Rock CF Half Marathon Race Results

The short:

New Half PR of 1:36:50!

The longer version....

This race is in its 3rd year and holds a special place in my heart.  Not only is the event coordinator a local woman, but the funds raised go towards something she is immediately affected by. Cystic Fibrosis.  Or CF for short.  If you'd like to read more about her, click here.  You can also check out her foundation at http://letsrockcf.org/.

This race is also home to my previous half PR set in March 2011 (1:37:31) and I ran this race in March 2012 @ 30 weeks pregnant with a respectable finish time of 2:10.  So this event has a lot of meaning. 

The night before a few of us runners gathered for a pre-race dinner. 

  Left to right: Anita, Missy, Helen, Carolyn's sister, Carolyn, Jeff and myself

 

Chris, our Anna, me and Jeff's Anna... yes we both have baby Anna's.  They are 6 months apart and future BFF's!

 

The morning of the race I was really tired when the alarm went off at 4:45am.  I have to allow plenty of time to pump (TMI, I know) plus Anna had woken up during the night and I didn't get to bed as early as I would have liked.  The parking lot at the high school was closing at 6:30am so I wanted to make sure we were there in plenty of time to park in that lot.  We arrived at 6:15am, leaving us 1 hour & 45 minutes before the start of the race.  The time actually went by quickly.  I was able to socialize with friends and was able to see Jeff at Detroit Runner.   By the way, if you would like an exceptional review on this race, please see his blog.  He is one of my favorite bloggers and he is top notch when it comes to giving detailed race reviews!

 

It was pretty chilly at the start and a bit windy.  I originally planned on shooting for 1:35 but as I have gotten further and further into my Boston training, I decided to scratch that.  I would shoot for 1:40.  Not as hard of a pace, but still a good time.  My dad was sick that morning and told me he wasn't sure how he would do but for me to run my own race.  Well, he ended up running with me (at times, ahead of me by a few strides) all the way through mile 12!  At mile 12 he yelled at me to push it and I did. Or at least was trying. I ended up crossing the finish line at 1:36:50 (7:24 pace) for a new PR!  Shaved 39 seconds off my previous half PR, which was set in March 2011 at this same race on this same course. Who knew I'd pull this off?  I certainly did not!  We had planned to run 7 miles after since my training called for 20 miles, but instead we ran an easy 3.9 miles for a total of 17 for the day.  I figured, with the race I had just run, I deserved to cut this 20 miler short.  Besides, I just ran 20 miles 2 weeks ago on a VERY hilly course and had a pace of 8:15 per mile. 

 

After our extra miles, we went inside the high school to grab a cookie (or 4 but who's counting...) and a chocolate milk.  That is another reason why I love this race so much.  The food is amazing!!!  SO MANY homemade cookies, Panera bagels, bananas, chocolate milk.... I always skip the bagels and bananas and head straight to the cookies.  :-) 

 

I think this race was a great way to finish off my final hard week of running before Boston.  Now its time to taper and get ready for the big day.

 

A few photos from the race

Anna and I, she is so sleepy.  These 5:30am wake up calls are rough. 

Beth, my dad, Chris, myself and Jeff - pre race

 

Josh, Kevin, Jeff (Detroit Runner), Ty and myself

Chris and I - post race





 

Official Results:

Time: 1:36:50

Pace: 7:24

Age Group: 7th / 68

Overall: 78th / 799