Nike Women's Half Recap

[gt7301b]

I finally got around to writing up my Nike Half Marathon recap. I’m afraid I don’t quite have @vtcupcake’s enthusiasm: P

Packet Pickup
Was a breeze. I picked up my bib and shirt from a local running store and was in and out in 10 minutes tops. This was soooo much better than having to go into Georgetown.

Pre-race
I got up around 5AM, ate breakfast, and was out the door a little before 5:30. Getting into DC was a breeze, I drove in and parked on Constitution right before the road closures. I had a little extra time before my warm-up and just chilled in my car for a few minutes. I wasn’t 100% sure how far I was from the starting line and wanted to allow enough time for my warm-up and a bathroom stop. I ran an easy mile and headed over to the bathrooms. I only had to wait ~10 minutes for the bathroom, not bad for a race this size. I went ahead and got into my corral around 6:40 and waited for the race to start. I tossed my long-sleeve shirt around 6:50 and geared up for my pep talk from Shalane Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Race
I ran this race last year, but they changed the course slightly so I spent a fair amount of time the night before studying the course so I could shave as much distance as possible. My goal for this race was a sub 1:50, I knew the course would be long so figured I’d try to hang on to an 8:15 as long as possible and hope for the best.

I always start out fast and I was a little concerned when I passed the 1:50 pace group by the capital, but I didn’t want to take any chances with the extra distance. A little after mile 1 the race goes under a bridge and there is no Garmin reception at this point. I tried to settle myself down and not speed up too much under the bridge. I reached the 5K mark at 25:25 and was still feeling good, a little fast, but manageable.

Miles 4-11 basically follow one of my favorite courses, the Cherry Blossom 10 miler course. I settled into a pretty steady rhythm and was still hitting pretty steady in the 8:15 – 8:20 range. It my past few half marathons miles 6-9 were tough and I had a hard time maintaining my pace, but this race was different. I still felt good as I crossed the 10k split at 51:24.

There were several bands and still pretty good crowd support as we passed the Memorials and headed to Haines Point. I had some Easter jelly beans around mile 7. Mental note, jelly beans are great for training runs, but they were a little tricky when running faster. I was pleasantly surprised when I made my way onto Haines Point, there wasn’t a lot of wind and there was still good crowd support. At some point along here I tried to get Nuun, but ended up with water. My 15K split was 1:17:34, but once I rounded the tip of Haines Point I started to slow down a bit. I’m not sure if it was me or the crowds. These miles were still around 8:25. I felt like I could have run a little faster at this point, but it was more work to weave in and out as the overall pace slowed a bit.

Once we got off Haines Point and headed back towards the finish and the Capital it was time to FSU. There was a slight uphill as we headed back into town, but it really wasn’t that bad. The course opened up a little and I was able to pick the pace back up. Mile 13 took us back by L’Enfant and under the bridge, once again we didn’t have Garmin coverage, but at this point I was going balls to the wall anyway. Mile 13 was my fastest mile, 7:45, oppps! After the bridge you make a quick left and you are in the home stretch. Nike had folks taking your picture at this point, but you had to veer slightly to the right. I knew I was close to my sub 1:50 and I didn’t want to run the extra few feet to get my picture taken. I stayed straight, headed towards the finish line, and finished in 1:49:17. I PRed by ~ 2 min and knocked 9 minutes off my time since Nike last year.

I got my necklace, walked through the exhibitions, walked to my car and headed home. So EASY, especially for a big race.

The Good:
Packet pickup was a breeze
Easy getting to the race
Flat course
Plenty of water and aid stations
Great weather

The bad:
$$$$$$$$
Nike wants you to login via Nike+ and their social media sites, I’d prefer to just access a simple website.
I didn’t use the Nike training programs, but I felt they were too aggressive for beginners.

Training:
I used a combination of Pfitzinger’s 30 mile half marathon plan and Hal Higdon’s Advanced plan. I did the mileage from Ptizinger’s plan and speed work from HH’s plan.

Fuel:
I got Nuun once or twice on the course, but mainly water.
Gus at miles 3 and 10 and jelly beans at 7

[Brit]

Great job! Congrats on the PR!

[libbygrl109]

Great race! Congrats on the PR! I am so in awe of your progress this year.

[G22]

Way to go on the PR!!!

[boston340]

Whoa, that was a fast run! Great job and great review! What's next on your racing calendar?

[skwcm80]

Great job on the PR!!

[gt7301b]

May 9, 2014 13:56:11 GMT -5 boston340 said:

Whoa, that was a fast run! Great job and great review! What's next on your racing calendar?

Thanks!!

A few local 5ks and then training for MCM in June.  Although, I refuse to admit I'm actually going to be training for another marathon

[sadlebred]

Congratulations!

[sassystace]

Sounds like an all around awesome race day! Great job on the PR!

[breezy8407]

Wow that's a huge pR! Congrats