Trent/Waldron Glacier Half-Marathon 2013 – Race Recap

Two things I learned today:

1. Half-marathons are hard, but they do not compare to a full marathon.

2. I am not in shape to run Mayor’s Marathon in June. I had been considering run the full marathon in June, but I learned today that I am not be in the shape I’d like to be, so I will spend the summer preparing for the Moose’s Tooth Marathon (which is more commonly known as the Humpy’s Marathon because that’s what it used to be called) in August.

I was excited to run the half-marathon this morning. Probably because I ran it with my sister last year and PRed last year with a 1:31.

A gorgeous day to run a race today! It got up to 70* F today!! Woohoo! That might be the 10th day I’ve experienced 70*F in Alaska in 5.5 years. . .yes, it is very sad.

The race started at 9 a.m., so I got up at 6:30 a.m. to eat some breakfast and get ready. Craig and I left our place a little after 8 a.m. Love the conveniences of racing in the same town you live in and at a race that’s small enough that doesn’t require special transportation to the start.

Deep concentration before the race; I promise I was not mad. I get pretty serious about my racing. A sparkly BIC Band to hold my hair back.

I spent about 40 minutes warming-up with about one mile of light jogging, a lot of stretching, and a few striders right before the start.

Body Glide really does work! I chafe between my legs easily but haven’t since I started using Body Glide. It is amazing stuff, people!

I decided to wear my CEP Compression Socks today along with my Mizuno Wave Rider 15s. I honestly haven’t decided if the compression socks help when I race, but I figure they can’t hurt! I do truly believe they help with recovery though!

The race started promptly at 9 a.m. I started too far back and had to weave around a lot of people at the start, but that’s my own fault for starting towards the back.

Like I said, a gorgeous day to be outside running! Bonus points to those who can find me. (Look for the compression socks.)

As with any race, the first few miles are easy, and I always think, “I should run faster because I feel so good.” But then, as we all know, that slowly changes the farther into the race we get. Mile 3.5 and still feelin’ good.

I tried to be conservative at the start because I know I don’t have a lot of training miles under my belt yet. I tried to stay around 7:20/7:30 minutes/mile, but it was hard because I felt so good.

This race (as many of the races in Anchorage are) was an out-and-back course. The race was run on the Chester Creek Trail which runs along the creek (obviously), goes through the woods, but definitely lacks spectators, so it gets to be a mental game for much of the race. I even ended up listening to my iPod, which I’ve never done before, to try and distract me; I’m not sure it really worked though.

Mile 9.5 where Craig gave me my Clif energy gel.

The last few miles of the race were tough, and I was definitely losing steam. It was on the warmer side; I think it was close to 60*F when we finished, but it did not bother me too much. I was so happy to be running in the sunshine and warm weather. I just kept thinking that even though I was ready to be done, this was nothing compared to how I feel at the end of a marathon!

Craig was the camera-man and made sure to take a lot of pictures for my blog. Overlooking the Westchester Lagoon.

Pushing it in for the last few yards.

Tired and exhausted but the feeling of pushing your body hard is something I love. It’s weird, I know.

When I got home, I ran another 3 miles for a total of 17 miles for the day. That last mile was tough! I was running in ‘E’ having only had one energy gel the entire 17 miles. But I figured it was good practice for the marathon.

When I got back home, I was not hungry but knew I needed the calories. I started with this Gatorade carb energy drink that was liquid sugar. It was so incredibly sweet, I only ate half of it. I got it free at the Boston Marathon.

Then I had the other half of this Luna Blueberry Bliss bar. I had half of it before the race. These are my go-to bars before and after running. 

And a plain piece of bread with vegan butter sounded good, but this Parmesan Basil bread from Great Harvest was a little too flavorful. I do much better with bland foods after a hard workout.

After refueling and foam rolling, I took an ice bath and then shopped online at Nordstrom since everyone is talking about their sale going on this weekend. I’m on the hunt for a maxi dress and wedges. Anyone have any recommendations?

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Stats from the Trent/Waldron Glacier Half-marathon

Date: Saturday, May 25, 2013

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Location: Westchester Lagoon, Chester Creek Trail, Anchorage, AK

Distance: 13.1 miles

Time: 1:38:41

Average Pace: 7:32 minutes/mile

Overall place: 45/233

Female place: 13/130

Age group (30-35) place: 3/21