Race Report: 2010 Davis Stampede Half-Marathon

Well, I am now a veteran of three half-marathons... how wild!  This last one was quite the mixed bag.  Here's a recap of this past Sunday's race, the Davis Stampede.

The morning began dark and early at 5:30am.  I rolled out of bed and tucked into some race fuel: a big bowl of 7-grain cereal, one banana, one tbsp organic chunky PB, one tbsp honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

While I ate, I thought about my race plan:

1. Start out easy, don't burn out too early!
2. Aim for a 9:00/mi average split.
3. Pick up my tempo at mile 10.
4. Sprint the last half mile.
5. Finish the race in 2 hours or less!

Given how I'd felt on my most recent training runs, I was a bit nervous my ability to stick to this plan, but I also considered that there's nothing wrong with trying my best - I might just surprise myself!

After breakfast, I showered (to help me wake up) and dressed in the gear I had laid out the night before.

Don't be alarmed by the positioning of the sports bra - it needed to dry overnight.

Packing some Gatorade, my iPod, a PowerBar, and flip flops, I headed out the door to pick up my race buddies, Emily, Renata, and Jin!  After trolling for parking, we made our way to the starting grounds and checked our sweats.

A few minutes before the gun, bubbling over with nervous energy, we lined up at the start.

 The "frontrunners," quite literally, waiting for the gun, hands on watch buttons.  We all started at a much more reasonable place in line.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, we saw Mark and Christine!  Mark proceeded to bike around the course, appearing at random intervals to act as our own personal cheering squad and photographer.  This act is about the most amazing thing a spectator/fan/friend can do during a race - from all four of us, thank you so much, Mark!  [All race pictures below came from his camera.]

  Renata and I with Christine at the start.

 Emily and Jin with Mark and Christine.

 Then, we were off! 

Jin and Emily ran together for most of the race, and Renata and I stayed together for the first nine miles.  

My race buddy and I started out at a pretty good pace, dodging around other runners for the first several hundred yards.  The course for the first two miles was straight, flat, and wide, giving us space to settle into a rhythm.  

At mile 2, we were keeping exactly a 9 minute split (meaning that mile 2 must have been faster than mile 1, since we were shuffling somewhat slowly at the start).  Yay, we were keeping our goal pace!  Renata knew about a secret toilet at mile 2.5, which I took advantage of, having consumed probably too much Gatorade at the start.  Renata graciously jogged in circles in the meantime.

At mile 4, Mark biked by for a photo op!  We look way too happy to be running, don't we? :-P

Well, that happiness lasted a few more miles.  As we crossed an overpass at mile 6, my knee pain returned with a vengeance, but I pushed onward.  And then, around the part of the course that passed by my apartment complex, I started to worry about needing a pit stop again.  By mile 8, I was really not feeling well.

[Reader Advisory: The following paragraph suffers from an acute case of TMI - read at your own risk.]  I've experienced digestion issues for pretty much my entire running "career," if you will.  They're pretty common in distance runners, but doctors don't know exactly why these problems occur.  Either way, as I approached mile 9, I knew that I needed to find a toilet, and fast.  Off in the distance, in a ballpark next to the race course, like a beacon in the wilderness, I saw a public restroom!  Unfortunately, I had to travel an extra 1/10 of a mile off of the course in order to reach the facilities, and then it took me a little while to feel up to running again.  

Long story short, this pit stop added around 4 minutes to my race time!  Renata had continued on by herself, so I was on my own now for four more miles.  Even though I had reached mile 9 at a strong slightly-sub-9:00/mi split, I was no longer optimistic about finishing the race in my goal time of two hours.

As I settled back into my rhythm, I told myself, "If you want to have even a chance of finishing in your goal time, you need to to bust it out for the last four miles of this race!  You should have nothing left at the finish line!!  As Nike so succinctly puts it, JUST DO IT!!!"  

So, I put pedal to the metal.

I was relieved that the last three miles of the course were total home turf - part of my usual running route and commuter bike path.  Thusly, I had a really good sense of how far I had to go - and I knew I could make it!   I rounded mile 12.5, a sweaty, gasping mess, and there were Mark and Shannon, who had come to cheer us on, staked out with camera ready!

When the finish line was in sight, I opened all the stops and willed my legs to sprint down the chute!

As I crossed the finish, my watch, which I had paused during pit stop #2, said 1:56:00! 

The clock, on the other hand, which measures time from the starting gun, said 2:00:48 - I could only hope that my official chip time was at least 48 seconds off of gun time...

Meanwhile, I found Renata, who had finished about four minutes ahead of me, and watched Emily and Jin cross the finish line!  

I am so proud of all three of my race buddies for completing this race like strong, awesome runners!! 

 Student psychologists/half-marathoners :)  Not pictured, the lovely Miss Renata.

After grabbing some loot and cooling down around the starting grounds, we all met up with some more friends at the Black Bear Diner [the third mention of that restaurant in this blog - it's sheer coincidence, as those are three of about five times I have ever even been in there!] for a post-race feast!

Mark, Shannon, Darlene, Maria, Emily, Jin, and Renata!

The feast!!!

I had a regular-sized Volcano, complete with three 7-grain almond granola pancakes, two sausage links, two bacon strips, and topped with two eggs over-easy!  And maple syrup, of course :)

 

Hungry runners chow down.  Mark, too.

Later that afternoon, the official results were up.  My gun time difference was actually 47.8 seconds, bringing my official finish time to 2:00:00.2!!!  That's point-oh-two seconds above my goal time!  Unbelievable. 

For the past few days, I've been deliberating on how to feel about this race. 

On the one hand, a 2-hr finish time was technically my goal, but, on the other hand, I was really hoping to come in below that goal.  

Slowly, I've arrived at the following conclusions: 

In my own mind/heart/whatever, I feel that I completed the distance in 1:56 - I actually ran those 13.1 miles at a very commendable 8:51/mi average split.  Yay, go me!  

However, there is no denying that, at mile 9, I took a 4-minute "break" of sorts.  This fact cannot be ignored.  But, I am now of the mindset that, given my very necessary pit stop, as well as my injury, it is fantastic that I was able to clock in at 2 hours!  

Lastly, no matter what my time was, no matter what happened along the way, I completed my third half-marathon.  I am a three-timer!  And, before the year is out, I hope to run my fourth and fifth half-marathons!

But those details are yet to come.

In the meantime, I have a very exciting race announcement...

Although I am a total novice, I recently posted about my commitment to becoming more involved with the sport of cycling, both to round out my fitness and assuage my overuse injury.  I just equipped my bike with fancy clip-in pedals!  And, what better way is there to build and grow as a cyclist than to train for a special bike ride??

So, on April 25, 2010, I will complete the Amgen Tour of California Stage 2 Breakaway Century Ride!  

A century is a 100-mile bike race, a major accomplishment for any cyclist - one might say it's the "marathon of cycling."  

This race is in the tradition of Gran Fondo, Italian for "Great Endurance," meaning that, while parts of the course will be timed, it is generally a friendly, more casual ride.  

Still, 100 miles in one day is no small feat!  This will probably be the most challenging athletic event of my life thus far, and I only have 10 weeks to train for it!

I will be riding to raise money for Breakaway from Cancer, and details about how you can contribute to helping me reach my fundraising goal will follow soon.

My official century training plan starts next week - you can check out my plan here, and I will update it as the weeks until the race tick down.

But until then, baby steps!  Tomorrow morning, I will attempt my first clipped-in ride... So, wish me luck! 

Also tomorrow, I will receive my Valentine's Day gift from my truly wonderful Boyfriend [still working on a better pseudonym... perhaps "S.O." for "Significant Other"?  I'll take suggestions]... I already know what it is, and it is positively the best, most perfect gift I could imagine! :-D!!!!

Today's Question: Have you ever raced for charity?  What was it like, and how was it different from non-philanthropic races?  Did you find that fundraising made the challenge of the race even more meaningful? 

Clip In, Clip Out, Repeat

The American Kennel Club National Championships are on TV right now.  So cute!

Hehehehe, the announcer just described the fur of a bull terrier as "smooth like an egg."  Also, according to the expert with the microphone, "Dogs do not wear contacts."  Hahaha, thank you for clarifying.  Silly fluffer dogs.  A Scottie won Best in Show.

So anyway, last Sunday's 12 miler could easily have been a recipe for running disaster.  I woke up nice and early and chowed down on some oatmeal and a PB PowerBar, but then Renata and I were a tad late getting out the door.  Eventually, I strapped on my trusty CamelBak with Fruit Punch Gatorade and off we went!

Unfortunately, my early morning breakfast (probably combined with the meager meal I'd had the night before) was not sufficient fuel for a long run started three hours later.  By mile two, my stomach was growling.  I had committed a cardinal sin of fueling!  I took some big gulps from my CamelBak hoping that the Gatorade would kick in and keep me satiated through my run, but I knew that there was no way I had 1,200 calories worth of fuel in that pouch.  Still, we carried on.

The middle miles of our run took us through the North Fitness Trail, which provides scenic views of the countryside (read: empty fields) and a smattering of fitness stations for your circuit-training pleasure!

  

 

Rings, anyone?  How about a balance beam?  Maybe if I hadn't already run 8 miles and didn't have five more to go...

By the time we exited the fitness trail at mile 9, three consecutive days of running (including my four-mile not-so-steady tempo run) had caught up with my legs.  They felt like bricks.  Every step required more mental and physical effort.  Renata had just caught her second wind and was picking up the pace a little.  I, on the other hand, could tell I was running on brute strength, rather than endurance, and I knew I had to keep it up for three more miles.  Torture.

But I pushed through it.  Even though I had to bring my pace down for the last mile or so, and I had nothing left for any kind of strides at the end, I finished the entire run at around a 9-minute split.  I immediately put food in my body, stretched, and iced my knee, and vowed never to underfuel and overtrain prior to a long run again.

All that said, I'm even more excited for my race tomorrow because a) I will be rested and b) I will make absolutely sure to fuel like a champion!  Compared to last weekend's 12-miler, this half marathon should be a snap!

Since Sunday, taper week has really been more about eating than running.  Not that there's anything wrong with that :)

I went a little overboard at the grocery store this week.  I had way more bags than I could carry inside in one trip, and, as I pulled into my parking lot, it was raining yet again.  Fortunately, I spied this little creature lurking beside my dumpster, and it saved the day!

 

Shopping cart in my house!

One of my overboard purchases was a truly ginormous tub of honey.

 

I put some in my chai with skim milk Wednesday morning.

One serving down, 107 servings to go...

I roasted an extra value pack of chicken breasts (3.5 lb total) in one cup apple cider, 1/2 cup orange juice, salt, pepper, and lemon-pepper seasoning.  Except the chicken, all of these ingredients were leftovers in my fridge from past culinary endeavors. 

 

Most of them got bagged and frozen for future consumption.

But one lucky chicken breast became a topping for sweet and savory pizza lunches!

• Two Boboli whole wheat pizza crusts
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 pears, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 roasted chicken breast, diced
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

Spread spinach leaves evenly and flatly on each crust.  Fan pears to cover spinach.  Sprinkle with nuts, chicken, and bleu cheese.  Bake according to package directions, until chicken and cheese lightly browned.  Slice and package for lunches.  Enjoy!  Makes 6 servings.





Yay lunches!

Dinners this week were salmon alla vodka with a special twist!

• 1 jar vodka sauce
• 1 box whole wheat linguini
• 3+ cups baby spinach
• 6 salmon fillets, grilled(-ish... see below)
• Special twist ingredient!

 

Can you guess the twist?  Sundried tomatoes!  Heat sauce on medium, stir in 1 package sundried tomatoes.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, place spinach in colander (in sink).

When pasta cook time has elapsed, drain into colander over spinach.  Toss spinach and pasta until evenly dispersed.

Splash!

Top pasta and spinach with sauce and one salmon fillet.  Flake salmon and mix with sauce.  Eat up!  Makes 6 servings.
 

I need to comment on the salmon that I used in this recipe.  Always the frugalista, I purchased three boxes of frozen "classic grilled" salmon fillets by Gorton's.  The ingredients included more than just "salmon," but I'd had luck with frozen fish in the past, and these were on special at Safeway.

 

Flame grilled, eh?

These "fillets" were curiously the same size and shape as kitchen sponges.  I prayed that they tasted like salmon...

 

 

But, microwaved according to package directions, the salmon tasted like salmon and proved an excellent combination with the other ingredients!  I probably won't buy this packaged fish again, but at least now I've learned my lesson - if you can't see the actual fish, leave it in the store.

For desserts, I had fat-free chocolate sorbet, which was very rich.  A great substitute for ice cream!

Tiny bowl!

Breakfasts were variations on egg whites and/or banana toast!

 

Twice this week, I dined on food not prepared by my own hands!  Exciting!

Faced with statistics-induced plummeting blood sugar levels, Shannon, Jimmy, and I made an emergency dinner run to the Black Bear Diner during a late-night study session on Monday.  I had a Small Volcano, which consists of two 7-grain almond granola pancakes (ah-may-zing) topped with an egg (not pictured... because I ate it), a strip of bacon, and a sausage link.  Nom nom nom!

Stricken by a major caffeine headache during my office hours on Friday afternoon, I ran to the campus coffee shop and grabbed a small hazelnut coffee and a totally sinful carrot cake.  I believe I finished that cake in about three bites.

 

And now for some big news...

Although I am a dedicated runner, and hope always to be a runner, I have decided to become more serious about cycling. 

I have the bicycle for it, I have the endurance, and I certainly live somewhere that supports cyclists - the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame is located right downtown!  Additionally, I believe that incorporating more cycling into my training will only improve my running, while preventing exacerbation of my overuse injury.

So, as a first step towards becoming a real cyclist, I made a little trip to my local bike shop for one very important upgrade...

Bikeypoo smooshed into my trunk, seat folded down, front wheel detached, ready for travel.

En route, I passed a golden-clad statue of the official state animal.

After inspecting my equipment options with the help of the staff (the same guy who sold me the bike, in fact!), I made my selections and dropped BikeBike off for installation. 

Bikemonster awaiting service inside the store... It was like dropping my baby off at daycare (I should imagine).

I had to leave him there for over an hour!  Boo hoo!  Meanwhile, I took care of some errands (that's right, another grocery store).

 

Trader Joe's, how I missed thee!

Finally, I picked up my big blue bike, complete with new parts, and brought it home to play!

My upgrades...

A top bar-mounted bike computer!

On just a brief spin around my apartment complex, I reached a max speed of 19.1 mph!  YES biking is awesome!

Reversible "Campus" pedals!

 

Platforms on one side for commuting and city rides...

...and SPD clips on the other side for super-fast training rides!!!!  

And clip-in (a.k.a. "clipless," ironically) pedals naturally lead to...

My very first pair of cycling shoes!!!!

They're pretty girl ones (even though I don't have a pretty girl bike).

 

The cleats on the bottom need to line up with the ball of your foot to secure you to the pedal in optimal "power transfer" position.  Listen to me, using real cyclist terminology!

Per the bike guy's advice, I set myself up in a door frame to practice clipping in and out. 

 

Oh my gosh oh my gosh!  I'm clipped in for the first time!

 I'm going to wait to take the new pedals for a real spin until after the race tomorrow - I can't risk a clip-induced accident that might prevent me from running.

Stay tuned for my Davis Stampede Half Marathon race report - as well as an exciting announcement about future race plans!

And... wish me and my race buddies good luck for our big day tomorrow!


Today's Question:  Do you own a bike?  What kind?  Do you use it more for exercise, transportation, or decoration?