March 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

It looks like I'm going to give it shot running the half tomorrow. I will be taking it very easy, just trying to finish. And not make my back worse. The course is 4 of the same loop so I have plenty of opportunities to bail out if I need to. I was so not excited about that when I signed up but now it seems like a good thing - not that I want to bail but just for breaking it up into manageable sections.

Thanks for the good wishes. Hopefully I'll have good news to report tomorrow that I came out unscathed from the whole thing and can check a March HM off my list!

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
03/01/21 :::: 3.2 :::: 3.2
03/02/21 :::: 2.1 :::: 5.2
03/03/21 :::: 3.1 :::: 8.4
03/04/21 :::: 2.9 :::: 11.2
03/05/21 :::: 5.0 :::: 16.3
03/06/21 :::: 9.0 :::: 25.3
03/07/21 :::: 4.0 :::: 29.3
03/08/21 :::: 2.4 :::: 31.7
03/09/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 31.7
03/10/21 :::: 3.7 :::: 35.4
03/11/21 :::: 4.5 :::: 39.8
03/12/21 :::: 10.1 :::: 50.0
03/13/21 :::: 5.2 :::: 55.2
03/14/21 :::: 3.1 :::: 58.3
03/15/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 58.3
03/16/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 58.3
03/17/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 58.3
03/18/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 58.3
03/19/21 :::: 13.3 :::: 71.6

Race report: A needlessly long report just to say "I survived". Feel free to skip.

The race was the Lake Effect Half Marathon and typically this race is in February I think and it is always snowy and miserable so I have never done it. Although I volunteered at the finish line one year and nearly froze to death. But it was postponed due to covid this year and moved to a different location away from the lake. So there was no lake effect snow and in fact it was a beautiful sunny day. It was about 25 degrees when I headed there in my car, but warmed up quite a bit. It's about 50 now but during the race I don't think it was over 40. I was a bit overdressed for what I would normally wear for a race but because I wasn't planning to race hard I was okay with tying a jacket around my waist when I was ready to take it off.

The start was well done, with about 30 people in the corral at a time lined up in pairs. You started in the on-deck area and then when the previous group was done, moved into the start area. Then 2 people at time started every 10 seconds. It seemed to move very smoothly. And there were almost no lines for the porta potties because of the staggered start times which was such a nice change.

I was feeling ok but a little worried about taking this on. It really was not a great idea probably to run a HM after 5 days off running because of back issues and in brand new out of the box shoes. But they were the same model I've worn for a long time so I wasn't too worried and thought fresh shoes were better than the worn out shoes that I waited too long to replace.

The course was a loop of about 3.4 miles and we looped it 4 times. It was very flat and on neighborhood streets. When I started it took me a while to warm up and feel less awkward after not running for several days. But the first mile was my fastest for the whole race. It started to feel more normal a couple of miles in and I felt pretty confident finishing the first loop. Loop 2 seemed but around mile 5 I had a side stitch and had to work through that. I really wanted to just stop as I rounded the corner and passed the finish area knowing I had to go around twice more. Things got a little shaky around mile 8. My back was pretty ok, but everything else seemed tight and sore, probably trying to compensate and protect my back I tightened up. I remembered I had a pack of honey stinger chews in my pocket so I got those out and ate them and took some water at the aid station right there. That may have helped a bit.

I saw my trainer lap me at about this point so I knew he was on his final loop and would be done in about 15 minutes, where I had a LOT left. I was a little bitter about that happy for him. Things were tough finishing this 3rd loop and I really wanted to call it and bail out. But I couldn't do it. I passed the finish area and gritted my teeth and said I can do one more effing lap. I kept saying at all the landmarks I remembered - last time I have to pass that thing/those people and estimating how many more songs on my playlist I had left. Just 5 more songs, that's nothing! I tried to pick up the pace a little to get this thing over with but it seemed like I couldn't move any faster. Looking back at the pace though, mile 13 was my second fastest. When I was approaching the last corner, there were some people that I had seen every loop and they were chalking encouragement on the street and really enthusiastically cheering every time. One woman had asked me the loop before it if was my 4th loop and I had sadly said no and this time she said THIS is your last loop. GO! And I smiled and tried to pick it up a little. I rounded that last corner and saw the finish and gave it as much kick as I could and even gave a bit more to pass a guy in the finish chute. I was so relieved to be done I almost cried.

This was not the race I would have hoped for obviously. I would have liked to have been up to going for a PR of under 2:10, but instead I told me friend yesterday that I was hoping to at least finish in 2:30. I squeaked in at 2:29:25. But I did it. I finished, didn't walk at all except for walking through a couple of water stops, and I don't think I am too much worse for wear. I took a hot bath and now I'm alternating heat and ice to just soothe things a bit, but it mostly I think I just have normal post-HM tired soreness in the legs and feet and the back seems about the same.

March HM done ✅
Race swag and my HM a month challenge medals for the first 3 months under spoilers: