Deadwood/Mickelson Half Marathon Race Report

Yesterday, I finished my 2nd half marathon! It was a great race and I actually feel pretty good today considering the 13.1 miles of running. Don't get me wrong; I am sore, but much less so than last August after my first half. The race was very scenic along the Mickelson Trail which runs from Rochford to Deadwood. People were actually stopping to take pictures along the way!

Chris and I left the house around 5:30am and got to the buses around 6:00am. When we got there, Chris saw the first full marathon bus already leaving so he thought he better get on the next one before they all left without him! :) So, I make my way to the half marathon buses (which were actually nice buses, compared to the school buses that the full marathoners rode!) I sat next to a girl, Jill, who is a kindergarten teacher in MN. We chatted the whole way up to the start line, which was such a nice way to make the time on the bus fly by. We get to the start and immediately get in line for the porta potties. Don't want to start a race when you have to go to the bathroom. So now, we have about an hour to wait until race time. It was chilly up at the start line so we leave our jackets on until the last possible minute to stay warm. But I am so thankful for the blue skies and sun since we had been having rain every day for the past 2 weeks. It was going to be a beautiful day for running. We meet 2 sisters, one from Sundance, one from Bismarck and we find some sun and chat with them until it's time to start. They tell me that they are planning on running the full marathon in August in Spearfish too so I will see them again! My friend, Amy finds me right before the start and we say good luck to each other and before we know it, it's time to start. There are 1200 runners so it's a big race. It takes a couple of minutes to get to the start, but considering how many runners there are, a couple of minutes isn't a big deal. My new friends and I wish each other luck and I tell them that I will see them at the finish line, because they are all way faster than me! So, we are off!

Mile 1 & 2 - These miles fly by and I don't even see the first mile marker so I don't look at my watch until the 2nd mile marker and it says 20:25 so about 10:12 miles

Mile 3 - 9:53 - I'm feeling pretty good so I try to speed it up a bit

Mile 4 - 9:40 - I try to keep the speed up because I feel really good

Mile 5 - 9:46 - I meet up with Jill and we stay together for a about a mile

Mile 6 - 11:10 - Yeah, there was a hill that we had to go up after going down a hill and my legs are feeling it big time. I hope it goes away because I have 7 more miles to go!

Mile 7 - 10:47 - I feel much better, I take my Hammer gel and "hammer" through...haha...funny, I know - still a little slower, but under 11, so I'm happy and I'm over half way now! Whoo hoo!

Mile 8 - 10:43 - My miles have slowed down, but I'm keeping them under 11, which was my goal. That way, I could finish in 2:25 and beat my previous time by 4 minutes

Mile 9 - 10:18 - I'm feeling really good again, which is odd because 9 miles is usually a wall for me - I guess my training really did work! :)

Mile 10 - 10:30 - Slowed it down a bit, getting a little tired, but still good - Jill comes up behind me and we ask each other how we are doing and she looks just awesome and she speeds up in front of me. There is no way I'm keeping up with her now!

Mile 11 - 10:38 - I am really feeling it now - I play mind games with myself and think to myself that I can't walk because I only have 2 miles left to go - 22 little minutes - but then I also think that I should be able to walk and take a break because I have just ran 11 miles. But I don't walk, just slow down a bit

Mile 12 & 13 - 22:18 (a little over 11 minute miles each mile) I totally miss the 12 mile marker, but I'm not sure if it was actually there, because I saw Jill at the end and she said she didn't see it either. I am TIRED these last 2 miles and I know I have slowed way down, esp in mile 12. The last mile was a little easier, because we are in Deadwood and I start to see people along the trail cheering us on. We have our names printed on our bibs so people are yelling, "Go Shannon!" and "Finish strong Shannon!" As we round the corner I see the mile 13 marker and know that I am there! I cross the finish line in 2:16:14, which is 13 minutes faster than my last half in August! A minute for each mile! And that is exactly what my average pace was - 10:24 - compared to 11:24 last year. Lauren and the kids missed me finish as they had to go back to the car to get Chloe's coat, but such is life with little kids! We take a few pictures, get some post-race snacks, and just unwind after the race.

We wait for Chris to come in after his full marathon and he finishes in 3:36:55 (the first half of the full marathon is all uphill so it's a tough course to say the least!) and that is a great time! You can read his race report at http://runaholic-chris.blogspot.com/ as soon as he gets it up!

After some Chinese food, a hot shower, and a little nap, I feel pretty good, but really tired. I wasn't sore yet, but my quads are pretty sore today. I think I'll take today off, but it's back to the grind tomorrow to continue training for my full marathon in August....yes, I think I am crazy too! :)