I woke up before everyone else the next morning (as I always do before races) and went over to Watterson to pick up my friend Annie, who was coming along to check out the Notre Dame campus and do a little spectating. She went out the night before and since we had to leave around 4:30 am, she had not yet fallen asleep and planned to catch up on her zzz’s in the ever-so-comfortable backseat of my car.
I think that everyone met up around 5 and started the long drive shortly thereafter to South Bend in the dark. We pulled in about an hour before the race start, picked up our packets, stretched out our legs, and did some last minute race prep.
At about 15 minutes till 10, we headed off to the start of the race. Travis, Matt, Jon, and I all lined up at the very front, making sure that we were in contending position. The race was a little behind schedule, giving us plenty of time to talk with some of the other runners. We chatted for a bit and wished each other luck. About 10 minutes after the race was supposed to start, the RD gave us last minute instructions that I’m sure only the very front of the pack could hear. Finally, with a few more indiscernible words, the she made the countdown and the race was on.
A runner in a bright yellow triathlon jersey took off fast to quickly establish a lead over everyone else. Travis and Jon also sprinted off of the line like they were gunning for the top two spots. Matt and I laughed with each other and even yelled at them to slow down. We also started making predictions as to when the guy in the yellow was going to crash(I figured mile 2). For the first mile, Matt and I talked back and forth with one another. We were joking around and passed Jon and Travis about ¾ of a mile into it. They were still looking alright, but Matt and I were running a bit faster. The course markings had to have been off since we passed mile 1 in 5:30-something. I’m not sure if I have ever run a mile that fast in my life.
Matt and I were now leading a pack of about 10 or so runners with about 15 runners in front of us. We were chatting back and forth with the pack and joking around with each other. Soon enough, we stopped getting responses from everybody else running. I’m pretty sure that our casual attitude psyched them out. To be honest, they probably hated us, considering that we were having a good time, joking around, acting like we were just out for a causal jog, while they were already huffing and puffing.
Around the 2 ½ mile mark, we got a chance to see some familiar faces. Annie and Kate were both out there cheering us on, which was quite uplifting. I'm not so sure how much fun it was for Annie, as she really isn't into the whole running thing(she was also running on about ½ hour of sleep), but it was still nice to have her out there.Matt(left) and myself(right) around mile 3
At 3 miles, we got our splits from another runner at 18:30(6:10/mile). We both felt great and were still laughing and joking around. Here, the trail took a turn off the roads and into the woods, which provided a smooth limestone path for the runners. We slowly separated ourselves from the pack we had started with during a loop around a small lake. We passed a few runners here and there—it was obvious that a few of the original frontrunners had underestimated the length of the race. However, our original plan of winning was also out of the question.
I was worried because a decent amount of the course was on sidewalks. My IT band was getting a little sore and I was not sure if it would hold up the entire distance. At 5 ½ miles, it started to irritate me to the point where I was seriously considering dropping. Everything else felt great, but I could not get my leg to cooperate.
Jon(left) and Travis(right) near mile 3.
I don’t know what happened, but when we finished the first loop of the race, the pain went away. I have no idea why or how, but the pain that had nearly forced me to drop was gone. Without the pain, I was finally able to concentrate on the race, which was turning out to be a duel between Matt and myself. At about 7 ½ miles, Matt told me that he could not run any faster. I really wanted to pass him, but I did not want to push to early and crash over the last few miles.
Near mile 9 ½, I decided to make a break for it. Matt seemed to be struggling and I figured that I could gut out the final 3 miles. I narrowed my eyes and picked up the pace a little, moving a couple steps ahead. Just as I was passing Matt, I also moved ahead of another runner, who we had been chasing for the last couple of miles. Matt and I moved into 7th and 8th place. I was hoping I could maintain the pace until the finish.
Unfortunately, I had made my move a little earlier than I should have, because no more than a mile later, I really started hurting. Matt caught up to me and at a hill not much further down the
road, he powered past me. I lost a lot of energy on the climb and pulled about 25 yards back over the next quarter mile.Ashley & Drinie havin' a blast around mile 5?
I was doing everything I could to hang on to him, but running was not getting any easier and keeping any sort of tempo required considerable effort. At about mile 11 ½, I pulled it together and managed to get back on pace. Matt was about 75 yards in front of me and I hoped that I might be able to catch him.
I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping that nobody would catch me, but a few glances back revealed no other runners were in sight. I turned around, kept my eye on Matt and started the 12th mile, which heads towards the campus for about a quarter mile and then right back to the 12 mile mark. This was so tough, but I still tried to speed up. I made the turnaround (app. mile 12 1/3) and started running hard to catch Matt. In the meantime, I could see Travis heading towards the turnaround. Just as I was heading towards the final straightaway, Jon came around the corner, about a minute behind Travis.
I had expected to see the finish line when I made the final turn, so I was understandably confused when I saw two runners well ahead of me still running the race. I kept trying to see where the damn thing ended when I finally realized that it was about a half mile past where we had started. This last stretch was brutal; the entire time I saw Matt ahead of me and despite running as hard as I could, I was unable to pick up ground. After the longest half mile of my life, I crossed the line in 7th place in 1:20:52. Doubled over, I went straight to soft grass to lie out and catch my breath.
Shortly afterwards, I heard Matt hollering for Travis, who was pulling in, finishing 11th in 1:23:01. Jon came in shortly afterwards, in 1:24:37, warning Travis that the next time, the race was his. Nothing like a little friendly competition. The rest of ISU pack finished in the following times:
Ashley - 1:45:45
Steph - 1:49:28.
Pajor - 1:55:48
Sylvia - 2:27:50.
Unfortunately, I really needed to use the bathroom and did not get a chance to catch these finishes. However, I was very happy with how things went and my 6:11 pace provided the confidence I needed to get me through the training for Chicago. Plus, I got a sweet pair of Crocs for my 7th place finish.Picking up my sweet ND crocs @ the finish. At this point, I was quite relieved(more ways than one) to be finished.
** By the way, the guy we thought was going to drop early ended up winning the race in 1:11:14. He sure showed us.
Race results are available at http://www.nd.edu/~class08/holyhalf/Holy%20Half%20Results%202008.pdf
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