Race Recap: 2019 Bentonville Half Marathon

The 2019 Run Bentonville Half Marathon took place on Saturday March 30th. It was my second race in the Natural State Running Series. In addition to some crazy elevation changes, we also had to contend with cold and rainy weather. A thunderstorm and heavy rains delayed the start of the race by 30 minutes. Fortunately, several churches opened their doors for the race participants and by the time the race started it was barely raining. I knew the temps were supposed to drop during the race so I opted to wear capris, a tank top and arm sleeves. I learned my lesson on over dressing at the Run the Line Half Marathon and wasn’t going to repeat that!

After the previous week’s Spring Fling 5K, I set a goal to break 2 hours and aim for 1:58. In order for this to happen I strategically planned my splits around the race elevation and hills. I divided the race into 3 sections. The first 7 miles of rolling hills, miles 8-10 straight downhill, and miles 11- to finish uphill.

Since downhill running is my strength, I wanted to save my best effort for the second section of the course. This meant I needed to run conservatively for at least the first 5 miles and not let the rolling hills take too much out of my legs. I built in a couple of faster miles in this section to take advantage of miles that were mostly downhill, but my intention was to keep everything slower than 9 minutes and then started dropping the pace in miles 6 and 7.

Miles 1-6 were pretty close to my plan with the exception of an 8:49 for mile 2 and its steep downhill. Also as I approached that 2nd mile mark my left piriformis tightened up in the worse way. I had no idea if I’d be able to keep up the pace let alone finish the race. I just concentrated on each mile and the pace for that mile. I looked forward to mile 6 when I could pick up the pace and I tried not to think about the pain.

I had it in my head that the downhill started between 6 and 7 so the uphill in mile 7 cost me some time with a 9:17. Once the decent started, I smiled and dropped the pace. Some runners even cheered for me as I flew by them. It was a lot of fun and I resisted the urge to coast. Instead I kept pushing the pace. One time I glanced at my watch and saw the time was in the mid 7s! Mentally I gained a lot of momentum from this part of the course. 

Just before mile 10, the course moved off the road to a paved trail. I continued to push hard through mile 12. I was surprised that the uphill wasn’t as bad as I expected. I wanted to make up as much time as I could before the course got really steep.

After mile 12  it was another story! It felt like I was running straight up the mountain! There were several switched backs and I told myself, “Just don’t walk! You are too close to quit now! And you’ve made some great time.” The trail was lined with spectators and junior high cheerleaders cheering us on which was a huge help.

Almost finished!

With about a third of a mile to go the trail began to level out and led us to the streets of downtown Bentonville.  I hadn’t looked at my watch at all during the last mile, but when it chimed 13, I swore I saw 12:17. I was sad, but glad I didn’t walk. My legs were burning, but I continued to push through to the finish line. The finish clock read 2:00:53. I walked to through the finish chute in tears thinking I missed my goal and that last mile was the reason why. (Note to self, I have to quit crying in the finish chute as it makes me have almost have an asthma attack! I did the same thing at Run the Line!)

It turns out that my official finish time was 1:59:27! My Garmin had me at 13.2 so maybe if I had only run 13.1 I would have hit my goal of 1:58. Regardless, I was very pleased! And the last mile was actually a 10:21! Race results can be found here.

One cool thing about this race was the finish area had lots of amenities. I was able to get a PT to stretch out my glutes and piriformis within 10 minutes of finishing. There was lots of food available too. The only drawback was there was not a bag drop or a place to change. The temperatures were dropping and we were starting to have some freezing rain. To warm up I stopped in the Wal-Mart Diner on the square for coffee before walking back to my car.

This race was extra special because I got to spend time with my friend Elaine, who I have literally known all my life. Are moms have been close friends since before we were born! After the race we went to the Buttered Biscuit and spent two hours celebrating and catching up. 

Pre-race hugs from Elaine!

Celebrating over lunch with Elaine!

Overall I was really happy with this race even though it was far from my PR. I enjoy running strategically and hitting a goal instead of leaving it up to chance and hope you run near your capabilities. Had I gone out too fast I think my finish time would have been 10 -15 minutes slower. In case you are curious, my goal and actual splits are posted below.