Corporate Cup Race Recap

Completed my 6th half marathon yesterday at the BB&T Corporate Cup in Charlotte, NC.  The conditions were ideal for a race this time of year, 30 degrees with little to no wind and not a cloud in the sky.  I entered this race having recently come off some PR's in shorter distances, so I was feeling strong.  After a solid taper week where my legs were well rested, I knew it had all the makings of a great race.  

The plan for the race was to use Mile 1 as a warmup (around 8:30 pace) and then hold a 8:05 - 8:15 average until Mile 11 where the large uphill going up Moorhead Street is (and lasts for 1.25 miles) - at that point I knew my pace would slow and that I would just have to hang on for a strong .50 mile finish where it flattens out.  Target race time was 1:47 to 1:49, although I really wanted 1:45 :)

Woke up around 5:00am and started my day with my 24 oz of water, 1 cup of coffee and Shakeology (chocolate w/ unsweeteend almond milk and 1/2 of a banana).  We left the house to head uptown at 6:15 so plenty of time to relax and get my head right for the race.  They had a great pre-race setup at the Wells Fargo Atrium so we were able to wait inside in the heat instead of freezing our tales off outdoors - great move by the race organizers.  During the wait, I ran into a fellow 2,015 in 2015 challenger - which was great.  Love the running community, its filled with so many genuine people.  

Headed to the starting line and positioned myself around the 8:00 pace group.  The gun went off and we were off with the typical beginner race shuffling going on.  The first couple miles are really flat so it was a great way to warm up.  First hill wasn't until around 2.5 miles and it wasn't bad.  This course is known to be very hilly and the toughest 1/2 course in Charlotte...good thing I like hills :).  Felt strong and my cadence was spot on thru 3 miles, hit mile 4 which is largely downhill going out of Charlotte on 3rd street and looked down at my watch and realized my pace was too fast.  I knew I had to save myself for the hills coming up in miles 8 -13.  First set of splits are below

Mile 1 7:59
Mile 2 7:59
Mile 3 7:59
Mile 4 7:06
Mile 5 8:13
Mile 6 8:08
Mile 7 7:59

At this point the mega hills come near Myers Park High School...and oh my they are killer! Steep inclines, one right after the other.  I use a lot of positive mantras when running and one of my favorite is "Fresh Legs Every Mile" but during this race I changed it up to "Fresh Legs Every Hill" because I needed them.  I did more positive self talk during this race than I have ever done before just so I could get thru the intensity of what was going on.  Around mile 9.5 - 11 its more rolling hills down Queens Rd to Kings so I did my best to recover and gear up for the intense climb I knew was ahead of me going up Moorehead Street.  That last 1.25 mile climb up Moorehead was all about just holding on and pushing thru.  I was not going to hit the wall there, it was time to dig deep and push thru.  I kept my eyes looking about 20 feet in front of me and just kept repeating "fresh legs every hill" and "you can do anything for another mile".  We turned on Tryon St and it flattened out for the final .50 mile to the finish.  I gave it my best final kick and crossed the finish line at 1:48:46!  That is 10 minutes faster than Thunder Road in November and exactly where we thought I would finish.  Final splits were

Mile 8 8:21
Mile 9 8:25
Mile 10 8:34
Mile 11 8:26
Mile 12 8:44
Mile 13 8:55

I am very happy with he results and pumped for the next one (Racefest in April here I come).  This was by far the toughest 1/2 course I've ever ran, not sure how anyone can do a negative split on this one given how back loaded the course is with hills...but I'm willing to try again :).  

Special thank you to my husband for cheering me on and indulging my post race cravings of pancakes...

Until the next race!