Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon

By Saturday evening, I was exhausted. I snuggled up on the couch with my bowl of spaghetti and tried to relax. I knew that spending ten hours outside with the things that make my head swell up would lead to this overwhelming fatigue and was surprisingly content that way. With a spring of mostly underwhelming race results, I've learned that I can only control certain things and worrying about the things I can't control will only distract me from doing my best. I don't know if it was the complete physical exhaustion or this newly discovered racing zen, but I slept like a log for a total of nine hours. I think that's a new record for me.

Y. Kim, SRRC photo.

After visiting our super-secret, secret bathroom area with flush toilets and absolutely no line (hidden area only the locals know about and just a short warmup jog from the start/finish...shhh!!!), Matt and I rejoined the masses for the half marathon start. Since I had decided not to taper for this race, I started back a little further than I should have. My only goal was to go out at a controlled and smooth pace, then try to negative split the second half of the race. The rolling hills course is home to my second fastest half marathon time. I was hoping to come close to my course PR of 1:43:07.

Can you find me? I've got a hot pink headband on. SRRC, Y. Kim, photo.

Within the first few steps, I realized that I had started too far back and spent the first mile backed up behind people that finished closer to the two hour range.  Oops. It kept me from going out too fast, so I didn't complain. Soon the field spread out and I was finally running in my happy little bubble of personal space. Giant Redwoods towered above the brightly colored pack of runners. Even the tall men running nearby were dwarfed by their stature. My thoughts turned to the visiting runners. Some stopped for photos, others chatted quietly about the giant trees. For as many visits as I've had to this gorgeous state park, I don't think I'll ever get bored with it. Every time I come down here to play, I find myself gazing skyward, enamored by their sheer monstrous size. I'm proud to call this place home.

Mile 1: 7:53
Mile 2: 7:35
Mile 3: 7:49

By mile three, I was settled into a comfortable pace that coincidentally was right behind Rachele. She lives right on the race course and if you drive the Avenue on any given weekend day, you're likely to spot her running along that white fog line on the shoulder of the road. If anyone can ace pacing on this course, it's her.  Even though she's coming back from injury, I knew that if I could hang with Rachele until about halfway, she would pace me to run a strong race.  "Glue yourself to Rachele. Don't you dare let her get away." My mental powers were divided between keeping Rachele nearby and running artful, perfect tangents across the winding roadway.

Matt and I helped mark the course a few weeks before race day. This photo is near mile 2.

Mile 4: 7:52
Mile 5: 7:59
Mile 6: 7:50

Soon the faster runners were making their return trip. Matt was in fifth place when he ran by, his new rival, Reed, just a few paces behind him. I reached the almost halfway turnaround point by 51:30 and realized that I could possibly run a course PR if I kept myself together. The cool thing about this race course is that it feels mostly downhill both ways. Of course this isn't true, the first half is slightly uphill. I cruised through the next few miles distracting myself by cheering as I passed friends. It was lovely.

Mile 7: 7:47
Mile 8: 8:03

I stopped at the aid station at mile 8 and grabbed a cup of water. I normally try to keep the same breathing pattern while I drink to avoid gasping for breath. The cup wasn't very full so I tipped it closer to my face to get the water. That's when I saw the sides of the cup close around my nose and mouth. I had a moment of panic, while choking on the water and trying to release the cup that was suctioned to my face. I've never had that happen. It did bring on a bout hyperventilation and took almost a mile to relax my breathing enough to run calmly. Apparently, my water drinking skills have plateaued.

Mile 9: 8:03
Mile 10: 7:38 (average these two miles, one of the markers was in the wrong place)

Until about mile 10, Rachele had a slight lead, but I noticed her flagging a little. We traded the lead a few times. On the second to last uphill, I heard her give an audible grunt. I turned back to her. "Stay with me girl. Think of the downhill on the other side. You've got this." She had pulled me this far, I could at least return the favor and try to get her to come with me. It worked.  She stayed behind me until the top of the final hill where she finally took the lead.

Mile 11: 7:47
Mile 12: 8:07 (yeah, these two too....this course never has reliable mile markers)

I've been just behind Rachele enough times to know that she often pulls off one heck of a finishing kick. Ever since I began trailing her at mile 3, I was mentally preparing myself for it. "She's going to take off on that last downhill...you're going to go right along with her," I told myself.  As predicted, she hit the gas pulled me along as if we were tied together.

Right at mile 13, we emerged from the Redwood canopy and the finish line came into view. I gave my best kick, closing in on the finish line with every passing raspy breath. It was practically a 5K effort the last mile and I couldn't have asked for better closing speed. Just ten feet from the finish line, I saw Rachele dash a zigzag pattern through a group of 10K runners and thought to myself, "oh heck no, that's not happening." I didn't want to crash into the wall of 10K walkers and actually decelerated to the finish. Boo. Single file guys, really now.

Here's Rachele just after she ran through the 10Kers (blue bibs). SRRC, Y. Kim, photo.

Mile 13+0.1: 8:46 (7:48/mi.)

I stopped my watch moments after I finished and realized I came close to my course PR. I'd have to check the results later to find out if I actually made it, and if I did, it would be by seconds. I congratulated Rachele on a great race and thanked her for pushing me. She gave me a hug and said that she was struggling a bit mentally and really appreciated my encouragement.  She later emailed me again thanking me. Personally, I think it was a team effort. :)

Y. Kim, SRRC photo.

1:43:11
7:53/mi.
~700 ft. gain
F25-29: 8/133

I felt strong the whole race and except for the cup-stuck-to-my-face incident, had no breathing issues. To come that close to my PR is fantastic. If I hadn't had a few minor things get me (starting too far back, drinking issues, wall of 10K runners), I could have had a small PR. When I look back at this race, I'm not disappointed in those four seconds at all. I ran smart and strong and it felt great. I've now run this course three times in 1:43, this one had the best pacing. I should talk Rachele into pacing me in the fall marathon on this course. :)

Matt finally broke his streak of fourth place finishes (the others were in the marathon) and placed third overall:

Someone ran in front of Matt in his finish photo so the photographer made sure to get him later. Y. Kim, SRRC photo.

1:21:33
6:13/mi.
Overall: 3/1155
M30-34: 1/62