Pre-Mock Race
1. Pick a Course: The UVM is a net elevation loss course with approximately 700 ft loss in the second half of the course, so I sought to find something similar within a reasonable distance to my house. So I used MapMyRun and found a route that fit the bill (minus I’ll be about 2,000 ft higher in the air in Utah but those details details 😉 ).
Utah Valley Half Marathon Course
Today’s Mock Half Marathon Course
Side Note: We selected this weekend in my plan for this specific workout because there was an actual half in my area this morning. However, the start time was 7:30 AM this may seem like a good time to many but in Phoenix, Az the equals approx 80 degree heat half marathon. No Thank You!
2) Pick an Outfit (This is everyone’s favorite): I figured now is an awesome change to try out my potential race day outfit. The beautiful Chelsey aka FitandFaithfulFC on insta released a new tank that was perfect for my race day attire and I knew that was a definate and then matched my ProCompression socks and Nike Pros to fit the bill and WaLa my race day outfit! #FlatKindal for the Win along side my awesome Hoka One Cliftons!
3) Prepare the Essentials:
Gels – My 3 favorite brands in this order (1) Honey Stinger, (2) Cliff, (3) Gu
GPS Watch – I use the Tom Tom MultiSport Cardio
Headphones – I have JayBirds BlueTooth
FuelBelt to hold all my goodies – Cell Phone/Gels/Chapstick/Etc
CamelBack for Water today since I did not have the race support
Morning of Mock Race
1) Wake Up – Alarm set at 4:45 AM
2) Get Dressed and Take the Instagram Selfie for Later Use 🙂
3) Eat BreakFast: Lately before Long Runs I’ve been doing 2 slices of Sara Lee Multigrain 45 calorie toast with 1 Tbsp Apricot Sugar Free Jelly and 1 Tbsp Whipped Cream Cheese
4) Check Weather: Today the weatherman said 52 cloudy with 0% chance of rain and 3-4 mph winds…Repeat 0%! However, when I got there completely different story it literally sleated rain my entire run with wind and felt like 40 degrees – see my above outfit – I did not have a plan B! 😦 (p.s. If you didn’t know runners check the weather like neurotic freaks and then hope by checking it 1 million times its gonna change, (hint: it doesn’t) but we still do it! 😉 )
5) Hit the Road: I plug the mapped out parking location (Today it was a Shell Station in the adorable little Wild West Town of Cave Creek just North of North Phoenix) into my phone hop in the car with my Powerade Zero and Go!
Its Go Time
1) Arrive and Park: I generally try to park at Gas Stations because the usually won’t tow your car and they generally have nice early morning employees that let you use the Potty! Today’s particular employee commented “You are going to go out in that” and I said “yes” and he says “Your Crazy, Good Luck”…#RunnerProblems
2) Get Started…Just as in any race it all starts the Beep Beep of the GPS and Go! I absolutely love this about running becuase it doesn’t matter if you run a 4 min/mile or a 12 min/mile it is all a race against your own GPS and yourself! 🙂 #RunnersCommunity I Love You! ❤
Final Race Stats:
Overall Stats:
Splits:
Race Recap
Hind site 20/20 I probably should have waited a few hours got some more sleep and waited for the rain to clear and conditions to improve which they did about 30 minutes after my run ended…can I get a FML! (However, this is always my typical luck lol…I’m impatient). The conditions for this run was less than ideal – as previously stated it was windy/rainy/cold, my shoes & socks were filled with water from the puddles and poaring rain, cars flew by me and sprayed their nasty dirty water, I thought the rain was over so I did not pack sunglasses/visor to protect my eyes so basically it was the squint motion 24/7, a car almost hit me as a crossed the path at the “walk signal”…I think you get the picture…umm not my favorite experience lol! I HATE the rain, cold, and wind…I love 50 sunny and no wind! 🙂 (Idealist). However, I now have gone through enough races to realize that the ideal hardly ever happens on race day – my first marathon it snowed in Florida (NEVER HAPPENS) and my second it rained in Phoenix (NEVER HAPPENS). So I am a strong believer in train for the worst and hope for the best and I am hoping that today just made me a stronger runner for when it really counts!
Overall, I am very pleased…I got a new PR of 1:43:12 an average 7:52/mi pace and I have NEVER ran this fast in my life. However, coach had called for a 1:41-1:42 for my hopes of a BQ. I guess at this point I am going to have to hope and leave it to fate and God to make that decision for me…because I have laid it all out this training cycle!
With Love, Fitness, and Marathon Training,
Kindal (RunningWithStrength)
