Last Saturday I ran the Trail of Terror half marathon. I was the fourth or fifth time that I have done this particular race and it was my best time on the course. Not only did I a PB, I also finished 2nd in my age group and was 3rd woman overall. The weather was perfect for running! About 55 degrees at race time with a slight breeze. Sometimes the breeze was a tailwind and sometimes it was a headwind. I love headwinds. They make feel strong as I push into it!
The race started at noon, which can sometimes make it a little tricky to know how to fuel. This is what I did and it seemed to work out just right! For the two days proceeding the race, I took Nox at bedtime. This supplement helps increase nitric oxide and preps my body for endurance. I also took another Nox at 9 am on Saturday morning. At 8 am on race day, I had my usual breakfast shake. Then 45 minutes before the race I took a pre-workout drink. With 15 minutes to go before the race start, I took my GU stroopwafel that contained a small amount of electrolytes and caffeine. During the race, I took another stroopwafel at mile 8 and an eshot at mile 10. I grabbed water at 2 aid stations (mile 8 and 10).
It's been a few year since I have run this course and it was a lot hillier than I remembered it being. But, I've run a lot of hills so I didn't let the hills worry me. My goal was to run the first 2-3 miles at an 8:45 pace and then pick it up after that. My first mile was a little fast at 8:21, but mile 2 was an 8:44 and mile 3 was an 8:45. After than I did pick up the pace. I felt so strong and confident. My stride felt smooth. Even though I was wearing my Garmin, I decided that I wasn't going to look at it. Sometimes, when I look at my Garmin, I panic about the pace. Because I was feeling so good during this race, I decided to forego looking at my Garmin and just run on feel.
Another goal was no walking. I almost achieved this goal, but at miles 8 and 9 I could feel myself bonking as I was running the hills for the 2nd time. I walked through the aid station at mile 8 as I took in my stroopwafel and then I walked briefly sometime between mile 9 and 10 after summitting another hill. Even with those walk breaks, my paces for miles 8 and 9 were 9:09 and 9:21. I realized that I waited too long to fuel and that is what caused the slower paces. Now I know, so next time I'll do better.
I am so happy for how this race went! My overall pace was 8:33 for 13.1. I'm looking forward to my next training cycle and preparing to get another BQ time.
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