Race Report: Healdsburg Half Marathon!

I'll start by saying this was one of the nicest finisher's medals I've received! So purrty, and the ribbon was a pretty fall autumn foliage to boot. The medal matched the equally scenic and serene rolling hills of the race course itself. 


I raced sans the hubby or any family support for the first time this year. Instead, I went with 2 gal friends, so managed to only get 2 shots of the race: a pre and post.
Here's the amazing pic of me ~15 minutes before the 7:15 am start (I had to then throw my warm up gear/phone in a drop off bag):

There were ~2400 runners and the race started at the Francis Ford Copola winery. Here's a pic I took from the site of the start- it was NOT this light at our race start:

Pre-Race: I felt great. It wasn't raining (gracias dios mio!), and the weather temp was beautiful. I did my regular warm-up and for this race I only used my Timex vs. a Heart rate monitor or Garmin. I decided to rely purely on reading my body for my pace. I had my goal finish time of sub 1:40, around 1:39 in my head, so my plan was to do ~7:39 min miles up through mile 8, then do 7:35's til' mile 10, then go all out as a 5k to the end. That was my game plan.

Now here's the skinny on how it panned out:

Mile 1: 7:33...I felt great and was STOKED I didn't go out too fast and was in the ballpark of a ~7:39 mile. Great...do the same for mile 2


Mile 2: 7:28..felt the same and was a lil' surprised to see this time. Decided to really slow it down and try to do a ~7:50 for the next mile. A lot of people ran out in front of me, and I just kept at my own race and pace. I knew I'd probably catch them later...


Mile 3: 8:03 ok, I know I said I wanted to go slower, but not by THAT much..in my head I wanted to be faster. all right whatever, next mile just do 7:39...


Mile 4: 7:39 yes...right on. keep goin' right at this pace...


Mile 5: 8:35...WTF? Did I just read that right? I knew I mentally 'slowed' down a bit...but not by this much. Seeing this time at mile 5 made me seriously begin to doubt if I could pull 7:39's or better for the rest of the race. It was only freakin' mile 5! okay...fine, then pick it up AM. This is where I started relying on the 'Designing a Mental Game' Mantra's.


Mile 6: 5:47...WTF? are ya kiddin' me? I just ran a 5:47 mile?  NO WAY. I know I ran faster...but a 5:47?...I guess I'm not readin' my body the way I thought I could...Okay, now just do a basic 7:39 already...


Mile 7: 8:10...all right..slower than I wanted but, I'll take it and now pick it up a bit to even out to a ~7:39 for this next mile..


Mile 8: 7:14..that seems a bit speedy. really? all righty row...let's do this next mile at 7:39, then you can go for more later. I started passing some of the people who blew by me at mile ~2 and 3...


Mile 9: 7:47...that's fine. whatever...now it's game time. Bring it on. Start running. At this point the hills were over and it was now smooth long roads slightly inclined roads.


Miles 10 and 11: 13:06 I was feelin' really good, just kept rolling through my mental rolodex of all my mantra's. I was stoked to see this time for 2 miles.


Mile 12: 7:04, yes, yes, yes! At this point I realized I was well on my way for a 1:38 and thought if I can do this last mile in ~7 ish I could even do a 1:36! Just do it!

Mile 13: 9:24. AW man! I  thought I was running fast, not a 7 min fast, but def not a ~9 min pace. Then I looked at my total time and realized I may not even get 1:39 but a 1:40 something. Noooo!... Get your F'n A$$ in gear and RUN!

.1: 39:49..You're dang right I sprinted to the finish. When I came up to the finish and saw 1:38:XX...I was relieved and stoked. yes. 

Finish Time: 1:38:35. A nice lil' Personal Record (PR) for me. I was 14th Female and 2nd in my AG. I'll definitely take that!

Post race: I talked with a few other runners who ran with Garmin's and they all said the race mile markers were not in synch with their Garmins. Ahhhh...no wonder! No wonder I had a 8:35 and then a 5:47 miles. The overall mileage was right, but the individual markers weren't. 
Here's the other amazing picture of me post race, back at the gym (they had free shuttle service to-from different locations for the race. This is the first time I've used a shuttle vs. being dropped off at the start and I loved it!)

Lessons Learned: It's been ~2 yrs since I raced a half marathon distance (I did Vineman this summer, but that was for a Half Ironman and I was coming off a foot injury), and it was very rewarding to physically and mentally feel how much I've evolved as a runner and racer. I know how to pace myself way better, how to execute a race plan, and I have much more confidence believing I'm a Runner. I ran my race, I didn't run it according to who/what runners were doing around me: I knew what I needed to do, kept my eyes forward, continually did a mental check of my form from head to toe, and kept my head in the game. 

And while it was freeing to run with just my watch, I realize I need my Garmin to know the true mile markers as I think that would have helped me stay more steady with each mile.

Overall, it was a great way to end my season. 

And that's my race and thoughts in a nutshell. I wish I had more pictures to share of the course itself, as it's in beautiful wine country and went through ~20 wineries. As a race, I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a scenic, fun getaway wknd (Come out to California;-).  

Now I'm looking forward to these next 2 months of base training and figuring out what my 2011 Athlete Goals will be. Hmmm....? I'm off to run and think about it! 

Thanks again friends for all your mojo and support!!