22 seconds

My family and I traveled to Washington, D.C., during Spring Break of 2011, so we could visit our dear friends and former neighbors. the Nelsons. Diana Nelson is the very first person I met in our neighborhood before we moved in. On the day I closed on my brand new home, she was the only neighbor nearby who had already moved in (our neighborhood was far from being built out), and because we were returning to California for 6 weeks before we officially moved to Texas, I really wanted someone to watch over my house and have my house key. The moment I met her I knew I had a friend for life. There is just something about Diana and her amazing family...these are the types of people you just don't get to meet very often in life.

Unfortunately they only lived two door down from us for 3 years, but during those 3 years, our families became very close. Diana is actually the person who introduced me to running back in 2007 (I don't think she imagined how big a part of my life it would become!) Our youngest daughters are only 15 days apart in age and were quickly best friends. When they moved to Arlington, Virginia, in 2010 we are all heartbroken, with the promise we would visit over Spring Break. 

We did just that, but unfortunately we missed the National Marathon and Half Marathon, a race Di was running, by just a week. I made another promise...I would fly out in 2012 and run the half with her. They are due to move to Thailand for 4 years, so it would be my last chance to see them and race with Diana for a long time. 

On March 15, I flew to D.C. and spent a fantastic 4 days with the Nelsons. Diana and I would be running the Rock 'n Roll USA Half Marathon (RnR took over the race) on St. Patrick's Day and I felt very prepared for a possible PR (1:59:26) and even possibly breaking 9-min pace (<1:57:54). My two previous long runs were just shy of 10 miles and at 9 minute pace even. I had a shot at it, that's for sure.

Hanging in DFW on my way to D.C.

Diana was actually injured leading up to this race and trained mostly on her bike rather than running. She was able to knock out a 9.5 mile run but not without major IT pain afterwards. It really was going to be a shot in the dark whether or not she could complete the distance without pain, but we were going to try. She deliberately didn't tell me any of this until the week before the race, knowing it would weigh on my mind and she didn't want anything to interfere with my mental training. She's a smart lady! She also didn't want to hold me back if I was having a good race. Our plan became to start together, for me to set the pace and she would hang in there as long as she could, hoping against hope it would all work out. I would have to determine if I would go ahead or stay with her if she had to slow. I honestly didn't know what I was planning on doing, right up until race morning. 

The weather was not conducive to a PR for me. The starting temp was creeping up to 60, it was sunny, yet incredibly humid (95% at race time). The temp was slated to be close to 70 by the 10am, when we'd be finishing. I would be tough to keep a fast pace, but I was going to make a good effort. 

One other thing I was going to do differently, and this was somewhat decided because of the weather, was that I wasn't going to be a slave to my Garmin. The only time I planned to look at my pace was in the first 5K, and only so I could make sure we didn't start off too fast. After that I would run by feel and look at my mile splits as the watch alerted me. I could determine after about 8 miles if I needed to speed up or if I was on target, and if I felt I could push out either a sub-2, a PR, or my stretch goal of sub-9 min pace. I really REALLY wanted a sub-2 hour at the very least, but my heart was also set on finishing with Diana no matter what the time ended up being (I figured she definitely could get a 2:04 at the slowest). 

It didn't escape me that this was my first half marathon since my terrible, gut wrenching, grief stricken half in San Antonio in November of 2009, just three months after my sister passed away. It was an awful, yet cathartic race for me, and stands as my slowest half by 10 minutes. I've run the distance countless times since then in training, as fast as 2:02, but a race is a different ballgame. This was a big deal for me.

Me and Diana pre-race

Ami and Diana

And finally, 15 minutes after the start, we crossed the starting line and got into our rhythm. I'm glad I looked at my Garmin a couple times during those first 2 miles since I did catch us at sub-9 pace right away. It's so difficult to start off slow when you're pumped up about the race. Seeing the United States Capitol directly in front of you at the beginning doesn't do much to help quell your excitement! My plan was to get us to about 19 minutes or so after 2 miles. We did it almost perfect....9:45 first mile, 9:21 second mile, then we dropped it closer to 9 minute even pace. After 5K we were right on target at 29:24. I hoped to be just under 58 minutes at the 10k point.

Waiting for the start in our corral

A huge American flag and a sea of green at the start

I tried to pay enough attention to look at my watch when it beeped at every mile split, but I totally missed it at 5 miles. Unfortunately, this was a very hilly race. I didn't look at the elevation map beforehand so I wouldn't freak myself out, and I figured nothing could be as hilly as the Austin Marathon, so I could handle whatever it threw at me. Ha! Dammit, this was feeling really hilly! Diana told me later she noticed there was a very long steady incline during this middle part of the race, and looking back at the elevation chart totally explains why I fell off pace here. Mile 5 was 9:27 and Mile 6 was 9:16 (both should have been about 9:00-9:05). But I had no idea Mile 5 was so far off because I missed looking at my watch. I do remember wondering at the 10K point (I hit it at 58:25) why I was so far over 58 minutes. 

Diana had moved from alongside me to just behind me during Mile 6. I figured she was just pacing off me and staying just behind was comfortable for her. She was feeling just fine from what I could tell. I wasn't doing a lot of talking because of the humidity, which was kind of a bummer because Di and I always like to chat during our runs. But I knew preserving my lungs during these first miles would benefit me later. After the 10K split point, I glanced behind me to see where Di was and I didn't see her. A few more quick glances without seeing her told me that she intentionally dropped back without telling me. She wasn't prepared to increase our pace and didn't want to slow me down. She knew I was feeling okay and would want to drop the pace to the finish and she wanted to give me the opportunity to run my race, rather than holding back because of her. She's quite the stubborn lady, that one. 

Knowing I wasn't going to find her, I plowed on ahead and tried to increase my pace little by little. All those little hills after 7 miles look minor, but at the time it felt like they just wouldn't stop coming. Luckily, miles 7 and 8 seemed to fly by for me.

It took me a bit after the 10k split to get down to sub-9 pace and I knew I was really pushing it for a sub-2 hour finish. The humidity definitely gave my lungs a beating, and I was feeling the fatigue in my legs. The sun wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. All in all, I do think it could've been a lot worse. Despite all this, I did manage to continue to speed up and hit some target miles. When I hit the 10 mile mark at 1:32:35 I knew I had a shot at even possibly a PR. I remembered being right at 1:32 during my PR half marathon back in 2008, so I wasn't that far off. My "Rainman" brain did the calculation....26:50 final 5K for a PR, 27:24 for a 1:59:59. I needed 8:40 pace miles to the finish, 8:50 at the slowest.

I was hurting, however. The constant hills wore me out, it was getting hotter, and I was honestly just ready to be done. During mile 11 I accidentally cut off another runner taking a turn and she shoved me. It really didn't do much for my attitude. My mood brightened when I saw my Mile 11 split come in at 8:33, however. It gave me some wiggle room on my pace.

My optimism was a little short-lived, however. I definitely was slowing down during Mile 12. I unfortunately didn't look at my Garmin to see just how much I slowed. There was another small hill at this point in the race.

9:13. Uh oh. This would have been a really good mile to have been a slave to my Garmin pace. Hindsight is 20/20. 

I got a bit of a break during Mile 13...it was downhill and I was riding the euphoria of almost being done. I knew the finish was about a quarter mile uphill curve, and I was definitely worried about it. I didn't have much left in me to battle the incline and I was cutting 2 hours very, very close. A glance at my time and distance told me I needed about a 9 minute final 1.2 miles to pull off a PR and it was going to be very, very tough to do. But I kept my head in the game and pushed on. When I started the final ascent to the finish I honestly thought I had the sub-2 hour finish., but not a PR. I remember glancing at my watch and still seeing 1:58 and I didn't think the finish line was too much further away. But because it was on a curve, I couldn't actually see where the finish was and it felt like it was taking forever to reach it. I continued to push until I glanced again at my watch and saw I was already at 1:59:50 with the finish line finally in sight. But it was simply too far away for me to reach in time. Knowing sub-2 hours was out the window, I did something I never do....I slowed down at the finish. I figured it didn't matter if I got 2:00:10 or 2:00:20 at this point, so I might as well enjoy crossing the finish line in less pain!

The final stretch in front of RFK Stadium

22 seconds

As I walked through the finish chute, I had a mass of emotions come over me. I was a little heartbroken at coming so very close to breaking 2 hours again, yet I was amazed that I pulled of a 2:00:21 in conditions that usually do me in. Humidity is my nemesis because of my asthma, and add in the heat, and I could've easily completely fallen apart. But my 5K/10K/10 mile/Finish splits were all strong negatives. I never felt like I needed to stop running, and I did almost the entire race based on FEEL, not based on what pace my Garmin said and what I thought I should be running. I maintained a 9 minute average pace for the final 10 miles, and it was what my body wanted to run, not what I was forcing it to run. This race was far hillier and more difficult than my PR San Antonio race, which was also pre-asthma onset.

Just a little sweaty :)

There were so many great things about my performance, that the fact that I missed 2 hours by a mere 22 seconds didn't really seem to matter all that much. I realized that on a flatter course, with more favorable weather, I possibly could have gotten a 1:55. My body was actually possibly in 1:55 shape for the first time ever. It was a huge confidence boost. 

I found Diana after the race and she ran very well all the way to the finish WITH NO PAIN! She finished in 2:03:48 and quite possibly could have hung in there with me. But I think her plan was smart. She ran even splits to the finish and felt great the entire time. Her performance was just amazing considering she hadn't been able to go beyond 9 miles pain free in months. I was so very proud of her! A little mad that she allowed me to get ahead of her, but proud nonetheless! We both had a lot to be happy about.

Diana, Ami, and I headed back to Arlington to have brunch. I realized at this point that I had completely forgotten about one of my pre-long run rituals....a cup of coffee. And now I was seriously craving it! As soon as we sat down at the cafe, Le pain quitodien, I ordered water, a Mimosa, and coffee. It was blissful.

Overall, I loved this race. The organization was great, the shirts are really nice, the expo was a blast and I bought some great stuff from Brooks, the start went off without a hitch, the water stops were well managed, and with the exception of the uphill finish, I thought the course was a lot of fun. Washington, D.C. is a beautiful city and we got to see a lot of different parts of it. It certainly a race I would consider traveling for again. 

My overall stats:

2:00:21 Finish

4747 out of 16,321 total finishers

2233 out of 10,725 women

291 out of 1540 women ages 35-39

Yeah, I'm happy with that!