Davis Lucky Run Half Marathon Race Recap 3/19/15

Last Saturday I ran the Davis Lucky Run Half Marathon. It was a good first half marathon of the year for me. I reached my number one goal which was to get under two hours but a piece of me is a little disappointed that I did not run it in a faster time. Deep down I was hoping for a PR. From this race, I realized l have some things I need to work on.

PACKET PICKUP: Bib and shirt pick up was at Fleet Feet in Davis the day before the race. You can also pick up the day of the race too but since I didn't want to wait in line on race day, I picked it up day before and it was fast and easy. The shirt is nice.

RACE DAY: This was a local race for me so I did not have to get up too early. I was up around 6:45am and was out the door by 7:30am. It was more than enough time to do my business, eat breakfast (half a toasted bagel with pb), and get my Simple Hydration bottle ready and filled with Nuun. I drove to the high school where the race started which was only about a 10 minute drive. I was worried about parking but it was not a problem at all. There was plenty. I could have left even later if I wanted to (notes for next time). Temperature in the morning was 48 degrees, so a little chilly especially with just a tank and a running skirt on so I stayed in the car a bit before heading to the start line. 

By the start/finish area, there were lots of port a potty's around. They had them grouped in different areas too which was nice. I picked one with a very short line and was able to get in and out fast before lining up at the start. 

My goal for the race was to hit under 2 hours but my plan was to stick with the 1:55 pacer until about mile 11 or so and pull ahead. The only thing was when I lined up at the start, I did not see the 1:55 pacer. All I saw was the 1:50.  What the heck? However, I did spot Steph, an IG friend runstrongrun in the crowd and thought it was pretty cool to meet her. It was her birthday and she was aiming for a PR. Her goal was to get 1:55 or less, and that was my goal too. But with not seeing the 1:55 pacer, she planned on following the 1:50. I knew it wasn't a good idea for me, but I was thinking I'll see if I can hang for a while. Here is a shot of Steph and I at the start.

It was not long and the wheelchair racers took off and then we were off!

Here's the map of the course. I was pretty excited to run this route because I had not run in this area of town. It's always great to take in new scenery and see more of Davis's trails.

Credit: changeofpace.com

There wasn't much congestion and no bottleneck once we took off from what I remember which was nice. I felt strong the first mile but thought I should slow down especially when I saw my first mile pace was 8:16. I also let Steph run ahead. She's speedy. 

A cool thing about the Davis Lucky Run was they offered 3 different races. They offered the half marathon, a 7 miler, and a 7K. The last two are not your typical distances, so something cool to consider for those that don't want to run a half marathon. The race volunteers were very cheerful. They did a great job of telling where you needed to go for the distance you were running. The signs helped too.

Mile 2 - 8:34/mi

Mile 3 - 8:39/mi

I think we ran on a couple of these wooden bridges during the race. 

I was still feeling strong at mile 4 - 8:34/mi pace. It was fun to watch the girl in the pic below cheer at every mile sign she passed. It made me smile. I actually love it, "celebrate" every mile. 

At this point we were running by the highway and it got a bit boring. I was glad I had my music to entertain me. 
Mile 5 - 8:43/mi

At this point, it was nice to see the overpass where we were going to cross.

Mile 6 - 8:47/mi 
At mile 6, I was starting to lose steam. It was getting hot and it was here I knew starting out too fast was paying its price.

On the run it was neat to see hot air balloons in the sky. They are hard to see in the below pic, but they are there (towards bottom right).

So after mile 6, my mile splits just got worse.
Mile 7 - 8:54/mi
Mile 8 - 8:56/mi
Between miles 8 and 9 is where I saw Hubby and the kiddos. I was so happy to see them.

Mile 9 - 8:52/mi
Mile 10 - 9:09/mi
By mile 10, I was really struggling. What really got me was when I saw the 1:55 pacers pass me. I was like whoa, where were they at they start??? I guess they were there, but just hard to see? I actually got mad at myself for not looking harder. At this point, I had felt defeated. 

I did see Hubby and the kiddos again and they did help lift my spirits up a bit. 

My legs got heavier with each mile. My mental game was just shot. I just trudged on trying to stay under 9:30/mi pace.

Mile 11 - 9:16/mi

Mile 12 - 9:27/mi

Mile 13 - 9:15/mi

When I saw the finish I did my best to sprint. 

Mile 14 - 7:47/mi

My official results:

Here's a pic looking back a the finish line.

Happy I finished below 2 hours.

They had bottled water, bagels, bananas, oranges, and apples at the finish along with some other snacks. 

I did see Steph at the finish and she did amazing! She PR'd and got a time of 1:52:20. What a perfect birthday present for her! She is awesome!

Credit: Steph

So what did I learn from this race? I need to work on not starting out too fast. I need to look more carefully for the pacers. I should have stuck with my original plan and I can't let myself feel defeated. I know every race can't be a PR and that there will be bad races and there will be good races. It's just hard to predict what race day will be. Even though I struggled during the race, I think it is a great local race to do. Definitely one I would do year after year especially with the distance options it has. Hubby made a great point to me when I was talking about how bad I thought I did, he made me think about why I am running. I need to remember that it is fun. I'm doing this for the exercise and because it's fun. I shouldn't be upset that I didn't PR, I should just be happy that I ran and got a decent time. Here's to the next race! :)