Yesterday I ran my fifth half marathon! It’s always an incredible feeling to cross the finish line of any race, but yesterday’s race was extra special because I set a personal record!
My alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. and I had a minor freak out when I realized I forgot to pack the the small bag I assembled on Friday with my race-day breakfast! Fortunately I was able to buy a blueberry bliss energy bar at the hotel coffee shop.
I ate the bar and drank a hot cup of coffee and a bottle of water. The race didn’t start until 8 a.m., so I felt like I had enough time to digest everything and avoid cramping before it was go-time. Hooray for a late race start!
Before heading out, I filled up a wrist wallet Gu Ghomps and Clif Shot Bloks, my fuel of choice for the race.
Once I was dressed and ready, I headed down to the hotel lobby and met up with Caitlin, Mary and Rachel to catch the 7 a.m. shuttle to the start line.
The shuttles left at 7 a.m. as promised and we had no issues finding a seat. I’ve never used a shuttle to get to the start of a race before so I was a little nervous about it since I’ve heard some horror stories surrounding shuttles at other races. I am happy to report that there were no issues and we arrived at the start with plenty of time to use check our bags at the gear check station and use the bathroom.
Remember the fears I expressed a week or so ago about running in the heat? Thankfully that was not an issue at all! Temperatures stayed in the 50s which made the wait for the race start awfully cold, but I warmed up once we started running.
A few weeks ago, once I found out my sister would no longer be running with me due to a foot injury, I felt like I needed a new race-day goal since I was no longer focusing on our fun sister run. Sometimes I feel like I’m jinxing myself if I say my goals aloud, so I didn’t tell anyone about my goal until this week, though a few of you guessed it based on the pace of some of my training runs! I was hoping to PR, which meant I needed to beat my previous PR of 1:58:49 from the Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon.
Here’s the thing: I thought I was going to die when I PRed in Savannah. Ryan really pushed me and paced me during the whole race and I while I finished feeling ecstatic that I broke two hours, my body felt like it had been hit by a truck. I was totally spent.
We didn’t train at a specific pace during our training runs for that race, so I made it a point to focus on my pace a bit during my training over the past few weeks. I wasn’t running crazy-fast or anything, but I was more aware of my pace than I have ever been in the past.
My strategy going into today’s race was to try to be consistent and maintain nine-minute miles throughout the race. The first mile of the race took us though an adorable historic district before we ran through Fort Clinch State Park for around 4.5 miles. There were some very slight hills in the beginning of the course, but once we entered the park, the race was flat as a pancake. The trees of the state park provided shading and protected us from the intense wind.
I spaced out my fuel quite a bit and took a few Gu Chomps or Clif Shot Bloks at miles 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
For the first half of the race I struggled a bit with self doubt, wondering whether or not I would be able to keep up my current pace. I tried to get into the zone by focusing on my half marathon playlist and I kept my eye on the two-hour pace group.
And then I hit mile seven. Right when I saw that mile marker, I mentally flipped a switch and said I would finish in under two hours and I would PR. (I actually visualized a light switch in my mind, which was kind of weird. I’m not sure where that came from, but it worked, so I went with it.)
The last four miles were basically a straight shot to the finish line which was great because it was flat, but also kind of daunting since you could easily see just how far you still had to run since there were no curves in the road. I focused on my breathing and kept a steady pace.
The big killer of the course occurred during the final third of a mile. Runners finished the race on the sand which was really challenging.
Let’s just say there was absolutely no sprinting through the finish line at this race!
I knew a PR was within my reach and mentally committed to achieving it at mile 7. The mental shift that occurred then was HUGE for me. I started believing in myself and in my training. I repeated my one-word mantra. Both of my feet started cramping up at mile 11, but I ran through it. I hit the sand and tried to keep my pace up and though my run through the finish wasn’t a victorious sprint, I felt incredibly proud the minute I crossed the finish line.
My final results:
1:57:03
Apparently I ran a very consistent race, huh? I was surprised to see my average pace was the exact same for the first half of the race as it was for the second half of the race. I’ll take it!
I happily claimed my necklace at the finish (the race passed out necklaces in lieu of medals) and headed over to the post-race party with Caitlin. (<—She’s a new mom and ran an incredible race. I was so psyched for her!)
Check out the par-tay!
They had a live band, post-race yoga and massages, free wine, hot coffee, snacks and more.
I had a great time hanging with the other blogger ambassadors and chatting about our race experiences.
I loved meeting Renée and Lorriane!
Mary is a speedster and got second place in her age group! That cute tumbler was her award instead of a plaque which I thought was great and way more useful.
The group:
Renée, Presley, Mary, Caitlin, me, Amanda, Jane, Rachel and Lorriane (Unpictured: Michelle and her beautiful baby bump!)
And Tricia and Brooke, two of the wonderful women from ZOOMA:
Yesterday was definitely day to remember!
Hooray for a new PR!
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So excited for your PR! Wish I was there. My parents live on that beach now and the Ritz is where I got married! Oh the memories on that lawn!
Congrats on the PR! What an awesome race!
Congrats on the PR! I love your top, too 🙂
What an amazing and memorable race!! Congrats on the PR 🙂
Congratulations on your half Marathon!! Great time and I did notice your pace was exactly the same and I think that shows your training and dedication paid off!!
Congratulations Julie, sub 2 hour is awesome I am hoping to run that in April at the RNR Nashville. Hopefully the hills don’t kill me!
nice results! running in the sand sounds brutal though!
awesome!! congrats on this race 🙂 I love reading your re-caps, as I find them really helpful for my own running experiences.
First of all, congrats on the PR! Secondly, where is your wrist wallet from?! Love it!
Wow, congratulations! What an awesome time!!
Congrats!
Congratulations on your PR!!!!! What a great feeling!
Congrats and great post!!! Inspires me to do one one day…maybe 😉
Congrats on your PR! The sand finish sounds really fun.
CONGRATS on your personal record! That’s great! Just out of curiosity, do you have a breathing technique that you use when you run?
Congrats!! =)
Congrats on your PR! That is such an awesome accomplishment! I absolutely love that the race organizers decided to give out necklaces instead of medals. That is very cool, and it enables you to actually wear the necklace around and remember your race on a more regular basis – something that you cannot as easily do with a medal.
Out of curiosity, where do you get a wrist wallet to carry your race fuel supplies?
Congrats on a great race!
Congrats! Where did you get the wrist thing to hold your GU chomps? I never saw that before and it is a good idea, since I hate messing with those wrappers!
Congratulations! It looks like it was a really fun race! Especially with the sand at the end! Hooray for your PR!
Congrats! So awesome!
WOW! Congratulations on the PR. I do Track and Field with my High school and we go to a lot of meets. Going into it I thought I was a pretty decent runner, I was always better than my friends and I could run 5 miles no problem. My first race I came last and was really disappointed. The other runners were much better than I expected. My coach ran up to me and gave me a big congrats. I was really confused until he told me I had made my PR. Instead of concentrating on my placement I decided to concentrate on my PRs. This makes me a better runner and I hope to one day participate in a Half Marathon or Marathon!
Ps. Love Cliff Shot Bloks, and Gu Chomps, but the idea of Gu creeps me out…
Congrats Julie!!
How fun! Congratulations 🙂
It was pretty exciting to see your breakdown of the race Julie~It kind of gives me an idea of how it looks and feels while running such a long way. Great job!
Congrats on your PR 🙂 You’re amazing! What a great race, necklaces beat medals anyday! And all that yoga after- ahhh what fun. Makes me want to race..not run but race haha. Oh and sand for the end omg.
Way to rock your race! I’m so proud of you!
Congrats! It really sounds like a great event. I think post race group yoga is such a great idea!
You are such an inspiration Julie! I have followed your training plans for running and watched how your cross train and how you eat and have learned a lot. I ran at Disney World last weekend for the Half Marathon and despite the 35+ warmer temps than I have trained in, I managed to get my first sub two – and guess what??! The same EXACT time as you did! Good Karma for sure! CONGRATULATIONS! 🙂
Congratulations Julie!!
You go girl. I entered in my first 5K race for Feb 10. I’m so excited and should have done this a long time ago. I love to run.
Congratulations on your personal best!
Congratulations Julie! Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Congrats on the PR! Where did you get your wrist wallet? Does it just wrap around your wrist like a sweatband? I’ve never seen one like that and it looked really neat! I hate wrestling with a small pack around my waist during races when trying to get out my fuel!
tjmaxx!
Congrats on your PR! That’s fantastic and I’m glad you had such a good race! It seems strange that they would have you run on sand, though. I would NOT have liked that at all haha!
Congrats on your new PR, Julie! You inspire me. 🙂
CONGRATS!! What an awesome race for you!! I have a question about your fuel. I’m resolved to work on my long run fueling this year. I’ve always used Gu gel, but decided i’m going to try the shot blocks. How many did you take at a time?
Congratulations! That’s quite a feat. I’m happy that you got a necklace instead of a medal because you can wear it anytime! It looked like a lovely run. Cheers to your success!
Congrats on the PR!!! That is so awesome!! And looks like you had an amazing time at the race, which definitely makes the whole experience even better!
Congratulations!
That race looks awesome!
Congratulations, that’s so great! Loved reading all about it!
Congrats on your race! I am also wondering where you got your wrist wallet from. I usually use my spibelt, but sometimes it gets annoying trying to fish through my phone and chapstick to find my fuels. Also, what do you take your photos with on race day (well.. really how do you carry it with you during your run)? Thanks!
i used my iphone, but didn’t run with it. the pictures i took were taken after i was done running.
A bunch of the Chicago Running Bloggers and I did ZOOMA Great Lakes and made a weekend out of it. It was so hilly, but the party after it was fun!
So proud of you!! xo
Congrats on your PR!! That looks like such a fun race and a great place to set a new PR! 🙂
Congrats Julie!! I’m so happy for you!
Congrats! I ran my first full marathon yesterday (and it rained almost the entire time). I really enjoyed reading about your race prep as I was getting ready for my own.
I’m so pumped that you beat your PR!! I’m hoping to PR my next half coming up in about a month. Also, to echo the other ladies, where did you get your wrist wallet? I’m on the hunt for one now!