This is one race that I have been looking forward to since I began the winter of my discontent by focusing on my run. I have been pretty impressed with how my run has progressed in the last few months and wanted to see what I could do on a challenging course. I also wanted to prove to myself that if I hit a pace, I could hold on. Which is going to be vital going into a season that is now going to be riddled with Half Ironman distance races with the ultimate stretch goal of qualifying for 70.3 World Championships in November down in Clearwater, FL. It was also going to be fun since we had a good portion of our team running as well as a newcomer to the running world in Rovi Oliver. Oliver used to tip the scales at 330 and is now around 190lbs. Very impressive since he has to be around 6'5" tall. An believable person with a better story.
Brett, Oliver, and I got down tot he start line and went to find our corral to begin the race. The endurance sport community is rather small and tight knit so Oliver thought Brett and I were running for Mayor with all of the people we knew down there. Brett went up front with the other billy goats and I started in the middle of corral B. The gun went off and 9 seconds later, I was crossing the starting line and off to the races. I always love the beginning of races. Most are so brimming with adrenaline that they take off down the road at a pace they never thought they could hold. And most of the time, they are right. For as fast as they run past me, they start coming back even faster before the 3 mile mark. I can always count on a good laugh from that.
The first 2 miles were down hill so I knew that I could get a little time there. Keep the heart rate in check while maintaining a swifter pace was the game plan and one I was able to stick to. Once I started the rolling hills around mile 3, my watch was buzzing every 10 seconds. A few days earlier I was out on a Zone 3 tempo run and set my watch to tell me when I was out of that zone. I forgot to turn it off and my watch was going apeshit! It is tough to try and forget about running when your are being reminded every 10 seconds that you are, indeed, running. I tried to reset the alert but didn't have my glasses on and can't see the menus. I finally got it worked out but ended up turning off my heart rate monitor all together. The weather called for rain in the morning and it started to drizzle which turned out to be a great way to cool down.
The race was going to plan as I averaged a 7:12 through the first 9 miles. Then it SUCKED! I was feeling pretty good at the 9 mile mark. My hamstrings were talking to me a little on the uphills but nothing major. A teammate of mine, Andrew Dollar, came up on me and said "let's go!" He surged a little and I went with him. Trucking along until the first of what was a number of hills. I made it up the first with little room between us but there were more. The distance between us grew as he battled the hills. I just tried to increase cadence with smaller steps and power my way up but at this point, my hamstrings were screaming at me. The hills seemed to last forever. I went from a 7:12 average through 9 to a 7:40 average per mile over the remaining 4.2 miles.
Coach Dan wanted me to give it what I had once I hit the Georgia Tech campus. I saw the Tech campus and all I had was enough to reach my goal. I crossed the finish line at 1:37:08 and saw Dollar who put 2:05 between us in just over 4 miles. Joe Whitwell, the animal, was there with us when Yvonne came across the finish line like she always does. Smiling! It is always great to race with her and her husband (read my Ironman entry to see how Steve and Yvonne are). The energy just oozes from them both. Albeit in different ways. She smiles as he cusses. Steve came across the finish line with a personal record and cussed the whole time. We waited for a minute and here comes Oliver. In his first Half Marathon, he turned in a 1:43:47! I think we can get him in a full sometime soon.
The race went great! The only rub I found was that I did not take on as much nutrition as I should have. It was a little chilly out and under those circumstances, I have to remind myself to drink. It's easy when it is hot out. Get thirsty, drink! I utilized the aid stations for water and had a fuel belt filled with Infinit for carbs, calories and the likes. I couldn't have run any better and truly feel I left everything I had out on the course. Coach Dan was proud that I contemplated quitting the sport all together. He thinks when those thoughts come to you during an event then you truly are racing. Normally I just go out for a long run. Sunday I had my first long distance road race.
(Insert Doogie Howser sign off music here)
I proud of you little one.
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