Well, it was only a matter of time before I had to write a recap on a race that didn’t go well. There’s always one or two of them each season, and I hope this is the only one because the next couple of races are what I’ve been working on for way too long for anything to go wrong. (My two sub-3 marathon attempts in August and December.)
Going into the Skinny Raven Half on Saturday, I was solo-parenting since Friday, and that night the boys were driving me crazy, and I lost it on them. My stress was through the roof and I had no one to relive me. On top of that, Saturday morning was not any better because I locked my keys in my car for over two hours trying to figure out how to get them out. Luckily I got them out early afternoon on Saturday, got Bjorn home for a late nap, and then watched a couple of movies with Cullen (something we never do!) because I needed to be off my feet and relax. Saturday night I actually slept really hard for 8 hours straight, so I definitely can’t blame my sleep this time around as I have been doing really well with sleep lately. (Something I am trying to prioritize.)
Sunday morning, I woke up before either of the boys were up to get ready. (Classic summer sleep schedules have them going to bed later than usual and waking up later than usual.) I made myself some coffee and had an English muffin with peanut butter and homemade jam that I made Friday night when I was trying to do all the things. #classicmichelle
I gave myself plenty of time to get ready, have some breakfast, foam roll, and then get the boys up and dressed to take them over to my in-law’s. I was even on top of it and left the house in order and picked up before I left, so I was feeling pretty good about my day.
I knew it was going to be a warmer morning, per the forecast, and I walked out of my house not needing a jacket (a rarity in Alaska). I was excited about this because I often do okay in warmer temps whereas I know many Alaskans falter.
After I dropped the boys off at my in-law’s, I drove downtown to the race start with about 50 minutes until the race start–the perfect amount of time to warm-up and not be rushed before the start. I did my normal warmup of a 1.5 mile run, stretched, drills, drank my Ucan pre-workout shake with 30 minutes to go, and then got in line for the bathroom one last time. My legs felt about the same as they usually do before a race in that they always play tricks on me and say they are tired, but I know this is nerves just speaking.
With just a few minutes until the gun was ready to go off, I did my last few striders and lined up on the start line with everyone else. As soon as the gun went off, my legs felt okay but not great. (Crazy how I can tell almost immediately.) We went down a steep hill within the first 300 meters of the race, and they felt wobbly like they might give out. I knew it was nerves, so I took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm myself own. After the hill, I glanced down hoping to see low-6s and saw 6:20, and I was already a little worried because that pace felt a little harder than it should. I ran with another gal, who I didn’t recognized and figured she was from out of town since I know so many of my local competitors. We ran together for a couple of miles, but I was feeling good enough to pull ahead after a bit.
I was hoping to target a 6:30 pace for the race and maybe even closer to 6:20 if I was feeling really good. However, the GPS signal on the Chester Creek Trail is terrible since it is so tree-covered, so I really had no idea what my actual pace was. I tried to glance at my watch in the open spaces, but it was still reading 6:50. Eek! I would see it dip down to 6:30 occasionally, but not often enough. I took manual splits at some of the mile markers when I remembered, and I quickly realized the effort I was putting in for a 6:30 pace was going to be hard to maintain for 13.1 miles.
Splits:
Mile 1 – 6:25
Mile 2 – 6:35
Mile 3 – 6:31
Mile 4 – 6:32
Mile 5 – 6:56
Mile 6 – 6:42
When I’m feeling sub-par, of course the negative thoughts start to creep in, but I did my best to remind myself that I have probably worked harder than almost everyone out here on this course. I focused on running the tangents, keeping my friend Mandy in my sights who was about 20-25 second ahead of me.
I ran by myself for nearly the entire race (minus the first few miles), and there really haven’t been a ton of people out cheering since Covid happened, so those things made it a little tough too.
The miles clicked by buy not really fast enough. I can recall running almost every portion of the race, but there really wasn’t much difference in how I felt throughout the race. At one point I did see someone walking, and I thought to myself, “Oh, how I want to walk so badly right now too.” I did my best to use the downhill portions to make up some time, but it never seemed to be enough. The course is an out-and-back, so the cheers from people when we doubled back helped take my mind off how hard it felt for a little while.
Splits:
Mile 7 – 6:39
Mile 8 – 6:49
Mile 9 – 6:55
Mile 10 – 6:41
Mile 11 – 6:39
Mile 12 – 6:51
Mile 13 – 6:41
Yes, it was sunny, and I knew it was on the warm side for Alaska, but I never felt warm/hot per se. However, I do think the warmer temps affected me. (There were even a couple of out-of-state women who said it was warm.) I did try to take water in at most aid stations because I knew I would need it. I also took one energy gel in at mile 8, which I think helped some. At mile 12 I started to gain some ground on my friend Mandy. (Come to find out she had been fighting camping since mile 7!) I finally made it out of the last tunnel, and I knew I had 0.5 mile left to go. The last half of a mile is a long, gradual uphill with a very short steep uphill two blocks before the finish. I saw that short steep hill and thought to myself, “I just want to be running up that hill ASAP (because I knew it would mean I was that much closer to the finish).” Of course the finish line came eventually, and I crossed it know I gave it my all. I was beat!
It was fun to place second for the women and second overall! Previously, this was a women’s-only race, and I think the fast guys were still too shy to come out for it. I was really hoping to set a new half marathon PR this season though en route to my (hopeful) sub-3 marathon and specifically at this race because there aren’t many other fast halves the rest of the year up here. But it will have to wait for the time being.
I am definitely bummed with how this went, but I also know this race did not reflect my current fitness, so I am going to keep working hard because I am not done yet!
