Wow! What an incredible weekend!
Never did I ever think I would get the opportunity to be elite runner at a race–nonetheless at age 41! Truly something I will forever treasure. Heck, I got to sit next to Dakotah Lindwurn (who is headed to Olympics this year for the marathon) and Annie Frisbie (who won Grandma’s Half and set a new course record on Saturday) on the bus ride out to the start of the half. It was fun to eavesdrop and listen to their normal early morning chatter. Dakotah said, “When my alarm went off this morning, I could not figure out why it was going off.” (So maybe the pros don’t sleep as light as us mortals. Or at least like I do the night before, as I woke up every 1-2 hours.) They also talked about the track trials that started the night before and Dakotah was curious to know who would be going in the 10,000 as she would probably be hanging out with those girls in Paris. They also talked about the course and that it was a little long, which I found it to be as well. Just regular chatter, but still so cool to be a fly on the wall.
Backing up to Friday, we headed to Duluth around 10 a.m. Craig and the boys came with me, which is always fun to have them with me. (I swear I always run better when they come and cheer for me at races.) It usually is a 3.5 hour drive to Duluth, so nothing too long. However, we did make a few stops and hit some construction, so we made it to Duluth around 3:00 p.m. We got checked into our hotel room, and then I went to get my bib. The elite runners pick up their bibs at a different location than everyone else, so I actually didn’t even go into the expo. I didn’t want to spend an hour walking around and wanted to stay off my feet as much as possible. I spent the rest of the evening laying out everything I needed for the race, continuing my one-day carb load, and went to bed at 9:00 p.m.
It took me a while to fall asleep, and I woke up several times before my alarm went off at 3:00 a.m. I showered, got ready, ate some Trader Joe’s cinnamon graham crackers, and left my hotel room at 4:10 a.m. to head down to the buses. I got on the elite buses and found my friend Erin on the bus. We got to ride a coach bus to the start, which was nice. There was chatter as we were waiting to leave and when we stopped at another hotel to pick up more people, but once we got going, the bus was quiet. I ate a package of Skratch chews and sipped on my Ucan drink.
We got dropped off about half of a mile in front of the start, so we had a bit of ways to walk, which gave us about 45 minutes to warm-up. I did a mile jog, some dynamic stretches, drill work, and then took my warm-ups off. I peeded one last time and then headed to the start where I did a few strides before they ushered us to the start line.
About 7-10 days out from this race, my workouts were indicating a finish time right around 1:25. I was going to be really happy with this as a finish time, as I haven’t run that fast since 2017. But then as we neared race day, my coach got it in my head that I should go after my PR of 1:24:22. I looked back at workouts prior to running that time, and they were close to paces I was hitting in my current workouts. I knew it was going to take a perfect day: weather, pacing, mental fortitude, but I figured ‘why not?!’
When the gun went off, everyone took off so fast, which I knew would happen. I tried to stick to the effort I wanted to run, but it was as if I was standing still with everyone roaring past me. It didn’t help that my legs had gotten cold and stiff, so my legs weren’t working well either until I got going. I didn’t check my watch until I felt like I was running the pace I wanted and saw 6:20 on my watch. I figured the first mile would be quick, so I tried to dial it back a bit.
Mile 1 – 6:21
Mile 2 – 6:23
Mile 3 – 6:28
The weather was perfect for running: cool in the low-50s, overcast, no rain, and a nice tailwind! I didn’t think it necessarily felt humid, but I did wipe sweat off myself occasionally–and there was a couple times it misted, so I am sure there was some humidity in the air. Otherwise, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. (The marathoners and probably the back of the pack half marathoners got rained on though.)
The crowds were sparse until we got to town, which was about half way. But even then there weren’t many people out cheering since it was still early (before 7 a.m.) and the weather was kind of crummy.
The miles clicked along but not quite as quickly as I would have hoped. I felt strong throughout the whole race, but I did have some very slight stomach cramping, which I have never had before.
Mile 4 – 6:26
Mile 5 – 6:30
My mind played a lot of games and a lot of thoughts ran through it during the race:
“Why would I ever want to run another marathon, a half marathon is plenty long.”
“Oh wait, but it I was running a full, I wouldn’t have to be running as fast.”
“The faster you run, the sooner you get to see the boys, Michelle.”
Mile 6 – 6:25
Mile 7 – 6:35
Mile 8 – 6:38
Around mile 7, my friend Suzie came up on me and ran ahead of me. I did my best to hang with her, but I started to realize my pace was falling off my pace goal of 6:25.
I started to get a little negative with myself. (Or was I just being realistic?!) The paces just weren’t coming, so I reasoned with myself it was okay if I slowed down because a low 1:24/sub-1:24 was an aggressive goal anyhow. “You can always try again this fall for a faster time,” I told myself. I don’t normally get too negative in races, but I wonder if I would have had these negative thoughts if I hadn’t tried to go after my PR. What if I had just stuck with the goal of 1:25, and then all of my thoughts would have stayed positive because I was actually staying on pace. Does that make sense?
Mile 9 – 6:39
Mile 10 – 6:36
I took a gel in between mile 8 and 9, and I didn’t necessarily feel anything kick in within a mile or two after taking that, but something hit me at mile 12, and I got a second burst of energy! All of a sudden, Suzie and the other gal I had been tailing by a few seconds were coming back to me (or I was actually picking up the pace). I passed them and continued to push the pace as we ran through downtown Duluth and make our way to Canal Park and the finish.
Mile 11 – 6:35
Mile 12 – 6:28
Mile 13 – 6:27
Usually by the end of a race, I am deep in the pain cave, but this time I felt so strong. I was still pushing hard and giving it everything I got, but it was refreshing to feel this way. My labored breathing kicked in with a half a mile to go, which means I am at my max, and I cannot push any harder. I ran down the last stretch with fans lined up on both sides, crossed the finish line, and proud of my effort. (But still a little disappointed I couldn’t pull off a PR.)
As soon as I crossed, the volunteers ushered the elites to their own private tent and then across the street to a building where there was food for us, tables to sit at, and a stage where awards were given. I stayed there with Suzie and Erin, for quite a while chatting about our races.
Finally, it was time to head back to the hotel room to shower and change out of my sweaty clothes because I was shivering. Back at my room was the first time I saw the boys, (I didn’t see them after the race.) and I told Craig how the race went. But he already knew how I felt about the race–he knows me too well.
At the end of the day, I feel like I set myself up for a great race, and I am really happy I ran faster than I have in the past 7 years because I’ve had a lot of mediocre half marathons during that time. The weekend was also so filling because I got to see and hang out with running friends all weekend–what is better than that?! My sister came up to watch me run, and a lot of followers also said hi! I also can’t express how cool of an experience it was to be an elite runner this past weekend, and I feel so lucky to be able to participate it!
What a cool experience!!