Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon

Tucked away in a grove of ancient redwood trees, I sit in the car by myself, trying my best to muster at least some excitement for this race. I wonder if anyone would notice if I stayed here for a nap. The only thing that lures me from the car is the fact that I put down cash monies to register for this run. Had it been the spring race, the one where I volunteer and don't have to pay fees, I would have skipped it altogether. This feeling of dread isn't at all surprising given the week I've had.

Zoey snuggles are better than any cold medicine.

I've had a lot of colds over the years, but this one was one of the worst. I literally could not manage to stay awake for more than four hours at a time and spent the whole week on the couch snoozing. My trusty sidekick kept me company through the whole thing. Once I realized this cold wasn't the usual fall sickness, I stopped running completely. I hadn't taken three rest days in one week since I tore all the skin off my knees at the Marquette Trail 50K in 2012. My pre-race fueling included a heavy dose of Nyquil. Yay.

Rachel and I set out for our warmup jog. I'm still not feeling good. After just one half a mile, I call it quits. "There's no point in wasting energy on a warmup, I'm going to need it all for the race", I tell her as she continues off by herself.

When it's time to line up, I take my place near the front of the pack. Due to wildfires south of us in the Santa Rosa area, this race is no longer the USATF half marathon championship. It couldn't be more obvious than by the size of the starting pack: it's half the usual crowd. Thankfully, our week has been full of north winds, so the air is crisp and clear. At least something went right for me this week.

The race begins and my creaky legs are slow to respond. I'm breathing pretty hard through the first mile and when I reach the first marker, I check my mile split. Just as expected, it's going to be a rough day.

Mile 1: 7:27

I focus on maintaining this pace for as long as possible, reminding myself that good or bad day, I can always do my best. Up ahead, I can spot Kristal, one of my club friends. I know she's running the marathon today and that my original half goal is exactly what she wants for her halfway split. I don't expect I'll keep up with her, but it's nice to have a bit of a pacer to know where I stand. I focus my thoughts on running the tangents and keeping my breathing under control. The road weaves its way through the three hundred foot giants overhead. It isn't until I reach the aid station at mile 4 that I realize I haven't seen any mile marker cones. (Course vandals took them).

(Here are my Strava splits instead, which I didn't see until I got home)

Mile 2: 7:07
Mile 3: 7:14
Mile 4: 7:17

Until I reach the fifth mile, I don't realize what is happening. I do quick math in my head and realize that I've somehow managed to speed up.

Mile 5: 7:11

Then there's Kristal up ahead. It's not often I get to run with the club speedsters so I make it my mission to catch up to her. I finally do somewhere just before halfway.

Mile 6: 7:13

She looks over her shoulder and notices it's me. Since she's running the marathon, she's full of energy and super encouraging. "Oh my goodness, Karen! You are rocking it today!" she says. We run together for a few minutes, then she says she needs to pick it up.

A few minutes later, she realizes I'm still there. We play a game of cat and mouse and she can't seem to get away. She begins each surge by telling me she needs to pick up the pace. My legs follow along as she drops our pace into the low 7:00 range.

I'm still there and honestly, I can't even believe what is happening. I need to spend more time on the couch leading up to a race because my body is responding in a way I've never experienced before! My head is still foggy so it almost feels like a dream. It requires extra focus to keep my form and breathing under control, but all I'm thinking about now is staying with her. Had I been paying attention to my watch, I would have probably started freaking out about the numbers I saw.

Mile 7: 7:02
Mile 8: 7:11

We're now making our return trip and I've estimated I'm in fifth place. Kristal finally realizes that I'm not going anywhere and she jokes about how I won't leave her alone. I'm so glad she's running beside me today and tell her that I owe her a huge hug at the finish line.

Mile 9: 7:14
Mile 10: 7:10

After I pass the tenth mile cone, I know I've got a PR in the bag. I could practically jog the final 5K and still beat my 1:38:26 from last year. I notice that it's about here where Kristal begins to struggle. I take the lead and she's content to ride along off my right shoulder.

We have been trailing just behind a man playing music from a speaker on his arm band. At first, I find this incredibly annoying and distracting, but I let my anger fuel my running and try to get ahead of him. He weaves around haphazardly, almost like he's trying to block me from passing him. I pull up alongside him and we run stride for stride through the next mile or so. Meanwhile, Kristal drops back and I don't see her for the remainder of the race.

Mile 11: 7:03

I think back to my training. The half marathon training was anything but perfect. Wildfire smoke forced me to cut out speed work entirely. Some workouts went well, others were miserable failures. My best was a 7 mile run at a 7:11/mi. pace. Since I tend to train better than I race, today's pace is coming as a huge surprise. I'm actually doing it!!!!! ALL!!! THE!!! EXCLAMATION!! POINTS!!!!

I'm getting excited all the while I'm trying not to get too excited. We're not done yet, I tell myself, cool it already. That burst of energy is all but extinguished by the final hill, a bridge over the 101 freeway. Ugh. Shut up legs, we are not going to hit a wall here. Keep going. I slow to a very ugly shuffle. The man with the loud music turns back and calls to me, "Catch back up!! You got this!"

Darn you, bridge! Nov 2016 photo. On the return trip, we go from top of the photo to the bottom.

I crest the final hill and am treated to a nice gentle downhill cruise. I know this hill well and try to pick up the pace as I dash back into the forest.

Mile 12: 7:23

Up ahead, I try to visualize what comes next. Tall trees. Downhill. Flat. Dyerville Road. Bridge. Camera. Finish. As I pass by each spot in my head, I check them off. Less than a mile. Half a mile left.

I spot a familiar spectator in the shadows alongside the road. I see her before she sees me. It's Rachel. She looks down at her watch, looks up, squints, and then looks back down at her watch. She starts screaming for me to pick it up. When I get closer, she asks, "Is this a PR?!" I don't have much to say other than "YUP!!" as I feel a huge grin spread across my face, not really sure what that PR is going to be. She keeps cheering my name as I pass by. I'm still running alongside Speakers Guy when he begins cheering me on by name too. We run side by side as we pull past Yoon and his camera.

Y. Kim photo.

Mile 13: 7:10

It's not until I glance down at my watch at mile 13 that I realize what all my mile splits are adding up to. My watch is still reading 1:33. I dash over the river bridge, round a corner, and get my first glimpse of the finish clock. Not only am I going to beat my 1:38 best, but I've got enough time to kick it in and make it under 1:35. The final straightaway feels like a dream. Is this really happening?

Mile 13-finish: 0:46 (6:12/mi.)

The Wendys read off my name as I cross one of the final timing mats. I reach the finish line and receive a finisher medal from James. Every year, his high school cross country team hands out medals. As he places the medal around my neck, he says, "You're getting fast!". It's funny how the most unexpected people keep track of my progress.

1:34:41
7:12/mi.
6th place (chip timing put one girl ahead of me by 1/2 second)
1st place F30-34

Heading for the water table, I spot Matt running up. He expected me to finish a few minutes later than I did, so he completely misses seeing me finish. I guess I forgive him. ;)

For the next few days, I could hardly believe it. Even a month later, I'm still not sure how this race happened as it did. Maybe that's why I've been slow to write a recap?  What even happened?!  I can't say I didn't earn this PR because I know I put in the work, but I expected the cold to affect me more than it did. When I'm sick, mental toughness is the first thing to fall apart. This time, I know that Speakers Guy and Kristal are responsible. Their encouragement along the way meant everything to me. That and a week snoozing on the couch.

When this run is the USATF championship, a time like mine gets 14th place. This year got me a beer!