Helvetia Half Marathon Race Report

Before I begin, I just have to say, last October, when we started running, I never would have imagined we would finish a half marathon. And, when I say “started running”, I really do mean from scratch. We started running with the Couch to 5k Plan, meaning we could only run up to 1 minute at a time in the beginning; that’s a long way from completing a half marathon! And, *spoiler alert*, yesterday we did, in fact, complete our very first half marathon ever! It was hard, but I think that’s kind of the point! ;)

One other thing. We started running last October, so we have only run in cold, wintery, and/or rainy, cloudy weather; none of this “warm sunshine” business. So yesterday was not something we may have been prepared for weather-wise, but we did our best guessing what we should do on a warm-weather day, but there are definitely some things we learned. But isn’t learning what first big races are for?

We arrived at Hillsboro Stadium bright and early at 6am. The race didn’t start until 8am, but we had heard about the horrible traffic jams you might face if you arrived closer to the start time. Since we arrived so early, we were able to walk around the area and figure out where the starting line, bathrooms (yes, real bathrooms), and the finish line were all located. We headed back out to the car for about 30 minutes, then got our bodyglide and sunscreen on, and headed for the starting line.

Since we were no longer “new” to this thing called the starting corral, I knew that I didn’t want to be stuck in the back behind all the walkers (and I new there were a lot in this race). So we hit up the bathroom about 30 minutes beforehand, then lined up about midway between the timing mats ahead, and the end of the roped off section. When we lined up, there weren’t too many people around, but as they started piling in, the same ole formula of “this looks like a good place to stand” began. There were 2 people with 3:30 pace bands (for the half marathon) just in front of us…Luckily, the start of this race was pretty wide, so it wasn’t a big issue for this race. Yay!

Just before the race started (do we look nervous, because we were!):And we’re off! Here’s a course map, if you are so inclined.

Miles 1-5

We started off at what felt like a reasonably comfortable pace. We weren’t having to do too much dodging, which was nice. We started off with a fairly flat stretch which took us toward the overpass we would cross at both the start and finish of the race. Mile 1 clocked in at 8:58…hmm. That’s not quite the 9:30 I was shooting for. Oh well. We kept running at what felt comfortable. We probably could have tried starting slower, but I’m not sure how much that would have helped in the end.

Our strategy for water was to carry our handhelds (20 oz. I think) and drink at every aid station (there were 9 on the course). This had worked fine on our previous runs (up to 12 miles) and may have worked better for the race if the weather had been a little friendlier! :)

Miles 2-4 clocked in at about 8:50, which was still faster than we were going for, but we went with it. We were feeling good, and were definitely working off the race energy surrounding us. These were mostly flat sections leading us into Mile 5; the big hill. We made the ascent with a little difficulty (it is a hill), but all in all, no worse for the wear. This mile was definitely slower, but we made it through without issue.

Mile 1: 8:58
Mile 2: 8:50
Mile 3: 8:50
Mile 4: 8:52
Mile 5: 9:42 (Big hill)

Miles 6-10

After the hill, there was a nice downhill (thank you!) followed by another, smaller hill (or two), but overall not too bad on the stretch that I think most runners would say is the most difficult section. Mile 7 and half of 8 were on an out and back stretch that shoots off from the rest of the square like loop. I tried to keep an eye out for Jen, but didn’t see her, although I saw some other runner friends, which was fun! We made the turn around and realized we had just come down a bit of a decline, who knew?! We made our way back toward the square loop, and quickly realized that there was to be no more shade for the race. :(

The next few miles seemed mostly downhill (reflected in our pace). This was definitely when I was ready to be done. I was looking ahead at the sea of runners wondering where the next turn was. Then it finally came, time for the gravel… (Yuck!)

Mile 6: 8:50
Mile 7: 8:59
Mile 8: 8:41
Mile 9: 8:45
Mile 10: 8:57

Miles 11-13.1

We passed the last aid station on the gravel portion. Lessons learned: Refill your bottle if it’s stupid hot out, your bottle is almost empty, and especially if your friend is manning that station! :P I was still of the mindset that I wanted to run the whole way. It wouldn’t take long for me to change my mind. When we finally made it off the gravel, I was hurting, mostly from being so thirsty. Than I realized I was nearly out of water. I kept thinking: “It’s ok, I have less than 3 miles left!” Surprisingly, that’s not as motivating as it may seem. It’s more like “I have 3 more miles??!! Oh, come on!” We were nearing the Mile 11 marker, and I had to walk. I told myself I could walk until the Mile 11 sign. As we passed the sign, we started running again, although probably slower than we had been.

I knew there was one more incline coming, to get over the overpass. I also knew that I needed to walk that, so we did. I told J several times that he could run ahead if he wanted to, but he wanted to stick with me so we could finish our first half together. (Stubborn, isn’t he?) That seemed cute, until after the race when he told me that now it would be easier for him to get a new PR! :P We reached the peak and began running again. We passed by the location of the first aid station, but it had been all packed up. I was soooo thirsty, and my head was starting to feel a little funny. This seemed like an endless stretch that would never end, then we finally made the final turn that would take us to the stadium (aka: The Finish Line). When we hit mile 12 I told myself: “Only a little over a mile to go! You can do this!” So I tried to pick up the pace. This again seemed like an endless stretch. Every time I saw a large building, I thought that must be the stadium; but no dice. Around the last corner, I had to walk one last time. I was so lightheaded, thirsty, and dehydrated at this point, I’m pretty sure I would have passed out if I hadn’t have walked. As soon as we saw the parking lot everyone was turning into for the final stretch, I started running again. Then we passed the Mile 13 marker. As we entered the stadium, I just ignored my body and gave it my all. (7:53 min/mi!)

Mile 11: 9:47 (first walk break)
Mile 12: 10:02 (walked up the last “hill”/overpass)
Mile 13: 10:49 (last walk)
Mile 13.21: 7:53 (Don’t give up!)

As we were coming toward the end of Mile 12, a few guys passed us and told us that we we only had about 1/3 of a mile left and 3 minutes to break 2 hours. I’m fairly confident that if I hadn’t been so freaking hot and dehydrated I could have found it in me to pull out a 10:00 min/mi, but today wasn’t that day. As J said after the finish, “I would rather miss the 2 hour mark and finish, then have you pass out and not be able to finish.” Touché! Secretly, I really wanted to break 2 hours, but I’m still so happy that we did so well for our first half. And hey, there’s always next time! Hopefully we can make it a cold one! ;)

Results:
Garmin:
2:01:42 (9:13 avg pace)

Official:
2:01:46 (9:17 avg pace)
Age Group 57/319

So, to recap. We did pretty awesome! And we learned a few things:

1) I need more water if it’s over 60°. (Maybe it’s because I used to be a swimmer? :P ) Maybe I’ll look into getting one of those belts for warmer races. The more I carry with me, the better I will feel. I don’t want to rely on aid stations.

2) It’s ok to walk through an aid station, stop, and refill your bottle! (D’oh!)

3) There’s no shame in walking! We were still on target to break 2 hours, even with a few walk breaks.

4) Let’s incorporate some hill training. It certainly can’t hurt!

I’m not sure about our starting pace. We may have gone out too fast, but I feel that if the weather had been more accommodating, it might not have been so bad at the end. I am fairly sure I was dehydrated at the end. I drank so much water at the finish line! And when we got home, my head was killing me, and my throat was so dry! We’ll just have to see what happens next time. I’m fairly certain we can break 2 hours. And by “we”, I mean J can for sure break 2 hours, and I’m fairly certain I can too. (Just maybe not by as much… :)

This week is probably going to be a non-running week, but I’m hoping to hit up some yoga classes! I’m hoping we can find some classes that we really like, and can incorporate into future training. I definitely noticed that my hips need some strengthening as well as some stretching, and I think yoga will help with that. (Plus, it’s fun!) I’ll let you know how it goes!

I’ll leave you with a pic of the starting line (taken from a helicopter!)

Hopefully I’ll have more pictures of *us* when they’re put up online (I was in no state to take pictures during or after the race!) I tried to give a smile to each of the race photogs, so we’ll see how that turns out!

Hope everyone else out there had a great weekend, too!