I think I like the post race a little more than the pre-race. While it's fun to prepare for the challenge ahead the true joy is in analyzing the run after. This is where the drive to do it all again comes from.
The alarm went off at 3:45am this morning and I popped right out of bed. I was fresh and ready. After a quick shower I donned my gear and made my way to the kitchen for a quick glass of OJ before I started making breakfast. I made my usual fair of 2 pancakes and a second glass of OJ. After I inhaled, I grabbed my duffel bag loaded it with 2 Gatorade and a water and ran out the door. I was pretty surprised by the amount of traffic on the roads at 4am on a Sunday morning. I assumed most were the Saturday night crowd waking from their drunken coma's enough to drive home. The drive into the city was event-less and parking was quick and easy at the Grant st. garage.
I parked grabbed my bag and proceeded to the main area of the race. The air was cool but humid. The sun hadn't risen yet. I felt like I was missing a cup of coffee, a donut and the morning paper. I drove through some very mild fog on the way in and it was gone by the time I arrived. Though the humidity remained. They were still in the throws of set up at 5:30 and didn't get the music going until about 5:45. I found a nice concrete step to sit on and crowd watch. Sadly nothing of interest to report in my mass people stalking. Runners are typically good, organized respectable people. I pulled out my iPhone logging into foursquare and decided I'd better go find the bag check and a potty. With those two items out of the way it was 6:10 and time to find my corral.
For some reason still unknown to me. My pace group (1:45) was in corral 4. I was assigned corral 3 and at the expo they moved me down into corral 2. I opted to stay in 3 and start at the back of the corral. I figured I needed the head start.
If there was a race bible this rule would make the 10 commandments of running. Thou shalt not go out too fast, but as every runner will attest to; it's way too easy to go out too fast. You get caught up in the moment, the excitement the adrenaline and with the days rest leading up to the race you feel like a fully charged battery. I was fearful of going out too fast. Being downtown with the skyscrapers blocking satellite signal on my GPS watch added to the problem. I knew I was going to have to run on feel and truthfully I felt great. Combine that with a bunch of other runners presumably not monitoring their start and you have the perfect mix for a quick couple miles.
The first 5 miles were ran in the downtown area where I had no GPS signal. I ended up with a slightly slower than 10K pace, which was a bit too fast for a half marathon in the humid conditions. At mile 6 it was pretty much over for me. I was tired. I wished the race over. 7 more miles sounded hard. Turns out, it was. By mile 9 I had started my run walk combo's. I was keeping pretty good pace during the run portions, but I felt like I was walking too much. The 10 mile mark is both a joy and a curse. You know you have a simple little 5K left. The problem is there is no gas left in the tank to run it. The last half mile I was cruising again. I just wanted it to be over. It's very much like going on a long 8 hour road trip in a car and finally arriving at the destination. That's the exact feeling when you cross the finish line. I'm here! Finally!
I remember telling myself how I'm not going to do any more long runs. Telling myself that the marathon in January will be my one and only. Then I'll stick to the 5 and 10K's. As I sit here and type this out I can't help to think of my mistakes and how I could improve them and make it a more enjoyable run. How I'm going to do things differently at my next half. I can't help but compare it to giving birth... well, at least how I imagine it. You go through pain and suffering. You endure until you think you are going to die. Then you recover. Then you have joy. Then you forget about the pain and suffering and want to do it all over again. Yeah. That's running.
Here's my "to work on" list from this run.
1. I need to up my weekly training mileage 22- 26 is not enough
2. Breakfast could use some fine tuning
3. I need to really focus on a slower start
4. I need to practice refueling mid race
Here are the positives
1. I got good rest leading up to the race 3 days off
2. The first mile was spot on.
3. I was feeling good that first 10K
4. My hydration was spot on. before and during the race
5. I did minimal walk runs
6. I stayed below a 9min mile even with walks
Until next time
Stay strong, stay fit and keep on running!
-Bob
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