When I took on the task of helping lead a pace group for the inaugural Harbor Lights Half Marathon, I had no earthly idea of what I should expect. Would it be difficult? Easy? Fun? Boring? Would it be possible to adjust my pace & run at an unnatural pace? Would we actually have any racers that would want to run with us?
Well, what I would soon find out is that this pacing job would be freakin’ FAN-TA-STIC!! I loved every single minute of leading the pace group with my fellow pacer, Erica! From the beginning of the day when all of the pacers congregated & met Erica, I knew we would have a GREAT time. We hit it off immediately & were soon chatting like a couple of old college gal pals. I had met a handful of runners at the expo, during my volunteer shift in the pacers booth, which would end up running with us on race day. It was super fun knowing that so many people were excited for our little green signs & huge smiles to lead them from the starting mat to the finishing line; all with the goal of finishing the 13.1 miles in 2 hours & 15 minutes. A 2:15 half marathon equates to an average of 10:18/mile, assuming the race course is exactly 13.1 miles.
Race morning started with a 6:00 alarm. I had all of my gear laid out nicely, so that race morning I could throw it all on in a jiffy. For some reason, I was moving sluggishly that morning—as if I had nowhere to be. I had planned to leave my house at 6:20, but that didn’t actually happen until 15 minutes later. Since the race was only 4.25 miles from my house, I had decided to ride my bike, a lovely pink beach cruiser, to the start. I needed to be in Downtown Norfolk by 7am to meet up with the other pacers & by 7:10 for a photo op with the MRTT (Moms Run This Town) group. Luckily, there was very little traffic to avoid, since most of my biking route I would later run during the race, & the kind Norfolk cops had already begun “coning” off the area. Somehow, I reached both meet-ups on time! Woohoo! And, to my surprise, my stomach was cooperating on race morning so there were no pre-race port-a-potty stops. Score X2, for the stars aligning!
Awesome Mother Runners
After stripping off my winter gear, locking my bike, & dropping my bag in gear check, I headed to the corrals with my co-pacer. We would be situated at the start of Corral 5, with numerous happy runners excited to see us join them. Once we reached the starting mat, about 7 minutes after the race started, we were off!
Erica & I before the race started
The first few miles flew by {actually if I am being honest, the entire race flew by!}. Before I knew it, we were turning onto Granby Street, then weaving through Ghent, next onto Colonial Place, & finally headed back into Downtown Norfolk.
Instead of boring you with my normal minute-to-minute play-by-play, I will now include a little personal story for {hopefully} some inspiration. It goes a little something like this…
It’s funny, as I can so vividly recall the 2:15 half marathon goal in my own running career. Back in 2011, I was approaching my 3rd race ever—the Shamrock ½ Marathon. I had previously run the CHKD 8K in 2010 & the Rock n’ Roll VA Beach ½ Marathon, also in 2010. With the race approaching, also upcoming was our 1st IVF {in-vitro fertilization} cycle. Little did I know that a few weeks after Shamrock I would be pregnant with twins & not run another race for nearly 15 months. My Rock n’ Roll time had been 2:27:40 (11:16 avg/mile). For the Shamrock, I was hoping to break that 2:15 barrier, which in hindsight, is kind of ambitious—a nearly 13 minute PR! As I came down the boardwalk that day in March, I remember how excited I was to see 2:15:xx on my watch, knowing I would almost meet my goal. It felt incredible! My official time was 2:15:49. Ecstatic!!
Throwback to 2011
This was the same excitement I witnessed yesterday—helping some amazing athletes on their running journey, by assisting with knocking minutes off of PRs. And, making people realize just how strong they truly are! I too am a runner that has to work hard for PRs. Fast splits don’t come naturally for me. Faster times have come with dedication, hard work, & consistency. I will never be an elite runner. I am just an average girl next door. Specifically, I’m The Running Blonde, who hopes to help runners cross the finish line happily & improve their outlook on physical fitness.
Back to this past weekends’ race… here are the mile-by-mile splits! A couple of miles slightly too fast, but luckily, no miles too slow.
Mile 1 – 10:08
Mile 2 – 9:59
Mile 3 – 10:17
Mile 4 – 10:03
Mile 5 – 10:17
Mile 6 – 10:11
Mile 7 – 10:07
Mile 8 – 10:08
Mile 9 – 10:11
Mile 10 – 10:11
Mile 11 – 10:10
Mile 12 – 10:10
Mile 13 – 10:09
Final 0.35 miles to the Finish – 9:38
Garmin Time: 2:15:24 (10:08/mile – based on 13.35 miles)
Official Time: 2:15:21 (10:20/mile – based on 13.1 miles)
I blame the “long” course for not crossing the finish line in under 2:15, BUT, I was not going to make our runners sprint at the end, if they didn’t have it in them. Our goal was to run even for the entire race, including the final stretch of road. Thanks Erica for being such an AWESOME co-pacer!! I look forward to our next pacing race!
As I told my husband & a few other people since completing this race, it was by far my most fun half marathon, & aside from my marathon last weekend, it was the race in which I smiled the most. I cheered people on. I hopped on mats double-footed. I took selfies of our group. I played my music for motivation. I sang, not well, but hey, I tried. I danced, again, probably not well. And based on some kind words from a bunch of ladies {the men in our group must have been too timid to admit that 2 blondes helped them reach their goal—ha!}, I did my job of helping them have successful races. I am still enjoying messages & comments from runners with reports of their PRs & achievements. If you’re an experienced runner & have never paced a group of runners, DO IT if ever given the opportunity!! I would LOVE to have the chance to do this again!
I adore this mid-race groupie!
This post would be incomplete without THANKS to a few folks. First off, thanks to Running Etc. and J&A Racing for “hiring” me & being confident enough in my running abilities to represent your companies. And THANKS also to J&A Racing for putting on yet another GREAT race! Next, the police officers in Norfolk are amazing! They were smiling at every street corner {except one, who I think was sleeping on his vehicle, ha!} & did great at keeping the runners safe. I hear they had to deal with some unruly, non-running citizens—& for that, I say, “yep, welcome to Norfolk”. Sad, but true of my beloved city. To the volunteers & spectators, THANKS for cheering us on & keeping us hydrated! To Baker’s Crust, those amazing little pies just past mile 9 are KEEPERS; yummy!! Can they come to other J&A races?! To my fellow running community—THANKS for helping remind us daily that there still is a chance for humanity! Kudos to you all who ran yesterday!
Have you ever been a pacer in a race? Was your experience as fabulous as mine?
Up Next For The Running Blonde: Christmas Town Dash 8K on December 7th at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg
Way to represent the ambassadors!!!