Wow, it’s been a month since I updated you guys on anything, basically right before I hopped on a plane to Detroit to run the Rock CF Rivers half marathon. This is my second time running this race, the first time being in 2014. I absolutely LOVE this race. It’s not only for a cause near and dear to me, but overall, it’s just really well run and a total family affair, which I love. So, here is my Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon Race Recap.
On Saturday, a team of 13 of us boarded a plane from Boston to Detroit, landed, grabbed a few rental cars, dropped our stuff at the hotel and headed to pick up our bibs before the expo closed. It was super quick to check in, get our bib numbers, our race shirts (below in blue) and we met up with Emily, who created the event and runs the foundation Rock CF (in gray). She is this tiny, ridiculously amazing force of nature who sheds light and humor to everyone around her. We talked with her for a while and then took a team picture with her and her nieces and nephew–aren’t they adorable?
After buying Ashton and myself new Rock CF shirts, we went out for a quick, but yummy team dinner and got back to the hotel early so we could rest. Here is my flat runner the night before.
I went to bed early and ended up getting up really early on race day and had plenty of time to have breakfast, get dressed and meet the Vertex team to head over to the race around 6:30 am. I was a bit nervous because of the flight the day before and that fact that I spent most of that day not drinking any water, so I spent much of the morning hydrating.
We arrived at the race start and thankfully, was able to keep warm in the high school gym since it was FREEZING outside. We were able to mingle and get a team picture with Emily right before the race started and before everyone broke off. This was the first year that there was not only a 5k and half marathon, but a half marathon relay, which was a really cool option for a few of our team members.
I had resigned myself before even getting on the plane to the fact that I was likely not going to PR this race. While I completed my training plan exactly as prescribed, I was just not feeling as strong as I had hoped I would. Going into training my goal was to run in the 1:40’s, but I just knew I wasn’t able to do that for this race. I was mostly okay with that and reminded myself that not every race can be a PR and that this is much more about supporting the cause than getting a PR.
My friend Lindsay and I decided we would run together and stay with the 1:55 pace group. This felt really doable for me, with not such a hard effort on my part. This was Lindsay’s first half, so I was excited to run and experience it with her. This was also the first year of offering pacers, which I personally love! Before the race started, we ran to the bathrooms and then we started to line up with the rest of the half marathoners. It was COLD out, like 20 degrees cold and SO windy. I am glad I brought my gloves and hat because I could barely feel my fingers!
The gun went off and we crossed the starting line. We were right next to our pacer for the first mile and a half and then I felt it….I had to pee. Not like, oh, I can hold it until the race is over, a….holy shit, I need to find the quickest port a potty. I definitely over-hydrated, something I have never done before while running. I have never once had to stop during any kind of run or race before to pee.
Thankfully there was a port a potty at mile 2, so I told my friend Lindsay to keep going and I would catch up with her. I thought this would be a minute process. There was one person in the stall and one in front of me waiting. I was stopped for almost 6 minute…yes, you read that right SIX FREAKING MINUTES…DURING A RACE?!? My anxiety level escalated at each second ticking by. I was so frustrated but knew there was no way I could run and make it to the next port a potty, so I was stuck waiting. When it was my turn, I peed in record time and was off and running.
To say I was annoyed is an understatement but I raced as fast as I could ahead, trying to catch up to the 1:55 pace group and my friend Lindsay again. I knocked off a few miles in the low to mid 7’s and knew I needed to slow down. At this point, I knew I wasn’t going to catch up to my friend, 6 minutes was just too long of a time to catch up. I was also kicking myself for such a rookie mistake of trying to speed up really fast, because I definitely felt it in the latter half of the race. I end up having to walk through all of the water stops and walked for about 20 seconds five or six additional times because my calves were cramping so badly. There were many times during the last part of the race where I wondered if I was even going to make it in under two hours and I was devastated. I know that 2 hours is a respectable time and that I wasn’t going to PR this race, but for some reason, the thought of running a 2+ hour half made me want to cry. Thankfully, I finished with a time that was respectable (to me.)
I don’t know if the almost 6 minutes I waited at the porta potty or the 2+minutes that I spent taking walking breaks would have equated to an end time 8 minutes faster, getting me that PR in the 1:40’s, but I definitely know that I would’ve done better than what I did if it wasn’t for the bathroom stop but I suppose, it doesn’t really matter because that isn’t what actually happened. After the race, we waited for everyone to finish and took some team pics at the finish line with our medals.
Quickly after this, we all piled into cars and ran back to the hotel to shower and get to the airport for our flights back home. It was a whirlwind trip that lasted less than 24 hours!
All in all, the Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon is a GREAT race for an even better cause. I had a really fun time with some of my co-workers and I am happy that I had the opportunity to run it again and look forward to doing it in the future!
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Question of the day
Have you traveled by plane to a race before? If so, what race?
Did you watch the Boston Marathon on Monday? Thoughts?
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