Missoula 13.1 Race Recap

What an amazing weekend the family had. It was great being able to see my good friend from college for a couple of days and being able to race with her yesterday. I am truly blessed.

Marc and I left Saturday morning for Montana. It’s a short 2 1/2-3 hour drive from our house. We went straight to the expo to pick up our race day packets. Since the expo was outside we didn’t stay long, because it was so hot outside.We grabbed a bite to eat before checking into the hotel and just relaxed.

Of course I started getting my gear and outfit ready for Sunday’s race, because I am that Type A planner type. 😉

We had an early dinner so we could hit the hay early. Since the race started at 6 a.m. and we wanted to get to the buses by 4:45 a.m., we were up at 3:45 (2:45 a.m. our time).

After dinner we walked around downtown for a little bit and ran into a Hippy Festival. Nothing unusual for Missoula.

Then back to the hotel we headed. Our AC didn’t work in our room, and was frozen. Let me tell you when it’s nearly 100 degrees outside and your prego this isn’t something you like to hear. We grabbed a fan from the front desk, and they told us to turn the heat on so the unit would defrost.

Again bad idea. Unit never did work and the fan sounded like a jet plane. Needless to say, I had a very restless night and maybe got an hour of sleep. It was so uncomfortable and I was all stuffed up with a dry, scratchy throat, which has turned into a horrible head cold. I was super nervous for Sunday’s race, since I wasn’t feeling well.

Thankfully I had a great race. I was relieved to hear the alarm at 3:45 a.m…never thought I would ever say that. Marc and I got ready and ate as we walked to the buses.

We met up with Skye and her mom, Brenda at the race start.

Yes it’s really dark & early before the race.

I finally took my bump photo for the week too (just a few days late). 25 weeks prego. This was baby girl and I’s 7th race together since March.

After getting our sunscreen on, waiting for the sun to peak up over the mountains, and checking our gear bags, we were ready to race. On a side note, I love the fireworks they light off every year at the start. It always startles me, but it’s fun!!

I settled into a grove almost instantly and felt great. I think it helped warming up the muscles with some dynamic stretches. I was hitting 7:15/30s and it felt easy. My goal was under 1:45, with 8 min miles, but from the get go, I knew I would be finishing sooner.

• Mile 1: 7:19 Mile 2: 7:01 Mile 3: 7:11

Skye ran with my for about 5 miles and then I slowly drifted back. I don’t know whether she sped up or I slowed down, but I wasn’t going to push it to hard. I liked my pace and it all felt comfortable. Baby bean took her place sitting right on top of the bladder. I was determined to avoid potty breaks….and I did.

• Mile 4: 7:18 Mile 5: 7:15 Mile 6: 7:17

The miles seem to fly by. I enjoyed running with the guys, who were determined to beat the “prego”. One guy ran with me for a little ways around mile 7 and said “I don’t know about that.” I replied “What?” “You don’t look pregnant,” he said. I laughed and told him “I am 25 weeks pregnant.” He then replied, “Really? Well I am not letting a pregnant lady beat me.” He zoomed passed me, as I replied “I am here for your motivation” and he laughed.

• Mile 7: 7:15 Mile 8: 7:22 Mile 9: 7:26

I eventually caught him around mile 9. He tried to stay with me, but couldn’t. He said “Screw that I don’t care if you beat me. I’m not going to tell anyone.” I laughed and said “Me either.” I helped pace a lady, who was running her first half for about a mile and a half, but she fell back.

By mile 10 I wasn’t feeling so hot and the race was beginning to feel long. I spotted some friends up ahead and slowly caught them. I had a huge surge of energy right before mile 13, and just went with it.

• Mile 10: 7:25  Mile 11: 7:24 Mile 12: 7:25

Along the course I saw some friends from high school and other places and we chatted for a bit. I had the same reactions from people, saying that they loved my shirt and were motivated to beat me.

When I finally turned onto the bridge with .2 left, I kicked it into high gear and finished in 1:35:54. Nowhere near a PR, but much faster than I expected. 7:17 average.

• Mile 13: 7:08

The race felt so much shorter, because I am used to running the full at Missoula. It’s a great course. I then received my giant medal and shortly found Skye and Marc.

 Can I just say Montana knows how to give medals…Go Big or Go Home!!

Skye and I didn’t finish too far apart, and didn’t even know we were that close to each other. It was funny. I only felt a little pressure during the race, but afterwards it was painful.

All and all, it was another race for the win. Baby girl and I took 10th in our age group too.

Marc PR’d with 1:30:37 and got 8th in his age group. Stud!!

We watched Skye’s mom finish and visited with some friends while enjoying the great post race food (watermelon and real fruit bars totally hit the spot after a summer run), before heading back to our hotels to shower. Marc and I hit the road shortly after. I did get to see my mom for a quick bit, while we stopped to pick my aunt up. Short and sweet trip.

It was a fun race and I highly recommend it. It’s mostly flat, with maybe little elevation gain, and it’s beautiful. You run along the river and enjoy a nice cool breeze. It was much cooler than I expected it would be. But by 9 a.m. it was toasty and I was glad I hadn’t done the full. I didn’t get hot, amazingly.

Thankfully I had a road trip home to recover properly.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!! I certainly did.

Oh and if your interested. I have entered to be the next cover model for Runners World Magazine. You can vote here every day for me. It’s an amazing opportunity to be even more apart of the sport I love!! You can vote until the end of August. I wouldn’t normally ask anything like this of anyone, but it’s a huge dream!!

Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit