Lincoln 1/2 Marathon - jellybeans, elvis & a PR

Sit down for awhile, this is going to be a ton of race day blahbitty blah blah.

Lincoln 1/2 marathon this past weekend. Freaking nervous wreck (as usual). But really, this time was different.

Recap in case you didn't bore yourself with my pre-race freak out. I had what I considered a pretty agressive goal for me - 2:10.

My last 1/2, in November of last year was something like a 2:23, and my fastest 1/2 ever (my first, 2 years ago) was a 2:14. Lots has happened since that 2:14, but it's always the time I'm fighting to beat. It just meant so much to me to beat that 2:14 for this race.

Fast forward to Saturday - running around like a mad woman of course at the last minute - updating my ipod, charging my Garmin, going to the grocery store.... yes, all of which could have been done days prior... but why would I ever do that?!

We headed out, got to Lincoln. Packet pick up was less than anything to write about, so yeah, we got our packets.

I did get to talk to a pacer who convinced me to forgo the 2:10 pace bracelet & pick up the 2:05. He was going to end up being my best friend or I would find him after the race & kick his ass. That was yet to be determined.Pasta dinner was good, then back to the hotel to obsess about what to wear. Here we are at the dinner. Dang it, I planned on a skirt & tank top, but brrrrrrrrrrrr it was going to be 39 degrees in the morning. I consistently overdress for races & I wasn't making that mistake again .... but 39 degrees & dressed like you're going for a 90 degree run? I wasn't sure. But hey, if Pat Melgares can run in the freezing rain in a tank & shorts, I can do it. (hi Pat!)

Tank/skirt it is. That skirt is freaking cute.

Off to bed at an early hour for a 5am wake up call. Slept like a baby. Good, good, good. Woke up feeling rested & ready to run! Here we are pre-race. I look nervous as hell. Or maybe that was my teeth chattering. brrrr!Race starts are always a little crazy. Parking, getting to the start, checking bags, last minute bathroom break .... hugs all around & off to your start position in line with 10,000 other crazies.I am usually a very social runner (I realize that suprises noone that knows me...). Love to chatter with everyone around me & listen to everyone's anxiety & their hopes for a PR. But not today. I think sometimes that chatter gets in my head a bit & makes me even more nervous. So today I put my ipod on, put my head down & got myself straight. Best idea ever.

As we inched up to the start, it seemed like it took forever to pass the start gate. 20 minutes in fact! Longest I've ever waited to start a race, but I had good tunes, so it was totally bearable. At about Mile 2 I saw Elvis singing Burning Love - my all time favorite Elvis song. Seriously. Love 70's jumpsuit Elvis. Here he is:My friend who did the full said she saw that dude at mile 24 or something - so cool that he stayed around for all the runners. I bet those sideburns kept him warm.

Feeling warm after mile 1 - stripped the long sleeve shirt off & wimpered a bit when I threw it to the curb, sad to be throwing away that shirt. That was my WinterRunderland 10k shirt. Dang it, I packed a million other things....but no throw away. poo.

Mile mark 5K. 30:53. Right on schedule, nice & easy. Mile mark 10K. 1:01. So far so good, perfect pace for a 2:10. I was feeling awesome, like I could run at that pace all day.

Oh I need to tell you about the water stops. This seems like a small thing, but to anyone who has ever run a race.... it's a huge thing. Water/Gatorade with LIDS & STRAWS. What?!? omg I have never seen such a glorious thing. This totally made it so that I actually was able to drink instead of spill all over myself. Freaking great. After about mile 8 I usually start to fall apart. But not today - I felt great!

Mile mark 15K. 1:30. Right on target for a 2:10. Hells yes. Free jelly beans!I maybe started smiling at this point. And singing. Outloud. And I didn't care who heard my awful singing. I knew I only had under 4 miles to go & I wasn't tired, nothing hurt, the weather was perfect, my tunes were awesome... I was feeling it. I do sing horribly, but at least good enough for the dude next to me to know I was singing a Dave Matthews tune. He gave me a thumbs up & sang along with me.

Mile 11. Something amazing happened. Only 2 miles to go - time to make it count. I knew my time was going to be somewhere in between 2:05-2:10, but I didn't want to jinx myself at this point & think I had a shot at the 2:05.

So I stopped looking at the Garmin & just ran. Ran fast. My last mile was under 8:00. Where the hell did that come from!?

I passed 154 runners from 15K to the finish. No, I didn't run around going "passing you, you, you... oh & you, you & you too". Race results told me that 154 number. Negative splits baby. Something I can rarely do in a practice run much less a race. WoW negative splits - having enough left to sprint the last 2 miles of 13 feels AMAZING.

Ok so I about barfed at that pace, but I came into the finish like a total spaz with energy left - I think I skipped over the finish, jumped around like my cheerleader days, hugging strangers & chatting up the lady putting on medals. Screamed a little & high fived any national guard person I saw. Can't wait to see those crazy dorky finish line pics. Geez. I always forget there's a camera right there.

So. 2:05:35 was my chip time. Sa-weeet. Last fall when I was running an 11 min mile, I never, ever thought I could do a 2:05.

Based on how I feel today (great & totally ready to run again), maybe I could have gone faster?! And there it is.... I wonder if I could have gone faster.

Oh wait, did I say I beat my goal by 5 minutes? Yeah, that's not even enough for me?! lol There is always faster & always farther. :) But for today, I am supa dupa proud of this run.

Elvis, free jelly beans, perfect weather, cups with lids & straws, nothing hurting, negative splits & a 9 min PR from my fastest 1/2. BOOM.

Watch out 2:00, I'm coming to get cha.