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I survived!
Oct. 14th, 2007 01:20 pmToday was another milestone in my ever on-going attempt to deny my chronological age: My first half-marathon.
The half-marathon is 13.1 miles or 21 kilometers. Usually they are combined with full (26.2 mi) marathons, but fortunately for me there is a half-only race that starts 12 miles away (and ends 2 miles away) from where I live. The City to the Sea is an annual event that draws about 700 runners, mostly local. This is about the perfect size, as far as I am concerned. Small enough that it won't be a zoo; large enough that I won't finish last. :-)
My friend Rebecca was also running, which was nice, although I knew she wouldn't be running with me, per se. Rebecca has run many marathons (including LA and Boston) and ultras, and a few Ironman triathalons to boot, and can run a half pretty much on a whim. But still, it was nice to have someone to chat with at the start and finish.
I actually felt pretty well trained for this race. I've been running 30-40 miles per week pretty consistently, including several 15 mile long runs, so I knew that finishing would not be a problem. I was pretty hopeful that I could finish in under 2:11 (10 minute per mile), but since it was my first time racing this distance, you never know.
It was perfect running weather, low 50s, no wind at the start. I drove to Rebecca's house, which is less than a mile from the finish line, and her daughter drove us to the start in San Luis Obispo. This way we wouldn't have to park in SLO and take the shuttle back at the end of the race, we would just walk back to Rebecca's house.
The race started pretty much without a hitch. I estimate it took me about 40 seconds to actually cross the start line. The first 8 miles or so were fine. Asphalt road, some shade, mostly flat and downhill. I was averaging about 9:40 mpm at that point. Then I started to run into difficulties. Even though the course is a net downhill of about 200 ft. over the 13.1 miles, starting around Mile 8, there are some serious uphills. Well, serious for me, because all my training is treadmill or beach, i.e. flat. So while my cardiovascular system could handle it, my quadriceps were toast! So for the rest of the race I ended up walking most of the uphills. When I felt myself starting to flag a bit with a bit one mile to go, I pulled out my secret weapon; my iPod shuffle. I train with it, but I don't like to race with music because i think it detracts from the experience, but I had it in my pocket set to, what else, American Idiot. I put in an ear bud, forwarded it to Jesus of Suburbia, and sang along, with the thought "I'll cross the finish line before the song's over!" And I did. :-) However, the walking caught up with me, so I crossed the mat with a net time of 2:14:20, or 10:16 pace. But hey, the nice thing about running a distance for the first time is that you always set a PR (personal record.) Didn't finish last in my age group either, so that's OK. (Random musical note for my friends of the Panic! persuasion: I had that in my CD player on the way to Rebecca's, so guess what was running through my head the entire time? The IV and your hospital bed, this was no accident, this was a therapeutic chain of events... Nice. :-/)
The other good thing about the race is that I don't feel bad at all. A little tired, but not wiped out by any means. Actually looking forward to doing it again. Not next week of course. Oh yeah, that's right, I can't anyway. I leave for Hawaii tomorrow. :-) Aloha!
The half-marathon is 13.1 miles or 21 kilometers. Usually they are combined with full (26.2 mi) marathons, but fortunately for me there is a half-only race that starts 12 miles away (and ends 2 miles away) from where I live. The City to the Sea is an annual event that draws about 700 runners, mostly local. This is about the perfect size, as far as I am concerned. Small enough that it won't be a zoo; large enough that I won't finish last. :-)
My friend Rebecca was also running, which was nice, although I knew she wouldn't be running with me, per se. Rebecca has run many marathons (including LA and Boston) and ultras, and a few Ironman triathalons to boot, and can run a half pretty much on a whim. But still, it was nice to have someone to chat with at the start and finish.
I actually felt pretty well trained for this race. I've been running 30-40 miles per week pretty consistently, including several 15 mile long runs, so I knew that finishing would not be a problem. I was pretty hopeful that I could finish in under 2:11 (10 minute per mile), but since it was my first time racing this distance, you never know.
It was perfect running weather, low 50s, no wind at the start. I drove to Rebecca's house, which is less than a mile from the finish line, and her daughter drove us to the start in San Luis Obispo. This way we wouldn't have to park in SLO and take the shuttle back at the end of the race, we would just walk back to Rebecca's house.
The race started pretty much without a hitch. I estimate it took me about 40 seconds to actually cross the start line. The first 8 miles or so were fine. Asphalt road, some shade, mostly flat and downhill. I was averaging about 9:40 mpm at that point. Then I started to run into difficulties. Even though the course is a net downhill of about 200 ft. over the 13.1 miles, starting around Mile 8, there are some serious uphills. Well, serious for me, because all my training is treadmill or beach, i.e. flat. So while my cardiovascular system could handle it, my quadriceps were toast! So for the rest of the race I ended up walking most of the uphills. When I felt myself starting to flag a bit with a bit one mile to go, I pulled out my secret weapon; my iPod shuffle. I train with it, but I don't like to race with music because i think it detracts from the experience, but I had it in my pocket set to, what else, American Idiot. I put in an ear bud, forwarded it to Jesus of Suburbia, and sang along, with the thought "I'll cross the finish line before the song's over!" And I did. :-) However, the walking caught up with me, so I crossed the mat with a net time of 2:14:20, or 10:16 pace. But hey, the nice thing about running a distance for the first time is that you always set a PR (personal record.) Didn't finish last in my age group either, so that's OK. (Random musical note for my friends of the Panic! persuasion: I had that in my CD player on the way to Rebecca's, so guess what was running through my head the entire time? The IV and your hospital bed, this was no accident, this was a therapeutic chain of events... Nice. :-/)
The other good thing about the race is that I don't feel bad at all. A little tired, but not wiped out by any means. Actually looking forward to doing it again. Not next week of course. Oh yeah, that's right, I can't anyway. I leave for Hawaii tomorrow. :-) Aloha!
