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You know how some days you just never get going?
I had one of those days.
The 10th anniversary of the Run for the Water (10 miler) was the second race in the five-race Austin Distance Challenge series. And it nearly broke me.
Race Report: Run For The Water
It was relatively cool (low 70s) but pretty humid, and I was feeling good at the start. I did a lot of training on the race course in the weeks leading up to the Run for the Water. I was ready to tackle the hills.
My plan was to run the first half of the course (5 miles, with most of the uphills) around an 8:45-9 minute pace. I wanted to run the second half of the course (still hilly, but easier than the first half) at around an 8:15-8:30 pace. My goal was to finish close to 1:25 and to feel good doing it. Given my training, this goal was definitely achievable.
I spent the first half mile weaving through a bunch of 5K walkers. That’s always annoying! I tried not to burn my energy being annoyed and to keep my mind focused. My pace was steady through Mile 1, close to on pace at 9:05. In the next few miles, the hills ramped up (and down, too, though mostly up!). My splits for Miles 2-5 were 9:08, 8:47, 9:03, 8:47. That got me to the halfway mark pretty much on target.
The Second Half
I was happy to have most of the hills done. My husband and kids cheered course-side right before the 5 mile mark. That lifted me up! I was simultaneously thrilled and deflated to see US Olympic Silver Medalist (1500M, London 2012) Leo Manzano jogging alongside the race course cheering on the runners. He was moving faster than I was with zero effort. Sigh.
But my head was still in the game. I told myself to take advantage of the nice declines over the next 1/2 mile to kick my pace up a notch. My brain was speaking clearly, but my legs did not seem to get the message. There is a long uphill just before Mile 6 (9:40), and I suddenly felt zapped of energy.
I walked for 100 steps to reach the peak of the hill. My mental script included trying to talk myself into pushing a bit harder once I reached the top. Unfortunately, my legs just wouldn’t respond.
I wasn’t going to give up. My next splits– all along miles much flatter than the previous ones– were 8:55, 9:11, 8:58, 8:49. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Clearly my legs had zero energy. As I ran I just felt tired in a sleepy kind of way.
I saw a friend who coaches a running group about 1000m from the finish. She worked very hard to cheer me on, and I appreciated her efforts. I was just sorry I couldn’t capitalize on her goodwill and push a bit harder into the finish.
My final time was a disappointing 1:30:29.
What went wrong?
In hindsight, I think I was under-hydrated going in to the race, and I didn’t drink enough along the way, either. My legs were never tired with muscular fatigue…they just wouldn’t respond to my desire to run faster.
I have chosen to reframe this lackluster performance as a perfect marathon-pace long run. I’m not sure I could have hung in there for 16 more miles at this pace, but that’s a detail I don’t need to worry about right now. As for nailing marathon pace in my legs over a hilly route, the Run for the Water was a great race.
Even better, the race supports The Gazelle Foundation, which brings life-saving water access to people in Burundi.
I hope you enjoyed the Race Report: Run for the Water. Running in it– no matter the result– is to experience one of Austin’s great road races.
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