Out of Control Fatroll

I’m going to confess something. Remember how I had planned to run some half-marathons in 2010, and I was going to smash my previous PR time of 2:43 from the Dallas Half in 2008? You probably don’t remember that post. But I do.

In late November, I completely stopped running. It was probably a mix of a hectic work schedule, general holiday laziness, and I may have lost my motivation to run. That and my favorite purple running shoes broke when the tread fell off and I couldn’t afford a new pair (running shoes can be pretty expensive and I just couldn’t justify the cost).

Anywho, problem was, I had already paid to run in both the 3M and Austin Half-Marathon’s back in August (before my finances had sucked the life out of me, or else I wouldn’t have signed up for these).

And since I hadn’t been running the past 9 weeks (other than some sprints during bootcamp), no idiot would even consider running 13.1 miles. Right??

Meet an idiot.

My friend and boss Mindy decided to run the 3M Half Marathon (she’s in a marathon training program) and asked if she could crash at my place and then we could carpool together. Which was a great forcing function into making me run.

So Saturday night, after a fun dinner with the @fatroll girls (I made a @fatroll fail spaghana — lasagna with angel hair pasta instead of lasagna noodles), we went to bed at 10 pm and got up at 5:15. We ate a quick breakfast (peanut butter pancakes were a most excellent fuel source) and drove (or got blown by the wind) to North Austin.

I don’t really know how fast the wind was gusting — by my non-professional estimates it had to be gusts in the 40 mph range — and it was enough to delay the race by an hour!! AN HOUR! You have several thousand runners all huddled together to keep from blowing away while organizers had to find ways to keep the barricades from falling over in the wind. It was insane.

But finally, I started running. And like any first run after a break, it feels so glorious. Like you’re seeing your best friend for the first time in months. (it isn’t until the second run that your body protests the fact you haven’t run in awhile)

This course is awesome because among its features is a 4.8 mile drop. Uh, score! How can you not PR (personal record) this course, right?! Haha…

So I was definitely not running my fastest pace — partially on purpose — because the last time I had run this far was in February 2009. (once again, idiot) And the furthest distance I had done in the past three months was only 7 miles (bigger idiot).

So not shockingly, I hit a wall right at 7.2 miles. My pace had dropped from an 11:15 min/mile to a horrible 14 min/mile (which is the rate in which some walk… but I assure you my rotation was still operating like I was running). And that’s when I heard:

“BALTHROP!”

And lo and behold, it was my workout hero Kim/@energeticspace! To be honest, I was a little shocked to see her. Her general bad-assness has her running in a much different league than I do (she happily does 8 min/mile without much effort).

I was so excited to see her, until I saw her swollen and cut up hand/wrist and torn up pants. Apparently she had a spill around Mile 6 trying to avoid a dreaded pot hole. To be honest, I don’t know how she continued running — but she did and still managed to beat my time. Like I said, she’s a bad-ass. For the bit we ran together (before she passed my ass), I was able to get my pace back up to a more respectable level.

Normally around mile 8 or 9 I get a slight resurgence, which was the case. And then I hit mile 11. Mile 11 is where you could see downtown, but it didn’t offer you much solace because you are still 2.1 miles away from it. And the most glorious sign that a half-marathoner likes to see is the Mile 12 marker, because you know you’re just a mile away.

And then I saw the finish line (which still managed to be about three minutes away from the time I saw it). I almost teared up a bit because I honestly did not think I was going to finish this thing. I’m not just saying that either — I have never run a race with my cell phone until this one. I also ran with a bottle of water, which helped for two reasons: I didn’t have to waste time at water stops and I didn’t have to “stop” at the water stops.

I knew if I started walking (which I never had to, even though my pace towards the end would possibly suggest differently), I wouldn’t be able to stop walking. Or worse, I would try to start running again, and would give up after a few minutes and go back to walking.

I can’t wait to see the picture of me crossing the finish line, because I made absolutely no effort to pick up my speed. My legs had literally given me everything and I knew once I stopped, I risked falling (which I almost did after crossing). And one of the best moments was looking down at my Garmin and realizing I had beat my previous half-marathon time by nine minutes! Yippee! Of course, I immediately wanted to bop myself — because that time difference would have been greater if I had actually trained. Eh, whatevs. I’m happy.

Second best moment will be later today when I see my grandfather! I haven’t seen him in awhile and my dad always tells him that I run half-marathons, and so he thinks I’m totally cool. Which is just awesome. Unfortunately, I’m also seeing him in the worst of circumstances and he may not be conscious when I tell him, but hopefully he’ll be having a good day. What a great reason to run this race!

So here are a few tips to help get you through a half-marathon:

• Run for a reason. Maybe it’s for a person, and organization or your own personal goals — whatever it is, own it and use it as your fuel.
• Run with a friend. Even just for a moment, their energy gives you energy to carry on.
• Don’t be a dumbass and not train. Generally, you want to be at your best for these things. It’s as much mental as it is physical. Luckily, I had run two before, so mentally, I was fit and happy to be there. Physically, let’s just say that some of the older folks I’ll be seeing at the assisted living facility today will be moving faster than I am. I HURT.
• Don’t just run when you train. While I could say I’m a badass for beating my previous time without any training, the fact is that’s a lie. Yes, I didn’t run at all the past several weeks, but I did do bootcamps and regular weights. That played a huge role and I think it is an important reminder that while getting your miles in is important, having a well-rounded workout with muscle confusion is equally important. I think shedding 15 pounds from my last half-marathon probably helped too You are carrying less poundage, so you go faster! YAY @fatroll win!

Hopefully by Tuesday I’ll be back in the saddle and ready to kick it at bootcamp on Tuesday. But for now, I’m going to enjoy my pain and relish in the fact that I finished another half-marathon! YIPPEE!