See Jane Run Half Marathon Recap

I freaking did it! I ran a sub 2 hour half marathon! ME ME ME

Garmin stats:
Distance: 13.24 miles
Time: 1:53:28
Pace: 8:34 min/mi

Official stats:
Distance 13.1 miles
Time: 1:53:24
Pace: 8:40 min/mi
35 out of 531 runners
9 out of 80 in my age group

To say I'm sooo very happy with my time is an understatement. I am HAPPY and PROUD of MYSELF. This is a 10 min PR for me!

I went into this race with a starting goal of 1:55 (8:47 pace), if I felt good I would speed up half way thru the race and then pick it up some more the last 3 miles.
I was actually nervous about being able to keep a sub 9 min pace for 13 miles. But I had confidence in myself. I wasn't going to let self doubt creep into my head. I COULD do this.


I picked up my packet from the See Jane Run store on Friday night.

I love the shirt! It's probably the cutest I've received from any race. I wanted to wear it for the race but already had my outfit picked out, plus I knew lots of other would be wearing theirs.
I wore a light blue tank and my Lululemon skirt that I haven't raced in yet.

After the race at home. Dash wanted in on the photo too

I got a ton of compliments from other racers, volunteers and spectators including a man that yelled out "Nice plaid skirt!" and another runner dressed head to toe in Lululemon with temporary Lululemon symbol tattoos on her calf's. I love this skirt not only cause it's pink but because it has pleats on the back.

 

Ok enough about cute running clothes back to the race...
The starting was very busy but I was helping the girls from my work set up their booth with massage tables and stuff. I decided to go to the bathroom and the lines were extremely long! Luckily this is an area I run on frequently so I ran to the next restroom which was about a quarter of a mile away. That was actually quicker than waiting in the lines!

When I got back I said bye to the girls from my work and set myself up a few feet back from the start. I had made a music playlist and titled it "Music to PR by". I set up every song specifically where I thought I would need it in the race and started it as soon as I crossed the starting line.

I decided to wear a 1:55 pace band so I wouldn't have to figure out later in the race if I was still on track to where I wanted to be. This actually helped me with not constantly looking down at my watch. I would look to make sure I wasn't going too fast/slow at times but mostly just looked when it beeped at each mile. I focused on every 3rd mile and made sure I was on track for my goal.

The course was along the Boise Greenbelt (where I usually run). The weather was a little warm but nothing too bad and once we got on track back by the river it would cool down more. Because I knew it would be warm I decided to run with my hand held bottle full of cytomax and took water a few times at the water stops. I took some Hammer energy chews at mile 5 and then took a Triberry Gu at one of the stations and decided to take that at mile 10.

First half splits:

Mile 1 - 8:56
Mile 2 - 8:41
Mile 3 - 8:41
Mile 4 - 8:44
Mile 5 - 8:41
Mile 6 - 8:45

I was feeling good and was going a few seconds faster than goal pace but I felt good and kept going hoping it wouldn't come back to bite me towards the end.

For the next 3 miles I picked up the pace some more

Mile 7 - 8:30
Mile 8 - 8:33
Mile 9 - 8:38

I was actually completely surprised seeing those split times at each mile. I was running negative splits even though I actually felt like I was going slower. There was a section, I don't remember what miles it was where the trail was being repaved so it was all gravel and didn't feel good on my feet so I actually thought it was slowing me down.

At mile 10 I decided to pick up the pace some more. I could feel the fatigue in my legs so I didn't know if they had it in them but I was going to try and hope that my legs held out. I tried not to look down at my watch and just went by feel and was hoping it was fast but not too fast. Each time I looked down at my splits I was surprised at how fast I was going.

Mile 10 - 8:29
Mile 11 - 8:28

By this point I just wanted to be done. My legs were starting to feel like jello. I wanted to walk. I kept giving myself pep talks that I could do this. That I could walk when I was done. I was almost there. There was a woman in front of me that was wearing a grey Lululemon skirt who I passed once but then she passed me again. I kept her in site. Her form looked strong so I focused on my form. By the time I realized it I turned the corner and there was the finish line! So I picked up the pace passing the Lululemon lady and about 1 or 2 other women.

Mile 12 - 8:16
Mile 13 - 8:05
Last .2 ran it in 1 min 52 sec or a 7:41 pace

I was so happy to see a 1:53 on the clock! But my legs were tired and felt like jello, I remember just saying f**k and trying to catch my breath as I walked up to one of the volunteers removing the ankle timing chips.

After that I grabbed my champagne glass, water and some bagel and banana pieces and walked over to the booth my work had set up to help out. Yes I worked right after I ran a PR half marathon! Stood on my feet for an extra 2.5 hours making sure runners came and got their free massage.

It was great to be able to help out. To see these woman whether they ran the 5k or half marathon, they were all happy and enjoying their day. I normally don't stay long at races but because I was working I was able to see the awards ceremony and also the last runner come in. I went over to the side line and cheered her on as loud as I could along with everyone else there. It was so inspiring. When she rounded the corner she saw the clock was at 3:59 so she ran faster as we all cheered her in. She crossed in 4:05 but the official time was around 3:50

I was also able to meet a local blogger too! The super cute Linzi from Beyond Destination 26.2
She also ran a PR half marathon and is training for her second marathon The City of Trees
We connected through email and I told her I plan to run that marathon so hopefully we will be able to get together for some runs!

This was such a great race. From the expo to the course I had a great time. I plan to make this race a yearly event!

Here are some more pics from the race

Start/Finish line

Some goodies I got after the race. They had a photo booth where they printed your pic for free so I took one of myself and one with the girls from my work.

My champagne glass rimmed with chocolate and medal

And one of me :)

I am still on a runners high!

I hope you all had a great running weekend too!