Colbert Half Marathon {Race Recap}

Friday afternoon I was feeling upset that I wasn’t going to be running the Leavenworth ½ marathon on Saturday. After looking online I realized I could register day of at the Colbert ½ marathon for only $20. I considered that to be a huge deal so I decided to complete the registration form. I asked both my mom and Mr. Healthy Diva what they thought about me running and they were both supportive. As long as I took it easy and didn’t let my competitive side come out, they didn’t see a problem.

Later that night I started to doubt my decision to run in the morning. My longest run since Spokane to Sandpoint was only 7 miles. Would I even be able to run 13.1? I decided to go to bed and then make my final decision in the morning when I woke up. When I got up in the morning, I still had some doubts, but decided to go ahead and run. I was going to run with my cell phone so if anything happened I could just call Mr. Healthy Diva to come and pick me up.

I got to the race about 30 minutes before it started and was able to quickly register. It was freezing outside and I was beginning to think I wasn’t dressed warm enough. At 30 degrees, my fleece and capri running pants were not keeping me warm. I wished that I had brought my fleece headband to keep my ears warm and some gloves. I just hoped that I would warm quickly once the race started or else it would be long ½ marathon!

The Colbert course is quite challenging with hills, but very scenic and runs through Green Bluff which is one of my favorite places to visit. Other than it being chilly, it was the perfect morning for a long run!

I took it easy in the beginning and felt really good. I maintained a conversation pace and walked about ½ way up each hill (I found that my HR would spike if I tried to run the entire hill). The miles ticked by really fast and I was enjoying myself. At mile 7, I was warm enough to take off my fleece so I stopped and took it off. By this time I was approaching the monster hill that seems to go on forever (between mile 7-10). I knew that there was no way I would be able to run the entire hill so I ran/walked it. Even doing this method, I passed a lot of people. At the top of the hill it is essentially all downhill to the finish line with only about 4 miles left. A guy that I was leap frogging with talked to me for about a ½ of a mile. He was very impressed that I was running the race pregnant and told me good luck. I glanced down at my watch while we were talking and realized I had dipped down into the 7:30 pace range and was ecstatic I was able to maintain a conversation at that pace even if it wasn't for very long. I knew I only had about 2 miles left so I just went for it and pushed the 8 minute pace. I was careful to keep my breathing and heart rate in check. 

The course ended up being short, but I finished in 1:53:36 which was an 8:53 average. My secret goal (don’t lie everyone has one for each race!) was to finish in the 2 hour range. I was very happy that I was able to run under that and still feel good. Even if the course wouldn’t have been short, I still would have run a sub 2 hour ½ marathon. I even didn’t get a ½ marathon PW which I was also surprised about.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:53:32.9	12.78	8:53
1	8:28.4	1.00	8:28
2	8:28.4	1.00	8:28
3	8:30.3	1.00	8:30
4	8:32.9	1.00	8:33
5	9:05.9	1.00	9:06
6	8:59.4	1.00	9:00
7	9:30.7	1.00	9:31
8	10:47.3	1.00	10:47
9	10:40.3	1.00	10:40
10	8:51.7	1.00	8:52
11	7:48.5	1.00	7:49
12	7:47.7	1.00	7:48
13	6:01.2	0.78	7:44

 Now do I dare say that I am excited to run another half marathon with Baby Bean?!

--Tasha