Overall, it went well, but it could have been a bit better. My target goal was to finish between 2:20 and 2:30. I really felt that 2:20 would be right where I would finish, but my timing chip finish time was 2:26:07, a bit slower that I had hoped for. Also, I now have some soreness in my knees for the first time. Hopefully, that will go away in a few days, since I am scheduled for another half marathon in three weeks.
In retrospect, there is a lot to take away from yesterday. So, what did I learn?
First, while my training schedule seemed to be right on pace for what I wanted to accomplish, I need to be a bit more diligent in my last minute prep work. I was good about getting my race gear laid out and packed for the morning, but not good enough. I got the correct amount of clothing for the weather. Shorts and long sleeve shirt. I also packed a bag with a jacket and pants in case that was needed for the wait between when the shuttle bus dropped me off at the race venue and the start. In getting out of my car at the off site parking lot, it seemed warm enough to not need my extra clothing. Probably a mistake. It turned out that I was correct in not needing the extra clothing for before the race, but it would have come in very handy for after the race. I also forgot to put a bit of cash in my race vest when I left my car, so I was not able to take advantage of some of the vendor sales after the race.
The biggest last minute mistake I made was to drink more than one cup of coffee when I got up. I am not a morning person, and getting up at 4:15 in order to get to the event on time is as big a challenge for me as the weeks of training. When I got up yesterday, I really felt that I needed a second cup of coffee.
My usual long run routine has been to wake up, walk the dog, drink one cup of coffee, eat a couple of waffles, then drive to the Tobacco Trail parking lot. Visit the bathroom there if needed and start my run. The longest of these runs lately has taken 2:30 for 14 miles. I would finish the run, then take a cool down walk, do some easy stretching, and drive home for a shower.
Race day worked a bit differently. As I said, I had a second cup of coffee. No problem I thought, there would be plenty of time for a rest room break in the hour between getting off the shuttle bus and the start of the race. Which there was. However, the race was delayed for about 20 minutes. Not too long, but longer than I was mentally prepared for, and standing in the start area without space to really keep warm and limber was to have some affect later on, as did the second cup of coffee. Here is what it looked like while waiting for the start.
I knew there would be porta-potties along the race, so I wasn't too worried about needing to go. I did assume there would be more than one or two. Wrong assumption, which led to a stop of what seemed like 10 minutes around mile 5. Looking at my garmin data later, it really wasn't that long, but it sure seemed like it at the time. The final garmin data showed a total time of 2:26:12 (very close to the official chip time) and a moving time of 2:19:21. So, my bathroom break only cost me around seven minutes. Without this break I would have hit my target goal.
Here I am, back on the trail after my short break, coming up on mile marker 6. Very pretty trail to run on.
Except for the long wait at the start and the unplanned break, I felt good for the entire run. No aches, pains, etc. It was very enjoyable and a lot of fun to go through the finish line and pick up my medal.
After the finish, I walked around a bit, tried to keep moving for a good cool down period, but did not remember to do any stretching. Another mistake. I started to feel a bit cool, so I headed back to the waiting area for the shuttle back to the off site parking lot. The wait for the shuttle turned out to last 1:45, thats one hour, 45 minutes. I really could have used my extra clothing. There were shuttles coming every few minutes, there were just that many people in line. I really started to stiffen up during the wait. By the time I got home, I had some soreness in my knees. Here is the line in front of me waiting on the shuttles.
So, a bit of a mixed day. Very happy to have finished my first half, but I hope to do a bit better in the next one.
The next one is to be the Flying Pirate half out at the Outer Banks on April 10. Until then, I plan on not running for a few days, then a few short slow runs to finish out the week. Then if the legs feel OK, do a normal week of maintenance runs followed by a short taper week.
After that, it will be time to start planning my training for a full marathon.
Till then, see you on the road.
