Race Report: Too Cold to Hold Half

On January 29th, I trekked down to DFW to see my family, spend time with Dominique, and initially to travel with my dad down to see the kiddos and family for a belated Christmas. He decided not to come so it was just me solo for the trip. I had been stalking the weather leading up to the race, and was very concerned it would be too warm. Keep in mind many of my runs have been below zero training for this race. This race was far from a "goal" race, but more or less something to have on the calendar to make sure I didn't sit on my butt all through December and January when it is SO VERY EASY to sit on your butt, because brrrr (see also: below zero all day e'ery day!).

Going into the race I thought I would run it between a 2:12-2:15 based on my training. I wanted to follow a similar training program as I did for the Monster Dash Half: 1st 3 miles at 10:15, 2nd 4 miles at 10:00, 3rd 3 miles at 9:45, and the final three miles all out. The weather was gorgeous; low 40s, breeze. Yes I was one of a handful in shorts and a tank. All week long people had been freaking out about the weather. I was cheering for the cooler temps!

I started out the race WAY TOO FAST. I don't know if I got caught up with the rush of runners or what, but at one point I looked down and I was running a sub 10 pace, but my heart rate was incredibly low, so I didn't worry about it too terribly much. We ran around White Rock Lake for the majority of the race and it was such a beautiful day that I spent most of the run taking in the sunshine and the NON FROZEN LAKE. Whoa. I kept it fairly steady in those first five miles.

 

 

My brother had mentioned he would be around the turnaround, so I was shocked and thrilled to see them much sooner than that. And Dom! I didn't think her and her kiddos would be able to navigate and spectate so I was super excited to see everyone! It definitely put a pep in my step. Which was needed because immediately after I saw them I ran on a bridge that bounced as I was running on it. PANIC. WTF. Gaaaaaah!

1. 10:01
2. 10:10
3. 10:20
4. 10:15
5. 10:08

Shortly after this point we started to reach the nice long incline of the race, and once we conquered that, we were met head on with the wind. Uff da. Coming off of the water it was hitting me much stronger than I expected. I swear I didn't feel this at my back! It was around this time that I started to notice how far over my mile splits were. I'm not a tangent running wizard, but it was a little bit out of control. When we hit the half turnaround for the out and back race, my watch read 6.95 miles. Uh... my brain isn't great at doing math when I'm running, but I don't think 6.95 x 2 = 13.1.

I caught Dominique on the way back and she managed to snap pictures of me where I was trying to tell her that the course was super long, and I'd be at the finish around 2:14-2:15. Instead I just looked like a crazy person ranting, and I don't think she heard or understood me. Normally, I would give up knowing that my goal time was out of the question, but I put my head down and kept going. I knew that the sub 2:12 I had been on pace for was a 10:00 pace, so I would focus on whittling down my overall pace as my new goal.

 

 

6. 9:55
7. 9:51

Around mile 8 or 9 I was again surprised by my family and Dom, and all of the kiddos were ready to give me a high five for an extra boost! Which was great, because I was getting tired, and thirsty. OMG so thirsty. Can I drink out of the lake??

And then I saw my family yet AGAIN. As I saw my brother come to a stop in his car, and the kids piled out and sprinted down to the bike path to cheer me on. I think we have future runners in our lineage. :)

8. 9:52
9. 9:47

10. 9:49

Usually with a 5k to go, I can put my head down and go to work, but I was pooped. We had a longer incline during the second to last mile, and did I mention I was THIRSTY?!? There was a water stop in mile 11 and 13 so I walked through the stops to chug two glasses of water. I had packed my salt pill in the pocket of my shorts so I didn't get questioned by security at the airport, and then ended up wearing a different pair of shorts for the race. GAH. That would've been helpful to have. I did work as hard as I could during those last few miles.

11. 10:10
12. 10:02
13. 10:10
.39 3:29

I finished 13.39 miles in 2:14:03 for a pace of 10:00. Exactly. Whoa. 

 

I posted a picture on instagram, and another racer mentioned that a mile sign was moved on the out portion of the out and back, and everyone was talking about the course being long at the finish, but I didn't see any other mention of it anywhere. Oh well. My pace was pretty spot on for where I thought my fitness level was in the middle of a base building session, and I was thrilled to see I had a smidge of mental toughness in me when I realized the race course was going to be long and my time was going to be much slower than I was working for. Baby wins, I'll take 'em!

Half marathon no. 28 done!

Thanks for all of the amazing pictures and video Dom!

Too Cold to Hold Race Goals

The Too Cold to Hold half marathon was an excuse for me to go down to Texas to see my family, see Dominique, and a reason to keep my running up over the terrible winter months. I fell off the wagon a bit in December (see also: very very cold) and sucked it up in January because 13.1 miles is a long way to run if you aren't ready for it.

There are a few variables not on my side for this race. Mostly, I have been training in negative degree temps. So even if Dallas has a major cold front come through and its in the 40s the morning of the race, that'll still be 50 degrees warmer than what I have been running in. Eeps! Also, I've been following a base building program to gear up for my Brookings Half marathon training cycle. So I've been doing a lot of slow miles. That doesn't necessarily lend itself to a speedy race time, but that is okay with me, because this isn't a goal race!

I'm excited to run another half, regardless.

A Goal--2:07. All the stars in the night sky would probably need to align for this to happen.

B Goal--Sub 2:10. My training leading up to the Monster Dash half was really really strong, and I barely squeaked in under 2:10.

C Goal--2:12. This was my pie in the sky goal for the Sioux Falls half marathon last September, so it's kind of fun that it's my C goal for this race.

No matter what my time is, I'm just excited for a little get away and a change of scenery while I run some hard effort miles!

My Next Goal Race

I have been itching to get on a plane going anywhere. A couple of months ago, I had the crazy idea that I should go down to Dallas for the Dallas Marathon, take my dad along with me so he could see the family, and I could have a race weekend, see my fam and spend some much needed time with Dom! I'd priced out flights and was all ready to go, until I realized that the Dallas half registration fee was $130 this late in the game. Uh... what?! That's almost $10 per mile. Pass.

I put the idea out of my mind until I thought of the Cowtown Marathon, knowing that was one that Dominique had done previously, and it fell on the weekend before my nephew's birthday! But then I realized that race was ALSO over $100 for registration. WTF Texas. I guess everything really is bigger in texas, including race fees. Give me my $35 South Dakota half marathons any day I guess!

I accepted defeat on my southern race plans until I was bored one day and started looking through more halfs in the Dallas area. And that's when I found the Too Cold to Hold half the end of January. The flight was really reasonable, and when I approached my dad with the idea, he didn't completely turn me down. Wahoo! And the coolest part is that a good portion of the race is on White Rock Lake which is walking distance from my brother and family. Instant spectators!

Having a race in the middle of winter really helps my running motivation in the cold. Bonus points for a weekend getaway, and time with friends and family!

My fastest half in Dallas (09).

My slowest half in Dallas (12).