The morning of the race dawned clear and beautiful. The sun was just rising as we left the house at 6:40 and headed for the start. I had the luxury of getting dropped off right next to the start by Suzanne, who comes to races and supports Jeff. That was a super-nice convenience – thanks, Suzanne!
It was around 55 degrees – chilly but not unbearable in my short sleeves. Jeff and i edged our way up to the 10:00-12:00 “corral” – they started us in waves to keep things a little more sane that having 3500 people all start at once. (So there was one gun for the elite runners, a second gun for sub-7 minute miles, a third gun for 8-10 min miles, etc.) This was my first experience with the wave start, and i have to say i really liked it. Anyway, we went up to our “corral” and i noticed a guy holding a sign that said 2:30. I asked Jeff if he was a pacer, and he confirmed it and told me there should be a 2:15 pacer as well. I said i wanted to find that group and try to stay with them, so we did.
I had in my head that i wanted to run this race in 2:20. Where did i get this number? Well, i took 1:45, which was my time for the Tobacco Trail 10-miler and simply added 35 minutes, which seemed like a reasonable additional 5K time after already having run 10 miles. It’s also 12 minutes faster than my first half marathon two years ago.
After seeing the 2:15 pace group, though, i decided i would try to run with them, and if i fell behind near the end, then maybe i would still make 2:20. Due to the awkward start, i got pushed ahead of the pace group, though. So i figured i’d try to keep up with them whenever they caught me.
Mile 1: 9:51. Wished Jeff good luck and we took off. I was cold at first, but overall it was a good start. It was really nice not to have a bunch of people going too fast, and a bunch of other people walking and having to dart around them. I was just automatically running with people about my same pace. I was running a bit faster than is usual for me.
Mile 2: 9:50. Settled into a good pace. It was definitely fast for me, but it felt good. It didn’t feel like i was pushing myself beyond my limits, so i just went with it. We turned into one of the side neighborhoods and ran briefly along the sound. A charming spectator pointed to the bridge in the distance, saying “there’s the bridge – go get it!” It looked SO far away.
Mile 3: 9:48. I knew i had had two good first miles, so i thought if i had a good third mile i might even beat 30 minutes for a 5K. Alas, i didn’t quite make it, but almost!
Mile 4: 10:13. I don’t remember too many specifics about the next few miles. I had found my groove running mostly sub-10 minute miles. The sun was VERY shiny, i do remember that. I also remember thinking at the end of mile 4 that i was one-third finished. At the time, that made me happy.
Mile 5: 9:58. I think this mile was through neighborhoods again. The people were very supportive; it was awesome. I high-fived several kids. There were also some cheesy signs with jokes and facts about the Outer Banks on them.
Mile 6: 9:51. 6 miles in less than one hour! I was totally stoked. I realize the 2:15 pacers haven’t caught me yet, and i feel a little bit as i imagine Cindy and $Bill do when they do their hare-chasing runs (or whatever it’s called when you try to time it so everyone finishes at the same time), and you don’t want anyone to pass you. I still feel great.
Mile 7: 9:59. During this mile it seemed i passed a lot of people. I overheard one pair talking about how they were at 1:06 and would be happy to finish in 2:12. My clock said 1:02, so i knew i had caught up to some folks in the corral ahead of me, and i guess i was passing the slower folks in that wave.
Mile 8: 10:15. It was time to start thinking about the bridge. I could see the bridge, but couldn’t see the high part of it.
Mile 9: 10:27. Rounded a corner. THERE’S the bridge. It looks imposing. I can feel the pavement change as we step onto the bridge. There’s a long flat part before the uphill part ahead. I see a small sign taped to the railing that says “I’m not that bad, Love, The Bridge.” It makes me smile.
Mile 10: 10:39. In truth, the bridge really was not that bad! While i was running it, i thought how glad i was that i had trained on hills, especially saving the hills for the ends of my runs. This bridge wasn’t really difficult compared to how i have felt during training runs. I’m sure the adrenaline helped. And the ocean breeze, which was awesome. I made a point to really look around and admire my surroundings at the crest of the bridge. It really was beautiful all around.
Mile 11: 10:46. The beginning of this mile was still on the uphill of the bridge, but a good portion of it was downhill. The bridge took a lot out of me, and i had to really kick myself to take advantage of the downhill. “Audrey, it’s downhill! Stop pussyfooting around!” I just wanted to slow down. I did take advantage of the downhill, but by the end of this mile, i was getting pissed. My feet hurt and i wanted it to be over. I no longer cared about my pace or my time. I only cared enough to keep myself from stopping and walking.
Mile 12: 11:29. I really had issues with my breathing and with my head during this mile. I seemed to be around a lot of people who were loud. Talking loud, loud earphones, loud breathing, loud feet. And i was damn tired! I could not find a rhythm, and it shows in my time for this mile. But i didn’t walk! I may have been really slow, but the only thing i cared about was not walking. The stupid jokes on the side of the road helped. For example, there was a sign that asked, “What do you call a Fat Chimpanzee?” You had to run a bit to get to the answer sign, “A Chunky Monkey!” Some of the jokes were pretty bad, but it was just enough to keep you going.
Mile 13: 10:50. I finally just pushed everything out of my mind and concentrated on my breathing here. My feet still hurt, but once i got away from the loud people, i could breathe along with my own steps. IN-2-3-OUT-2-3. It helped a lot. Towards the end of this mile i heard some exuberant people coming up behind me. Two or three runners were shouting encouragement and calling out the times. I wondered if this was the 2:15 pace group, but i was too tired to turn around and look. However, as they gained even more on me, i saw the 2:15 sign out of the corner of my eye. Yep, it was them. I told myself “I have stayed in front of them the whole race – i’ll be damned if i let them pass me now!” It gave me the encouragement i needed to give one final push to the finish.
Final time: 2:14:50. I would have cried for joy if i had had any moisture or salt left in my body. I had that “happy-cry” feeling though, as i crossed the finish line in under 2:15. I was ecstatic. I beat my goal time by 5 whole minutes.
It was a great race – i was really impressed with the organization of the whole thing, and with the volunteers, who were awesome. Congratulations to everyone!
November 8th, 2009 5:42 pm
Awesome job, Audrey!!! I’m proud of you! How exciting to exceed your goals!
November 9th, 2009 10:22 am
You Rock Audrey! congrats on a great race
November 9th, 2009 2:04 pm
Wow! Good for you. I was hurting for you those last
miles. And totally jealous of your time!!!
November 9th, 2009 3:35 pm
Official results are posted at https://www.lin-mark.us/results_files/obxhalf09.txt.
Chip time: 2:14:54
Gun time: 2:23:58
Pace: 10:18
Overall rank: 1570/3381
Female rank: 808/2205
Age group rank: 152/371
November 9th, 2009 3:38 pm
I’m so pround of my big sister! Reading this post I felt suspense
like I was running it with you.
November 9th, 2009 9:30 pm
Fantastic!
November 10th, 2009 9:07 pm
CONGRATS!!!
November 13th, 2009 11:40 am
I agree with Nathan, I was running this with you as I read it. I love the sign on the bridge and that really brings life to this big race. We are like two peas in a pod: I do exactly what you do at the end: battle to stay running, not to be defeated by your brain that tells you to just walk. I think, quite honestly, you have one up on me as I probably would have let the 2:15 pacer pass me. GOOD FOR YOU!! What an amazing time!