How has it been almost two weeks since I ran the Richmond Half Marathon? Between family (my sister got married!), work (fundraising bonanza for my charity, Empowered Through Fitness), and the general time of year (Happy Thanksgiving!), time has flown by quicker than I can grasp. Let’s focus on the past though as I recap my Richmond race experience.
Earlier this year I asked my coach Jessica (Sugar Runs Coaching) to give me some suggestions for fall races that could possibly lead me to a PR (personal record). I looked into all the races and decided on Richmond because (a) I had never been there, (b) it was on the east coast, and (c) the website had pictures of people in long sleeve shirts and I am all about running in cold weather. I bought my flight and booked my hotel the day I signed up for the race. My goal was to make this a quick trip so that I didn’t have to miss much at home with the family or with my classes.
A month or so before the race I received an email that my flight plan had changed and, not only would I be leaving Miami hours earlier, I would also be leaving Richmond hours earlier. This made me question whether I should go to the race because of the logistical changes involved in getting me to and from the airport and getting appropriate care for my girls. I ultimately decided that (1) I trained hard and wanted to run somewhere new, (2) I needed a break from the kids, and (3) I needed to stop letting mommy guilt get in the way of the things I want to personally accomplish. And so, the Friday before the race saw me dropping the girls off early at school, driving from their school straight to the airport, getting on the plane, and taking a cab from the airport in Richmond straight to expo.
Expo was standard: bib pickup in one area and t-shirt pickup in another. There were a lot of vendors and free samples from vendors. My favorite part of expo was the booth for the race as I got to see all the post-race swag of medal, hat, and blanket.
I had pizza from Stoplight Cafe and ice cream from Charm School for dinner and was in bed and asleep by 10:30pm. My hotel was half a mile away from the start line so I woke up at 5:30am on race day, had a Picky Bars bar for breakfast, and did some warmup exercises and stretches in the room before heading out. I hadn’t paid much attention to the race route so imagine my surprise when I saw huge groups of runners running past the hotel. It was pretty cool to spectate before my race as it got me excited for my turn to start. To further warm up, I ran an easy mile and did three sets of strides.
It was in the 40s when I started to run and I was so glad that I made the decision to wear a long sleeve shirt and a running sweater as I felt comfortable temperature-wise for the first nine miles of the race. My race day plan was to stick close to the 1:50 pace group up until mile 10 and then pick up the pace in the last 5K. I was with the group until mile 7 or so and we started running in Bryan Park. Considering someone yelled out, “You own the park; the park doesn’t own you” before we got into the park, I should have known something challenging was about to go down. I did my best to stay with the pace group and, when that didn’t happen, I did my best to keep the pace group in sight. Coming from Miami, the rolling hills in the park were TOUGH. I did everything I could mentally to stay positive and keep moving forward. I smiled, I scanned my body, I thought about my girls, I thought of all the things that came together so that I could be in Richmond running, I focused on the gratitude I felt over the ability to take a solo trip, and I counted my steps.
I made it out of the park, but not without thinking, “Holy shit. That was hard. I need to run more hills or bridges if I want to run outside of Miami more.” I kept smiling and kept moving forward, but I had to take walk breaks between miles 9 and 10 to catch my breath and settle that “Holy shit” feeling that was making me feel a little rattled.
There’s always a bit of magic that happens for me at mile 10 of a half marathon. I know that if I can get to mile 10, then I will finish the race one way or another as it’s “only a 5K to go.” A big draw of the Richmond race is that the race finishes on a downhill. This definitely played into the magic that mentally happened for me when I saw the “10” mile marker. However, it was windy and, not just any wind, but a head wind. All the relief I felt over running downhill was immediately turned into another challenge as I was running down and straight into the wind. Then, another challenge right at 13 miles: a side stitch. It took everything in my power to keep running. I’ve already walked through one finish line because of a side stitch and I was not willing to do it again.
I crossed the finish line THRILLED to have done so. It wasn’t a PR, but it was my third sub-2 hours effort this year. I finished owning and being OK with the fact that my walk breaks between miles 9 and 10 cost me a PR. If I wouldn’t have walked, my breath would have been choppy, and I would have started freaking out mentally and would have spiraled into that negative place of running that, for me, leaves a longer lasting imprint than a missed PR time.
There are other races and other opportunities to push my limits. I had an incredible training cycle and am a stronger runner overall. One day it will all line up and come together. Then, soon after, I’ll be chasing new goals and new finish lines.
Cons:
The wind; yikes!
This one is on me, but the financial cost of traveling for a race.
Post-race temperatures: too cold for me to want to hang out and too cold for me to enjoy my beer.
Pros:
Richmond, VA: such a cool town.
Expo was quick and easy.
Hotel location on the course was great and reduced race-day stress.
Temperatures: I’m a cold weather runner and was in heaven.
Downhill finish.
Finisher swag: medal, hat, and blanket.
Pace groups.
Well-supported race course.
Beer and wine at the finish line.
Post-race party location on the river gave me that combination of city views and fall foliage.
As soon as I finished the race, I had my beer, ran back to the hotel, showered, ate something, and left for the airport. Talk about a whirlwind trip! Richmond was half #39 for me and my official finish time was 1:54:44. I’ll get that sub-1:50 soon and, for now, I’m enjoying resting and thinking about all the strength and change that will happen as I get ready for half marathons #40 (Miami), #41 (Princess), and #42 (305) in the winter.