In this episode of Running on Pixie Dust, I’m giving you the full play-by-play of my half marathon race recap from the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon on Sauvie Island in Portland, Oregon. I signed up for this one because it’s known as a fast, flat course (no hills please), it was convenient since my family lives there, and I really wanted to chase a big time goal after surprising myself with a huge PR at Princess. I’d just wrapped 16 weeks of training with my coach—4 days a week, lots of speed work (new territory for me), and my highest mileage month ever—so I truly felt ready to go for it. Race morning started strong: I warmed up, felt amazing, and used my Garmin pace targets to stay locked in. The first half of the race honestly went exactly to plan—I was hitting the paces I wanted and even running shoulder-to-shoulder with people at the same effort (which is so different from RunDisney). But right after halfway, my body flipped a switch. I started feeling weird, then sick, dizzy, and faint, and I had to take walk breaks even though I was hydrated and fueling the same way I’d practiced (electrolytes, carbs, gels—nothing new on race day). The biggest takeaway: sometimes you can do “everything right” and still have a rough race, and learning how to problem-solve mid-race is part of becoming a stronger runner.