Going With The Flow

Long Beach Half Marathon

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Location:

Salt Lake City,UT,United States

Member Since:

May 08, 2011

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

Unaided -  
17:16 OktoberFAST 5K (10/11)
17:23 BAA 5K (4/12)
37:10 Memorial Day 10K (5/11)
1:17:03 Long Beach Half Marathon (10/11)
1:17:21 USA 1/2 Champs - Duluth (6/12)
2:49:01 Philadelphia Marathon (11/11)

Aided -
16:52 Fight For Air 5K (6/11)
17:08 Provo City 5K (5/12)
1:17:52 Top of Utah Half Marathon (8/11)
1:17:54 Utah Valley Half Marathon (6/11)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run consistently as I get back to 100% health. Stay patient!

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Have fun training and racing.

Sub-17 5K
Sub-1:17 Half Marathon
Quality for the Olympic Trials in the marathon

Personal:

I am originally from Knoxville, TN and moved to SLC with Jake in 2010. I started racing in 2011 and had some great success before a major injury hit me in July 2012. I had athletic pubalgia surgery in May 2013...then again in Sept 2014 and am still trying to get back to my old self. Although running is my true passion, I love doing pretty much anything active outdoors - backcountry skiing, backpacking, biking, etc. 

I've been running for the Saucony Team since 2011. I enjoy representing the brand and really do believe they make the best shoes :)

I work as a Quality Engineer for BD Medical in Sandy.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Skinning Miles (1000ft ~ 2.5 Miles) Lifetime Miles: 912.35
Hiking Miles Lifetime Miles: 10.50
Race: Long Beach Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:17:03, Place overall: 2
Total Distance
15.00

1:17:03!

I was a mess yesterday. I was sporadically confident and questioning my abilities throughout the entire day. Basically, I was driving Jake crazy with my mood swings (but I'm a girl, so what can he really expect?). We walked around Long Beach a little but didn't want to wear ourselves out, so mostly spent the afternoon/evening watching college football. Fell asleep ~8:30pm, the usual these days.

Woke up at 4:25am wide awake. I tried to just stay in bed, but the adrenaline was already pumping. We turned on the Chicago marathon live streaming for about an hour while we were getting ready which was surprisingly relaxing to me. I always wish they would talk about people besides the front pack, though.

Our hotel was only a couple of blocks to the start line, so we ran a mile warmup there. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful and the mass of people was quite impressive. I've never been to a big marathon before with 25,000 people. It's exciting.

I put myself in a position right behind Jake for the start. The announcer was having trouble sorting out the elites with the other runners, so I just had to laugh when he said "If you paid for your shoes, please stand behind the rope". Haha I can't believe I'm considered elite - what a thrill.

Gun started and I got into what I thought was a sustainable pace. Mile one was 5:45. The start is always fast, so that was fine with me. I was running with another girl through miles 2 and 3, but I got really frustrated when I came in the second mile at 6:41. Even though I knew it wasn't correct, I hated the fact that the mile splits weren't correct and spent the next five minutes questioning how fast I was really going. I didn't trust any of the splits after that (and I'm pretty sure a few of them were off). I had to just go by feel. Mile 3 was 4:50. Funny how I was so focused on racing that I couldn't even do the math to figure out how those miles evened out. I tried several times too, and yes I am an engineering nerd.

The girl next to me dropped, and mile four pretty much set the stage for the rest of the race. 5:51. I caught up to a couple guys running together and decided to tuck in behind them and let them pull me as far as I could stay with them. Mile 5 and 6 were 5:47 and 5:42, respectively.

Sidenote: I love being the first girl. People get so excited yelling "FIRST GIRL!!" and it really pumps me up. I tried to feed off the crowd as much as I could.

Miles 7-9.5 were along the beach, but I was so in tune with the race that I had no idea that the ocean was less than 50 yards away. 5:48, 6:17, 5:56. That middle split just made me mad because there was no way I ran 6:17. My guess is that miles 6 and 7 were a little short. Who knows.

The guys I was running with edged ahead and then I ran solo. We hit the turnaround and started a very gradual uphill for the next 1.5 miles. Miles 10 and 11 were 5:56 and 6:04. I didn't slow too much, so that was uplifting. The course got pretty lonely here with not many spectators.

Another sidenote - Jake and I read this article about improved performance with foul language. If you say swear words as a method to tolerate pain (especially for women and when curse words are not in the typically vocabulary aka me), there is an increased threshold. So guess what I was doing at this point?! lol

Mile 12 was 5:57. And then I heard "There's a girl right behind you!" Well crap. That is not what I wanted to hear. She passed me right at my weakest point and I just couldn't get myself to go with her. I wish that I had that super competitive personality. 12.5 to the end was a great downhill. Mile 13 was 5:55. I saw the clock ticking 1:16:54...55....56 and I was soo close to breaking 1:17. Four seconds too slow. Ahhhhhhh! [Updated: they added 2 seconds to everyone's time after the fact.]

Despite getting beat at the end and barely missing sub-1:17, how can I be unhappy with a 50 second PR? It's still hard to get over not breaking the tape and missing the time that I keep replaying in my head. I am so excited about my performance though! I did go out a little fast and slowed during the second half. I still feel like I ran a great race. The guys that I ran with for 5 miles made a huge difference in my mental attitude. I ran hard and strong.

So this time in the half marathon is a good indication for an OTQ in the marathon in 6 weeks. If I can get a little more endurance in this next training cycle, I have a shot. During the race, I got a muscle twinge in my hamstring (which has happened two other times in the last 4 weeks) so that makes me really worried. If anyone has recommendations, I would love to hear them. I want to be 100% healthy going into Philadelphia.

Spent the afternoon walking around Long Beach, eating brunch with Jake's family and eating ice cream. I'm so proud of Jake for his amazing performance of 1:05:43. He has an even better shot at the OTQ in 6 weeks! Long Beach is beautiful.

 


 

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Rob on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 12:50:12 from 72.254.33.145

Awesome job, If your going to think what if's, I'd go for the extra 6 seconds faster though.

From Holt on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 12:59:45 from 97.126.200.104

So awesome! Great job!

From allie on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 13:43:14 from 24.10.191.18

congrats, andrea! super performance out there today. the "live tracking" broke down on me after the 10k split -- i was refreshing like a mad woman and nothing was showing up. then both you and jake's finish times magically appeared and i yelled out a "woo hoooooo!!!!!" i'm excited to hear the details. enjoy your time in long beach and have fun celebrating your awesome races today.

From Adam RW on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 14:28:10 from 67.182.248.141

WOW! and congratulations!

From ACorn on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 14:49:17 from 24.2.76.146

Helluva race! Way to go Andrea, enjoy it!

From Claudio on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 15:06:06 from 108.3.241.149

Amazing! Congratulations on the huge PR and second place!

From seeaprilrun on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 15:43:37 from 68.103.241.11

Freaking awesome! Can't wait for the full report!

From Fritz on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 16:00:35 from 65.100.192.74

Nice job Andrea! You are always getting faster.

From Lily on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 16:09:23 from 67.199.178.210

Yeah! Way to run Andrea!

From Rachelle on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 17:00:55 from 66.7.127.115

Congrats Andrea!! You are seriously amazing. Yay for 2nd place. This is such a huge accomplishment.

From Bonnie on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 17:30:00 from 64.119.33.134

Congratulations Andrea --- I was so happy to see your result this morning -- I was refreshing the screen every few minutes!!

From Tara on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 17:32:04 from 216.201.66.237

NICE WORK ANDREA!!! So fast!

From Hamdog Alum on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 18:27:10 from 68.185.190.140

Wow! Awesome PR! Can't wait to read the full report.

From MichelleL on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 19:13:32 from 58.153.15.64

Great job! Looking forward to the play by play.

From Andrea on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 20:49:19 from 71.95.204.66

Thanks everyone!!! Full race report up now.

From Superfly on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 21:00:06 from 74.211.21.81

Sweet job and fun report. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and a BIG Congrats!

From Bonnie on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 21:00:40 from 64.119.33.134

Great report! It was not pleasant, but it was really good for you to run by feel Andrea, it will pay dividends going into Philly. What a wonderful race.

I love the announcer -- "if you paid for your shoes please step behind the rope" he he he

From JD on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 21:32:03 from 97.117.107.209

Congratulations!

From Jon on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 21:42:38 from 98.71.176.77

Congrats, Andrea, awesome job.

From Lily on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 21:58:07 from 67.199.178.210

What a good read. I think you for sure have a shot at the otq marathon. You have some great talent.

As far as the hamstring goes, roll that thing out 3 times a day. Ice it and get an aggressive sport massage. I know an awesome guy in Orem that is the best. If you get desperate, I can lend you my electric current machine for a week.It healed my quad strain this summer in about 9 days.

From AmberG on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 22:03:06 from 67.2.217.173

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That was a great race report. Thanks for sharing. . . . (and I'll have to try your foul language technique, I never swear) :) . . . . shoot, well, heck, you did SO GREAT TODAY!!!!!

You are going to ROCK that OTQ time :) WAHOO

From JulieC on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 23:13:54 from 207.108.176.103

so happy for you!! amazing speed!! totally excited for your upcoming accomplishments!! : D

From Carina on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 23:22:06 from 204.15.86.83

Wow!! You are amazing, what a great race!! I can't wait to see what you do in Philadelphia, I just know you are going to do awesome like you always do!!!!

From MarkP on Sun, Oct 09, 2011 at 23:53:37 from 97.117.127.158

Great report and super race! You crushed your PR. Many new PRs are coming your way! I'll be cheering you guys on in Philly!

From MichelleL on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 00:09:45 from 58.153.15.64

I love the announcer's definition of who should be toeing the line. So frustrating to not have true mile markers! But you ran a great race, so happy for you! McMillan's running calculator off a 1:17:01 is 2:42, so you have the fitness, just stay healthy. I would recommend Steve Orrock for work on your hamstring. He was my sports PT in Utah. He has an office in Lehi and Orem. 226-0737 based off memory. Rolling, stretching, tennis or softball. Why try one approach when you can do them all. . .

From jun on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 00:30:45 from 174.23.189.233

Seriously incredible. Way to go. That is just amazing.

From Little Bad Legs on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 00:41:50 from 68.186.75.3

Excellent! A 50 second PR?! Doesn't get much better than that. Enjoy the rest of your time in Cali and good luck with your training before Philly!

From jtshad on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 10:35:37 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on the great time, high finish and PR! You are an amazing runner and will get that OTQ in Philly. Keep running strong!

From Paul on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 11:09:21 from 24.10.141.104

Congrats on an awesome PR on an unaided course! It's a great indicator for your marathon, just keep working!

From Russ on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 11:09:48 from 74.114.3.253

Great job! So happy for you - you'll rock Philadelphia.

From JG on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 12:51:12 from 71.59.27.33

Awesome running! Great job Andrea!

From Christi on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 14:22:38 from 174.56.35.183

Wow!! Great job and time! You will do awesome in Philadelphia!

From Jake K on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 16:10:10 from 155.100.226.53

Your FIGHT in the final kick was inspiring and impressive. The girl who won ran 16:00 5K and 33:26 10K earlier this year. Even though she wasn't going to fall apart in the final kick, you just didn't not give in, and fought all the way to the line. Most athletes (myself included at times) would have coasted the last little bit once the outcome was already decided, but you sprinted right through the freaking line. That is the focus and determination that is going to get you a blazing fast marathon in Philadelphia!!! Really proud of how you ran.

From Andrea on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 16:22:08 from 72.37.171.52

Thank you so much for the overwhelming support. The blog crossed my mind several times throughout the race - I wanted to make everyone proud and I have no doubt that it pushed me to run harder.

I have to admit that I don't feel as bad losing to a 33:30 10K runner :)

It's also pretty inspiring that a girl ran 2:43 in her first marathon at Long Beach and she is a 18:00 5K runner. If she can do it, so can I!

From I Just Run on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 18:04:19 from 166.137.137.27

Wow...I don't even know what to say to an elite that would mean anything ... But congratulations... awsome race...great report....!!!

From Scott Wesemann on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 18:53:34 from 205.158.160.209

RE Improved performance with foul language- I attempted this last week at St. George for a few miles. I'm not sure it worked, but it kind of took my mind off of the pain. haha. I am really impressed with your run. So amazing! Congrats on the PR and on a really impressive performance.

From Burt on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 19:33:07 from 68.14.209.26

Great job Chocolate. I got the announcer's joke when you explained it, but I didn't get it on Jake's race report.

From ebates on Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 11:51:41 from 128.187.97.6

AWESOME JOB ANDREA!!! I'm so impressed. You've got it for sure. Looking forward to running together again soon.

From Clay on Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 14:27:37 from 63.248.35.54

This is a little late but what a great race! Congrats! Long Beach is beautiful!I know you'll both OTQ!!!

From Kelli on Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 14:18:09 from 71.219.83.151

I found my strong---YOU! Holy cow, incredible race and time. Those 3 seconds are a bummer, but that is a big PR on a harder course. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Good to know about the swearing---I will stop doing it in my head and actually say the words out loud. Maybe it will help.

Rest up, this marathon is going to be incredible. I almost want to travel there just to watch you two!

From Kelli on Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 14:19:39 from 71.219.83.151

OH, after thought, sorry! LOVED the comment about moodiness. We are for sure entitled to it. That made me laugh.

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