half marathon race
slept with the plantar splint just to make sure the foot was ok.
up at 5:30am, already packed so on the road in 15 minutes.
ate a muffin before leaving, drove an hour,
had some sugar wafer cookies and gatorade/water mix on the way.
got race bib and shirt, hit the porta-a-potty and said goodbye to the big meal.
wrap feet, dress for race, jog 4 minutes, stretch.
it is overcast and 59 degrees, much better than I was expecting.
I was prepared to run with ice in a sock under my hat and carry a big
bottle of ice water, but opted only for a smaller bottle of ice water.
I ran 1:54 a month ago,
this course is hillier, but the weather is surprisingly good, though
at my size I still break a good sweat.
I think 1:53 should be in the bag,
1:51 if everything clicks.
to the start line, got the mp3 going, no anthem (this race used to be 3 times larger)
but they did have a real starter's pistol which caught some people by surprise.
We are off, 7:47, 8:19, 8:11, 8:18 - starts in town, then out to the country, mostly flat
8:31, 8:32, 8:40, 8:38, 8:39 - a few hills in every mile, nothing serious, but costing me 10 to 20 seconds per
the 20oz of ice water lasted to about mile 5, then the ice was gone,
the cold bottle in my hands worked to keep me cool, I had to switch hands fairly often
and I drank a little and splashed some on my head every mile.
By the 2nd water stop I had taken water 7 times, worked wonders.
I should have brought another bottle with ice only and switched the water to it once the ice was gone from first.
8:05 (downhill), 8:30, 8:39 (more hills), 7:53, :52 (flat, kick for home)
finished in 1:49:36, season best by nearly 4 1/2 minutes, 8:22 pace.
also SBs for 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 miles.
And I felt pretty good, nothing hurt and not near heat stroke.
Had to hit the road to get to work
Checked the results later,
32nd overall
21st male
1st in age group
WTF!!!!!
A fatso like me shouldn't be winning the age group.
(I suspect that post race my weight might have dropped to under 220)
About 12 years ago I ran this race and finished 54th out of about 350
I thought I had a chance in my age group, but I am in the running boom bracket.
I was 27th in my age group, fully HALF of all finishers ahead of me were men in their 40s (12 years ago)
Now I win the age group. The old guys are in trouble if I am their standard bearer.
Damn, if I had known I would have hung around to get the medal.
I passed a guy during mile 8 and another during mile 10,
it turns out they were in my age group,
one came from West Virginia and the other from North Dakota.
In my last half marathon I was beaten by runners from Nebraska and Florida.
Why do people drive 1,000 miles just to race me?
Oh, well. Bring them on.
3rd half marathon of the year in the books. 13th fastest ever.
Technically the pace is a BQ, if I could hold it for another half.
But not with the cut off factor which might be -4 minutes this year.
I would actually need to improve by 8 seconds per, which is 4 pounds.
But that is only for the half, the pace for a full is usually 40 seconds
slower than a half, so i would need to lose 24 pounds,
or get my training up to higher levels,
actually it will be a combination of both, next year.
