So, here's how things went down this morning: we got up SUPER early (3:30am), showered, ate, and booked it up to Green Bay. By the time we parked, we had about 45 minutes to hang out and wait for the race to start. And then we were off!
I had been hydrating like no other for the past few days (especially yesterday) because I knew the forecast called for sun and heat. Still, the first water station came up about a half mile too late - I was thirsty! I was moving along at a great pace though - I was at about 26.5 minutes for the first 2 miles.
I hit my stride earlier than normal (normal = ~4-5 miles in, today = ~2.5-3 miles in) and was feeling great - warm but great! I was cruising along, stopping and hydrating at every water station (side note - Gatorade makes me sick). Miles 1-7 just flew by. It went so fast!
I had a hard time during mile 8, though I'm not sure why. I was back at my goal pace by mile 9 and continued to speed up from there.
Then mile 11 came up. Several police and all the volunteers were yelling at us to stop and head back to the last water station (about 2 blocks back). The race was being called due to excessive heat. The police told us that hundreds of people had collapsed and there were no ambulances left nor was there room at the emergency room.
We were 2.1 miles from the finish line and we had no choice but to stop and not finish. I was feeling so good that I really wasn't feeling the heat that much and I knew I could finish the race - and finish it under my #3 reach goal of 2 hours and 55 minutes.
Having no choice, we were told that we should wait for a shuttle to take us back to Lambeau (where the start/finish lines were), but most of us chose to walk back because we were only 5-6 blocks away. I ended up actually crossing the finish line but it wasn't real as I didn't actually finish the race.
I think what was so frustrating about this situation, even though I understand why the decision had to be made, is that I had worked so hard and was doing so well. I trained for nearly five months. I did 6 training workouts that were 11+ miles (two 13.15's). I had to plan around this date for traveling for work. It was definitely not the result I was looking for and I was mad.
I'm calming down now and starting to realize that, all along, I was in this for the training, not the race itself. The race was just my celebration of working so hard. It's a victory lap. I know I'm capable of completing a half marathon. There are several this fall in Wisconsin and I hope to sign up and train for another one. I've been told that training the second time around is not as big of a deal and won't take nearly as long (though, I really didn't need nearly 5 months this time around). I'm glad I did this and am happy with what I was able to accomplish.
So, with all that being said, I was able to get some race stats. I had 2 mid-race updates sent to me via my timing chip and I also wore a watch that I hit start on when I crossed the start line. So, here's as much as I know about my stats/splits:
Mile 2 (unofficial): 26:30 (average of 13.25 min/mile, pace of 4.56 mph)
Mile 5: 1:03:56 (average of 12.786 min/mile, pace of 4.69 mph)
Mile 10: 2:09:05 (average of 12.9 min/mile, pace of 4.65 mph)
Mile 11 (unofficial): 2:20:13 (average of 12.75 min/mile, pace of 4.7 mph)
Yes, you read that right - Mile 11 was 11 mins, 8 seconds, walking! I was booking it and feeling good! If I were to have continued at the average pace listed at mile 11, and I likely would have, I would have finished the half marathon in 2:45:45. Nice! I'm very happy with my pace, I have never reached this speed in training and my 5-mile Turkey Trot pace was only 4.6 mph, which was really pushing it at the time.
I wish I could post a photo, but my mom left with her camera and won't be back before I leave. I will post one when I get back to town and will ask her to post one to Facebook for those who are friends with either one of us.
I have to hit the shower and then I'm off for three weeks! I'll hopefully have lots of (good) hiking stories and great photos when I'm back!
