bit fast.

Mile 2 - 9:33

While Michelle was on our Ragnar team, I never got to chat much with her because we were in different vans. For the first few miles of the race, I enjoyed getting to know her better. This made the first part of the race go by quickly.

Mile 3 - 9:46

Before I knew it, it was time to take a gel. In training, I'm trying to go for 5 miles before taking them but for races I like them every 3-4. Given the distance, I had decided to take some at the 3.5 and 7 mile mark.  This started a bit of a climb, so I was already slowing from their pace.

Mile 4 - 10:04

Although not running "with" anyone, miles 4 & 5 were hardly alone. I was starting to meet some of the faster people making their return trip. By mile 4.75, I took a brief uphill walk break. The girl behind me said "Good job Brooke." When I turned to see who it was, I saw a stranger's smiling face. "I assume your name is Brooke," she continued, "given all the people cheering for you by name."


Mile 5 - 10:13

After the turn around gave a nice little decline section, allowing me to catch my breath and return the "lookin' good" comments to some of teammates. My newly made buddy and I stuck together, chatting about this and that, for a little while before she pulled ahead.

Mile 6 - 10:00

The race start/finish was by a lake marina. The wind coming off the water was cold and harsh. Later a buddy told me that gusts topped out at 25MPH. At the time, all I had to work off of was the burning in my lungs. Judging from my Garmin report, I started taking walk breaks in earnest around 5.9 miles.

Mile 7 - 10:39

From that point on, I took a total of 11 breaks in the course of just over 3 miles. Normally I'm hesitant to walk during races. I question my ability to start back running, what the breaks will do to my pace, and how the slower pace will affect my mental game. During this race, none of those were issues.

Mile 8 - 11:03

I'm learning to trust my body more and more as a runner. While asthma doesn't define me, it does sometimes limit me. Speed was just not to be had that day. More importantly than what it did to my pace, I'm very pleased with what it did not do to my determination.

In those 3 miles with walk breaks, I ran less than half-mile spurts. Yet I was still able to power walk and run quickly enough to keep my pace up to a decent speed. The last mile containing cemetery hill yet again came in at my slowest.

Mile 9 - 11:51

Running down the hill, I was able to gain a bit of momentum and pick up my stride. By this point, a fellow KTC Socialite had come up to pass me. For the remaining mile, I tried to keep pace with him.

Mile 10 - 9:58

As with most races, I didn't quite run the tangents, so I ran this certified course a bit long. I didn't mind the extra tenth or so, because I was able to see what kind of kick was left in the home stretch.

{8:56}

My chip time was 1:44:35. I didn't meet my time goals. This race, however, did teach me I was mentally strong enough to push through and give up. Given that my mental game is the weakest part of me as a racers, I count this race as a success!

Overall: 193/240

Age group: 18/22

Oh, and technically a PR from my only other 10 mile race. Although, save injury, I knew a PR was guaranteed from my previous 2:08:41 time. As Michelle pointed out, no matter the circumstances (or the 3+ years that have passed) I've come a long way in my running to shave off 24 minutes and 6 seconds!

Dear Diary,

It seems to be coming at me from all sides. Once again, I have someone pressing me about what I can do for them. This afternoon I found myself confronted by the 3rd person in a week who doesn't have a clue who I am at my core, yet is trying to advance their agenda through me.

• The neighbors who're trying to offer unsolicited financial advice.
• The coworkers who expect me to clean up their messes.
• The relatives pointedly asking me to promote their business.

Each time I've had a strong reaction in my gut.

• Clearly they have no idea our actions were carefully considered in our 5 year debt-free plan.
• Do I always draw the short straw because I'm a girl? Non-confrontational? Or both?
• Have I ever even promoted my own stuff on Facebook? Why would I act differently for someone else?

Pride.

Its hard for this girl who's struggled with self-esteem issues all my life to understand the dangers of pride. Finally, I'm starting to see the good qualities I possess and damn it, I want everyone else to see them too.

I hope this is just a growing pain. A brief pit stop on the path to being comfortable in my own skin. Obviously I'm not there yet, or else I wouldn't care how others saw me. I'd be confident enough in me as a person to not care what they thought.

Much like last week's Less of Me post, I'm not sure this post makes much sense. Maybe I'm indulging my pride by talking about it. Then again, maybe a reader will pray for me in this specific area. Or else give me an incredible tip on overcoming pride. I'll take whatever I can get!