3M Half Marathon Recap 1.13.13

Today was the 3M half marathon.  I ran this race in 2007 and loved it.  I ran the relay in 2011 with Jennifer and we took first place in the open women's division (seriously kick ass).  I decided to run it last Sunday, a sort of last minute decision.  I was originally supposed to run the Houston marathon or half this weekend, but John is heading off for a business trip today and after running the marathon in Dallas I was kind of 'meh' about traveling for another race again.  So I differed my entry for Houston to next year (it's a lottery) and cancelled the hotel room.  Then I was left twiddling my thumbs.  Jennifer, and about 30 other people I know, were running 3M, so I decided to do it too.  I was not planning to all out race or go for a personal best, but I wanted do it anyway.

Weather: 40 degrees with 15-18mph winds, feels like 30
Start: 6:45am (early!)
Course: point to point course, starting in North Austin, heading South to finish downtown near the Bob Bullock Museum.  This course is mostly downhill, except for a few challenging hills at the end around campus.  Lucky for us, the wind was blowing North to South so we got a nice tail wind most of the day. 

The big debate this morning was WHAT TO WEAR!  Pants or shorts, long sleeve/coat/short sleeve, how many layers?  GAH!  I went with pants, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt and jacket (all very thin), gloves, hat and ear cover.  I could have done without one of the shirts but was warm enough for sure.

I ran the first 6 or so miles with Jennifer at a pleasant 8:15-8:20 min/mile pace.  Then she dropped back a little and I kept up the pace to see if she wanted to stay with me.  I was TORN about whether to stay with Jenn or keep going.  I know sometimes in race I want to be left alone and other times I want to be encouraged and pushed.  I wasn't sure where Jenn was at (wanting to be encouraged or left alone).  Since she was still hanging back I decided to let her do her own thing.  At about mile 7 I took off and ran 7:40/mile the rest of the way.  At mile 11 I was feeling like the king of the world!  Then the hills around campus came and my knee and hamstring started to ache a bit.  I was definitely glad to see the finish line.  Official finish time: 1:47:50. 

Jennifer and Amanda at the finish line

Most importantly there were Tiff's Treats Chocolate Chip Cookies at the finish line and this race has the best race swag.  Overall, great race, I have NO complaints.  It was well organized, not too crowded but always runners around.  There were plenty of water stops and crowd support.  The buses from the finish back to the start were fast and we didn't have to wait at all.

Kickin' race swag from 3M