Wisconsin Half Marathon Race Report 2018
Woo hoo! I ran a new personal record (PR) at the 2018 Wisconsin Half Marathon by 1 minute and 48 seconds! My new half marathon PR is 1:49:27! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was hopeful our winter weather would make a comeback this week and I’d get to race in weather like what I’ve been training in – usually in the 30s (and windy – but no wind, no gracias). But no, we had our one week of spring last week, then during race week, we saw a few days with highs in the low 80s. Ha! Typical – it seems like every year, this race is either one of the first “warm” days of the year or HELLA windy. I am not sure which is worse!
I decided to still go for my 1:50:00 goal time because eff it – I had been doing some tempo runs at faster than PR pace and thought I could do it. So what if it’s in the 50s/60s and sunny with no clouds (and not much wind, yay)? I checked the weather before the race for my records (53°F, 75% humidity, with a 5 mph wind from the west), put on sunscreen, and didn’t think about it for the rest of the race. It’s not worth my mental energy – it is what it is. When I felt sweat dripping down my arm, and the hot sun on me, I thought “what a beautiful day it is!” and “I am so glad I have sunscreen on!” (I know those temps don’t seem bad, but I am a cold weather runner, and we had NO time to acclimate (ha, like I ever do acclimate to the heat…))
I was thinking about doing a half mile warm up, but nixed it, since it was so warm out. And with the 5K starting at the same time as the half and full (huh?!) I figured I wouldn’t start too fast. I was worried the start would be a huge cluster and I’d start off too slow, but it was fine! The new course (with less turns at the start) really seems to let people spread out, yay!
I had talked a bit of strategy with Pete this week (thank you, Pete!) and he really emphasized starting off conservatively, which I agreed with. So most of my first seven miles were me trying not to go too fast because I felt so great! Goal pace was 8:23 minute miles, and every once in a while, I’d get excited about something and accidentally speed up! But I felt like I was keeping it in check, and hoping I’d have a faster last three miles. And I noticed I was not running the tangents perfectly (despite trying), so I was glad to be a bit under pace and have a buffer!
The race starts in the downtown area and goes south to a neighborhood, then turns around to head back north. During mile 3, my Road ID became loose on my shoe and was clanking against my foot and making me a little nuts. I wanted to focus on how my body felt (awesome!) and not on that. When I saw Steven between mile 6 and 7 near the downtown area, I had him take it off real quick! Thank you, Steven! You rock for so many reasons!
The first seven miles FLEW by. I remembered feeling bored in the first half of the race last year, so I made an upbeat playlist and listened to it the whole time I ran. It worked!
The last six miles are an out and back that goes north toward Carthage College and back downtown to the finish. This part is fun because you get to see everyone out on the course (there is an out and back in the beginning too, but it’s a bit too spread out at that point to see everyone you know).
This part also has inclines. Definitely not hills, but inclines. I still felt great until mile 8/9, but the inclines and the open sun were getting to me. I’d try not to slow down too much on the up, then pick up the pace on the down. For the last four miles, my legs and arms felt like they each gained ten pounds. I would see friends and wave or grunt or try to say their name, but I was obviously running low on juice! (I took a gel at mile 4 and 8.)
But eff it I WAS THERE TO PR!!!! I kept pushing, kept using my pace band (comparing it to my overall time, then to the race mile markers, since my tangenting was off), still trying to keep my buffer. I knew I’d PR if I got in under 1:51:15, but I really wanted that sub 1:50!
The last few miles were HARD! It went from feeling easy and me thinking I’d maybe run 8:00 minute miles to finish (ha) to me struggling to make goal. But I did it! It wasn’t pretty, but I did it, and my positive split is not horrendous.
I’m proud of this race, and these splits. That race pace felt so great in the beginning let me know I trained right and was ready to PR. And I didn’t let it discourage me that it got hard in the end. I repeated my positive mantras – “I feel good,” “I can do this,” “I trained for this,” “I want this,” etc. – for the entire race. I ignored that beating sun (finish temp: 61°F, 63% humidity, with a 6 mph wind from the WSW).
I was SO glad to stop running though. Man, that last mile felt like it took forEVER! I stumbled a bit when I stopped, and a volunteer helped me over to water/Gatorade, where Emily was, and she helped me get four cups of Gatorade, which immediately helped! Thank you volunteers!!!!
Then I met up with Steven and we cheered on the rest of our friends running!
Rachel ran the race (and stayed over the night before!) and so did seven of my Essential Fitness (Efit) friends!
Rachel, Bobbi, me, Judy, Dawn, Rael, and Micah (two Efit friends not pictured)
Steven and I got vegan hot dogs at the food tent, hung out for a bit with friends, then headed home! I love how close this race is to our house (about twenty minutes away), and how easy it all is. It’s well organized, you can park close to the race about an hour before, packet pickup is quick, the aid stations are plenty (I only used a few since I carried water), etc. And bonus – it’s an affordable, smaller race.
This was a big year for the race – they were celebrating ten years since the inaugural! I dig the “cheese” cake logo! And since I am a ten consecutive years in a row runner, I got a blanket! Nice touch!
I’ll probably be back next year, even though every year when I struggle in those inclines (even with doing hill repeats every week since December, what the heck!) I tell myself I’ve got to quit. I just can’t! Maybe they could run the course in reverse? Ha! Or maybe since it’s so dang close, I could go TRAIN on it. Huh, there’s a brilliant idea!
Themocracy
Congrats on your PR!! It was very warm today. Looks like summer is here.
Thank you! It sure does!
Sub 1.50 wow. I bet you would have went even faster if it was cooler. Well done!!!!
I wanna try get a PR either half marathon or 10k after the 50k is over. What do you recommend for the HM long tempo runs?
I love all the SWAG its looks nice. 10yrs in a row you can’t quit now!!!
Thanks!
What worked for me was doing one tempo run a week starting two months out. I would have liked to start earlier, but was still 5K training! I started with 1.5 or 2 miles at tempo, then built up. I got to 5 miles at tempo, and 2 sets of 3 miles at tempo. I would have liked to get to 7 or 8, but didn’t have time because of 5K training. I did a 2-3 mile warm-up and cool-down after each.
I can’t! Ha!
Congrats!!! I was wondering how you did in the heat. It was a scorcher. Did you ever find sunscreen that you don’t mind while running? I was working at the finish line towards the end of the day and I got super sunburnt!
Thanks! It was! I hope you aren’t feeling too crummy today from your sunburn. I definitely had the sun headache yesterday.
I found some I can tolerate. I use CeraVe on my face (Anne recommended) and am using the Walmart brand sports spray on my body. The spray won’t work as well when it’s more humid, but it was fine yesterday!
Congratulations on a race well run! I’m so glad the stars aligned yesterday for you to benefit from all your hard work and training. You got an awesome PR even with it being a warm and breezeless.
I love the logo (and the shirt color) this year, and I like that you got a blanket for your 10-year “streak” at this race. It’s nice that they appreciate returning participants! (Also, I remember when you ran the first one, so there’s that!!!)
Thank you!!! I am grateful it all aligned too! I think I was feeling a bit more upset with how that 5K went after all… so it was nice to get a PR in a different distance!!!! 🙂
I love that we’ve been friends long enough for you to remember! And I remember when you ran Chicago that year, and how nice and cold it was, ahhhhhhhhhh. I definitely liked that I got something “special,” and something useful (I love blankets, ha).
Yeah! I’m so excited for you- congratulations! I’m very impressed with how well you re-framed any negative thoughts about the heat into positive thoughts! I’m going to use it as my inspiration to try and do the the same at my half next weekend.
Thank you!!!! Definitely use positive mantras next week. Seriously, anything negative will just slow you down and mess with you!!! Good luck!
Wow! That is so excellent! What a great race for you, especially with the tough lead-up to it. Also, great splits for the run! Hope that you gave yourself plenty of R+R afterwards.
Thank you!!! I plan to take it easier this week 🙂 Maybe. Ha.
Congratulations again!!! I’m so excited that you got a PR, especially hearing how hot and sunny it was! I think your mindset that it’s a beautiful day, not a miserable scorcher, definitely helps 🙂 So do positive mantras! The heat plus it getting hard in the end makes me think of the HM we ran together and how awful I felt, and how I just could not stay positive. It makes such a big difference!
Good idea with an upbeat playlist too! That’s one of my strategies too, since I’m used to training with music anyway.
I love the shirt and medal this year, they’re both so cute!
Thank you! I’ve learned from some humid races to allow myself to think about it once then not dwell on it again! Oh man, it WAS so dang hot for the half we did! Blah!
Yeah! I wish I was mentally strong enough to run sans music and not get bored, but with no one to run with, I just can’t do it right now!
I like them a lot too!
Congrats on the PR! Woo hoo!! It’s funny that both of our half PRs were run in hot weather and we both MUCH prefer cooler weather. Go figure! I guess when it comes to a half PR attempt we can shut out all of the normal distractions/excuses and just power through. I’m calling your splits pretty damn even! Fastest was only 8 seconds from average and slowest was only 14 seconds from average (and that one was an outlier). That’s excellent pacing – you kept them all in such a narrow range. Congrats again!
Thank you! And thanks for your help last week! I thought of you in every mile!
Ha, that IS funny for us. So what could we do on a cooler day?! 😉
Thanks! I am proud of those splits, even the slower ones!!!! 🙂
No problem, let me know if you ever need any assistance in the future! Maybe we go out too fast on cool days since we think conditions are ideal and are more tentative during the early miles on warm days, which make our overall pace more even/negative? Either that, or it’s simply that most of the half marathons we run are in the summer and our fitness has peaked from winter/spring training!
Thank you, I will!
Yeah, I bet it being warmer at the start keeps us honest. And we are feeling awesome from all our winter/spring training!
Wow, congrats on your PR and notching that sub-1:50! It was a hot one out there. I’m always so impressed by people who manage to PR and hit goals in rough conditions.
I know you’ve been wanting this PR for a long time. Good things really do come to those who wait!
Thanks! I really didn’t want the weather to be my reason not to get it, so I ignored it!
Ha, I think it was more (for me) like good things come to those who train 😉 The last times I’ve gone for this, I hadn’t been doing the tempo runs, but had been running overall faster long runs that I thought would translate. Training specificity, for the win!
Congrats on that PR! Sounds like all your hard work paid off 🙂 And how cool there were vegan hot dogs!
Thanks! Yeah! I’ve never checked until now (they could have had them every year)!
CONGRATS!! Well Done! It is great to see you running so well!
Thanks! 🙂
Yay!!! I’m so happy to hear that you got such a great PR on Saturday, especially since I would NOT have considered Saturday’s conditions to be particularly PR-friendly! I spent most of my day in the packet pick-up/t-shirt exchange tent, and I saw you and Steven walk by after you had finished and saw that you had your pace band on (…I’m not a creeper, I swear. Hahaha.) and wondered if you had ended up going for it. I’m glad you did and that you did such a great job! Huge congrats!!
Thank you! I didn’t think it was PR-friendly either but it left me really encouraged for a cool overcast race someday!!! 🙂 Ha, totally not a creeper – that pace band is pretty obvious! LOL! I actually really like those rubber pace bands. Much better than the homemade paper ones!
This is such a fun recap to read! Huge congrats on that PR – girl you are amazing!!! Seems like 2018 is turning out to be your year for some pretty sweet race times!
Thank you!!!! And I hope it does turn out that way – I’d love to keep the momentum going!
Great job, Kim! Way to hold it together those last few miles. Great splits.
Thanks!