The plan was to run the Malibu Marathon…BUT a silly thing called LIFE got in the way…dealing with personal stuff and knowing that I needed to stay close to home in RWC…SO…. I backed out of Malibu…it was a sad BUT right decision.
Big Sur just happened…I got a last minute entry and I took it happily. I had heard a lot about the courses beauty…. so I was pretty excited to race.
Headed to Monterey Saturday afternoon to pick up my race stuff…met up with my PAL for some chicken nachos and a few beers! http://www.peppersmexicalicafe.com/
Checked into a crappy hotel…and then got the news that my application wasn’t accepted for Boston…PISSED off I fell asleep around 11PM…. woke up at 5:45AM equally pissed.
Sunday RACE morning was cold…the sky was clear BUT it was cold…I layered up in a base layer, long sleeve dry fit, tights, a vest and gloves…. headed to the race start…and hung out just watching and listening to the people. So many people running their first race…that is always fun to see the excitement in their eyes!
Lined up in the corral…decided to hang with the B crowd…still layered…still cold…A corral took of at 7:05 and 1 minute later the B corral was OUT!
I made the mistake of NOT even looking at the course…or even coming up with a race strategy…I also made the mistake of not bringing my own GU…
The first part of the course winds through downtown Monterey….then out thru Cannery Row and into Pacific Grove…pretty rolling first 6 miles..My calves weren’t working properly for some reason…and I was pacing a little under 8 min miles…NOT fast and NOT feeling the race.. I knew I could go faster and FINALLY at mile 8’ish decided to get my race on. Hit the turn around and it was downhill for about a mile…I kicked it into gear and started pacing around 7:10 min miles from there out…The entire second half of the Big Sur course is along the ocean….the air felt crisp and good on my face…BUT my body was so hot from all the layers that I was mad at myself for not checking my stuff…I was also still pissed about the Boston screw up and mentally I was disconnected from my race.
Finally hit the 11-mile mark and started pushing a little harder. MENTALLY I got myself IN CHECK…NEEDED to be done the entire race….the final push was on a bike trail…it was pretty flat and fast…I looked at my watch and realized that if I pushed a little harder I could PR…with a 1:40 and change…picked up a little speed and saw the finish line ahead of me…the clock said 1:41:48…wooo hooo! PR’d by 1 minute! Remember the staggered corral starts?
Post race beers and deep fried pickles at the Mucky Duck with @g_monee...GOOD times! http://www.muckyduckmonterey.com/index.html
WHAT I do know is that I can run a half faster then I did in Big Sur…what I learned is that every race needs a strategy…even the little ones. I also learned that your body heats up pretty fast and that’s why they have sweat checks!
Overall BIG SUR Half is a gorgeous course…and the race is very organized. Stuck around for the race awards…never do that…and was motivated by all the top finishers and the speed that was out on that course. This race was NOT a top 10 for me in my age group…I was 13th and ???? overall female finisher. I KNOW that I have to up my game so I can run with the fast chicks. I also KNOW now that YOU can’t let the stuff in your head affect your race…
Next up…VEGAS Rock and Roll Marathon…see ya there!
I’m in corral 2 and I’m #2369!
