CIM Miles 10-22.5: Finding confidence for the first time

It's fascinating to me how that switch flipped around mile 10 and I decided I was going to go for it.  It was awfully reminiscent of the White River half, during which I suddenly thought, "yes, I will run the rest of this race at 6:15 pace."  That was a break-through half for me, and also the race that inspired me to go for the 2:45 full.  After I made this call at CIM, mile 11 was my fastest mile of the race, but it also had the most downhill (thank you Strava GAP!), so I don't think it was too fast, but it was kind of symbolic:  it was Go Time.

As we neared mile 12, the group of men we'd been running with started to speed up even more than we already had been.  I didn't feel comfortable picking it up any more at that point, and I sensed Jamie felt the same way, so we stayed where we were while Kris pressed on with the men.  I continued praying, "God, make us strong and brave.  Help us all to PR.  Help us all get that 2:45:00."  You can read about what a phenomenal race Kris went on to have here -- I was beyond elated for her and think she ran so smart (she ran a half PR in the second half of this race!).  She also did a podcast on I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein, episode 94 found here.  Kris and Lindsey discuss me briefly at around 1:04:00 in the podcast, which I was super excited about!

Jamie and I pulled up on a group of women just before the half and latched onto them for awhile.  Around this time we were also starting to pass elite women (we were in the sub-elite group), who were identifiable because they had numbers on their backs displaying their ranks going into the race.  I loved being in such a stacked female field because there were always ladies around, and passing the ones with numbers on their backs was particularly confidence-inspiring, because I knew they'd run a 2:46:00 or better marathon or 1:18:00 or better half to get that elite spot.

We passed the half mat in 1:22:57.  I fully believe that if I'm going to run a 2:45, it's going to be via halves of about 1:23/1:22, so this was an ideal first half.  I felt really fresh and I thought "I actually have a chance at this thing!"  6:15 seemed terrifying yet also achievable.  I kept with my mantra, "God, please make us strong and brave."  I don't choose race mantras in advance, because there are so many aspects of every race that you can't predict ahead of time, and I do best when I let mantras develop according to those, but some of my sayings end up better than others.  This one was far superior to my "It's just like an 8 mile tempo run, only 5 miles farther" at the Indy Women's Half!

My family was waiting just after the half, cheering with all they had!  My Dad's video from that point is here.  I took my second gel around this time.

Just after the half

The miles kept clipping off right where I wanted them to be, and they felt brisk but sustainable, each one solidifying that this was what I should be doing.  Each mile that passed I kept thinking that I could actually do this; at mile 18, "I can really do 8 more miles at 6:15 pace, I can!"  We were passing more and more elite numbers, including the woman who was ranked 9th going into the championship race.  As I kept rolling, I would sometimes question, "Will I have enough?" but would quickly reassure myself that I really was going to; I felt great.  I needed God to make me strong and brave, and I would be enough.

After mile 18, and a good representation of
how there were always people to run with
yet it was not crowded

Jamie and I got separated at an aid station, although I'm not exactly sure which mile it was at.  I was just behind her but I knew she wouldn't know I was there, and I didn't want to surge any (those 1:00 pick-ups to sub-6:00 pace during long training runs taught me that doing that could blow me up!).  I prayed for both of us to be strong and brave.

When I hit the mile 20 mat in 2:06:10, I knew if I could maintain 6:15 (for a 38:50 final 10K) through the end I was really going to do it!  I really thought I could.  At Phoenix I'd needed a 39:50 final 10K to get a 2:49 (I ended up running 39:10), and this situation felt so similar because in that moment I really thought I could make it happen.  It is always nice to have more wiggle room time-wise, but for me when running for a time goal like this, I just can't have it or I'll for sure bonk.

I continued to roll and to believe until around mile 22.5...

I couldn't figure out where to include this, but this is the
course elevation.  It is truly a "fast but not easy" course.
The net drop of over 300 feet is nice, but you climb a
significant amount too.