“Winning is Fun” – Recap of Marine Corps Half Marathon

 “Winning is fun, isn’t it?”  - I will always remember this comment I received in a LinkedIn message from a guy named Joe who I ran and chatted with for a couple of miles during the Alston & Bird Corporate Cup Half Marathon.  He was nice enough to send me a message of congratulations after he realized I finished as the first place female that day.

And again, Joe’s comment proved true Saturday when I crossed the finish line at the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Camp Lejeune as first place female with a time of 1:22:36.  Not only was I excited about the guaranteed paid entry to the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. that I had won, but I was even more thrilled (and somewhat relieved) that I soared past my goal of running a 1:25:00 half at around a 6:30 pace and instead was able to comfortably (relatively speaking) hold an average pace of 6:18 for those 13.1 miles.

While I crossed the finish line just a few minutes before 8:30 am, the day had started much earlier for me.  My alarm went off Saturday morning at 3:45 am.  I can remember nights in college when I probably was still up partying at that time…I’m not sure if I was crazier then for being up that late doing all sorts of stupid things or crazier now for being up that early to go run!

At 4 am (3 hours out from the race starting time), I ate breakfast – a banana, creamy natural peanut butter on cinnamon raisin bagels (best not to do whole-wheat on race day – excessive fiber may upset your stomach), orange juice, and one cup of coffee.

I then did a quick, easy little five-minute jog around my parents’ Emerald Isle neighborhood to make sure everything felt loose and allow my body to start waking up.  Other than the voices I could hear from the deck of a neighboring beach house where people evidently had yet to pass out for the night, it was calming and peaceful to run in the dark early morning hours while listening to the faint sounds of the ocean.

After getting dressed in all of my race-day garb (I did end up wearing the Nike Racing Boyshorts.  The replacement pair had a much smoother seam!) and drinking half a bottle of Gatorade two hours out from race time, I made the quick 25-minute drive to Camp Lejeune.  If I wasn’t awake before, going through security at 5:45 am with guys holding machine guns certainly woke me up.

About thirty minutes before race time, I did a few strides – a little easy jogging, then picked up my pace to around race pace for just a few seconds, then back to easy jogging.  I also did some light stretching, retied & triple-knotted my Brooks T7 Racers, and I went to the restroom one last time.

With participation around 700 people, it was not difficult to make my way to the front of the starting line to pack in with the boys.  I brought the remainder of my bottle of Gatorade from that morning and took a few sips – swishing the liquid around my mouth – during the few minutes before the start.

Once the race was underway, it only took about one mile of running in the coastal humidity before my hands felt sticky.  Around two miles in, we ran through a light shower of rain for about a mile.

All week long, I checked and re-checked the weather what felt like a hundred times.  While I was not as lucky as the little boy in this week’s Runner’s World motivational poster (http://www.runnersworld.com/fun/motivational-poster-58), I knew the weather could be worse.  It was most likely in the 60s when I started, but when I passed by one building on base that had an outdoor temperature display, it read 70 degrees.

The pack thinned out quickly, and I found myself running the majority of the race by myself.  The base was very quiet and while I did receive the occasional “Good job, ma’am,” I also passed by several Marines who appeared to be practicing to be grenadier guards, those guys who stand in stony silence outside of Buckingham Palace.  They were probably thinking, “Damn, that girl has some short shorts on!”

Other than the less-than-perfect weather and lack of crowd support, the only other slight challenges were a few minor elevation climbs and a bit of wind that I had to run against at times.  I really cannot complain too much about conditions.  The race did offer up water views of Farnell Bay and Morgan Bay, and I enjoyed running over a short bridge around mile seven where I had a few moments of uninterrupted water views.

Throughout the entire race, I focused on keeping good running form – chest up, shoulders relaxed, legs turning over quickly.  For the first ten miles, I kept the pace easy (again relative) and did not push myself much.  However, when I had around three miles to go, I started picking it up a bit to keep my pace below 6:15.  The last mile, I ran in sub-six minutes. 

Overall, I could not have been happier with how my body felt.  It was a solid day of running that gave me confidence that I am stronger now than I have ever been and that as long as I don’t get injured, I should be capable of reaching my goal of running a sub-three hour marathon in five weeks at the Marine Corps Marathon.

Yes – winning is fun, but it’s gaining confidence that makes your post-race beer taste that much better.

MCM Training Week Fifteen:  62 Miles

This Week's Beer Choice:  Waterfront Brewing Co.'s India Pale Ale