Key West Half Marathon

I started the running year off with a race in Key West, Florida! This was my mom's first half marathon, so we decided to do a fun destination race. It was the perfect break for me in the middle of this assignment in Colorado. I got to enjoy a few days off, see my parents, soak in some warm weather, and run a race!

I spent the whole day Saturday traveling. I had to drive 2.5 hours to Denver, take 3 connecting flights, and 2 layovers. I got into Key West at 10:15 Saturday night. Luckily none of my flights were delayed because we had to get up at 5am, (which was 3am Colorado time). I didn't sleep well the night before the race, so I only got about 3 hours of sleep. Even so, I was super excited to run this race!

Our hotel was about a mile away, so we walked to the start line. The sun wasn't even up yet, but already it was a nice warm temperature outside. A little humid, but not too bad. We got to the starting area about 15 minutes before the race started and got into our corrals. I told my mom I would meet her at mile 12 if I could. Then we were off!

I lined up with the 2:00 pace group, even though I hadn't trained as much as I would've liked, between moving across the country and starting a new job. I had decided to start out running this "for fun" and then see how I felt. If I felt okay, I was going to try to break two hours. The first mile was slow because of all the runners crowding, and there were a lot of turns on the course. I noticed it was fairly humid, which is a big weakness for me. I do not do well with heat and humidity.

After two miles, I decided if I wait to "see how I feel", I'm never going to break two hours. I had to start pushing myself right from the beginning, or take it easy and not try at all. I decided to go for it, which meant I had to run the rest of the race around a 9:00 pace or less. Thankfully, after the first 3 miles, the course ran along the ocean, where it was cooler and absolutely gorgeous! Miles 3-9 were probably some of the best miles of any half marathon I've done! It was beautiful and peaceful.

I found two girls who were running slightly faster than me, and sneakily used them as pacers for awhile. When they would start to get too far ahead, I knew I was falling off pace, and I'd pick it up a little. We ran along the ocean to the turn-around point, and I kept an eye out for my mom. I saw her around mile 7 and it looked like she was doing great! Around this time, my "pacers" started slowing down, so I passed them and I was on my own again.

I was feeling pretty good until mile 10. At this point, the course went back through town. There were lots of turns down different roads, which was annoying, and it was more humid once you got away from the ocean. I'd also run out of Gatorade and had to start drinking what was offered at the aid stations. I don't know what they did to their Gatorade, but it was nasty. My stomach started hurting and I started to fall apart. The only thing that kept me going is that I knew I was so close to breaking two hours.

I tried to keep running around 9:00 min/miles, but I just couldn't maintain the same pace that I'd had along the boardwalk. If I didn't have a time goal, I would've run those last 3 miles a lot slower. I was starting to feel sick and felt like I had nothing left. I knew I hadn't trained enough for this; my legs were starting to go numb and I knew I'd be sore the next day. The ONE thing that kept me going was the thought of coming in at a time that started with a 1 and not a 2.

The last mile of the course was stupid. There were so many twists and turns- at one point, it was like a maze through a courtyard where the course double-backed on itself about 4 times. It was annoying trying to run past other people and navigate all the corners, because I had to focus on that instead of keeping up a good pace. It was kind of discouraging. I was still not feeling well and all I wanted to do was finish!

I pushed as hard as I could, and maybe a little too much, because as soon as I crossed the finish line, I threw up. Like, I couldn't even make it to the sidelines or anything. I just stood there with my hands on my knees, retching up all that nasty Gatorade. It was kind of embarrassing, although I actually felt much better afterwards. I stopped my Garmin at 2:00:11- so freaking close, and yet so far! All that effort and I didn't even reach my goal. BUT- I'm still proud that I pushed myself and ran a good race. I could've taken it easy, but sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself, even if you fall short of your goals.

I walked around for awhile, because I knew if I stopped right away, my muscles were going to cramp up. I started walking back along the course to wait for my mom at mile 12. I was going to run the last mile with her, but I ended up running with her for bits a time, then running ahead to get a picture.

I'm so proud of my mom for finishing her first half marathon! We got awesome medals- we noticed ours are slightly different, which is pretty cool! It was a fun race and scenic course, especially the middle miles along the ocean- that was definitely the best part! I'd recommended coming to Key West anytime to run along the East coast of the island- it's gorgeous!

Official time: 2:00:04     Pace: 9:10     10k: 57:05

1	9:48 (crowded)
2	9:10
3	8:54
4	9:16
5	9:06
6	8:51
7	8:40 (fastest mile)
8	8:47
9	9:06
10	8:55
11	9:13
12	9:40 (struggling)
13	9:05