Signing up for the Richmond Half Marathon months
before race day was really a second thought.
My fall goal race was the marathon at Niagara Falls. All my focus was on scoring my first sub four
hour marathon and roll into the remainder of my fall/winter schedule. The half at Richmond would be at best a
relaxing half to run along with my wife who would be fast walking her first
half. I placed no pressure and no real
expectations on myself. This lasted
until around mile three.
PRE-RACE: The week
prior to Richmond was a real mental test, it was my birthday, our 23rd
wedding anniversary and we lost our doggie Hanna to a mass/cancer on her
spine…she had been fighting it and winning for nearly two years. Then it came back, at just over 12 years old…we
had to let her go. By the time I entered
the starting corral Saturday morning, standing in the cold, in the rain, and
with a hole in my heart. I was mentally
beat.
Then something clicked, all the positive vibes of the other
runners lifted me up. Being in that mass
of people, being in the center of all the positive energy, my spirit began to
shine. And honestly the thought of how
much our Hanna loved to run, to be outside fueled me to want to run a good
race, but I still had no goal, outside of just enjoying the run.
Erie Runners Club Turkey Trot T-Shirt (might be coolest shirt I own)
NIKE Air Pegasus w/tech socks
Crawlin Crab hat
Garmin GPS 201
White gloves
knee strap
RACE: Shorty after
getting into my corral (Corral B) I noticed by chance that I was standing near the
1:45 pacer. My luck with pacers lately
had me considering backing up and running along with the 1:50 group after all I
was not going to push it three weeks after my FIRST sub four. But with the packed crowd, I decided to hang
where I was and just see how this race ran out.
I did vow to NOT follow the pacer if he got off to a fast start. My goal if I had one was to run a overall eight
flat pace and be near my previous PB of 1:44:11 (2008).
Using a wave start the elites and A corral went off right on
time and the energy within our corral picked up as we shuffled forward. I
noticed there was a lot of bouncing and tapping of feet as we approach our allotted
start time. Minutes later the PA system
was announcing that corral B would be going off in 3…2..1 Go. We were off.
As common in nearly all races the start got off quick, I was being
passed on all sides and yet I was running a solid eight flat…and still lost
sight of the 1:45 pace within 50 yards of the start. Why some pacers feel the need to have a HOT
START is really bugging me. But more on
that later. Through some heavy self-talk
and replaying of my success just three weeks earlier…I cooled off my jets and
ran a smart, yet slow opening mile.
Mile 1 8:25
Mile 2 8:06
Mile 3 8:07
(Keeping focused)
Near the three mile sign I was really getting into a groove,
to the point everything seemed perfect.
Normally in any race, something is just not clicking…but today all body
systems were fully functioning.
Mile 4 8:03
Up and throughout mile 5 I felt really strong, and was
trying to keep my pace in control. As I
would glance at my GPS nearly every time I would have to mentally tell myself
to slow down. I was trying to maintain an
eight minute pace but would often see my Garmin display 7:50 or faster. With the collapse at the Crawling Crab on my
mind, I was determined to not flame out again.
The course was pretty flat, excellent crowd support and even with a
chill and light mist in the air…the conditions were near perfect. From the flat roads we headed into Joseph Bryan
Park, a nice little inner city park, that although the course map said it was
flat did offer some little but sneaky elevations changes. I assume in hindsight, since this little
section did offer some challenges I noticed myself getting up on the front of
my shoes and attacking some sections…at one time seeing my GPS displaying 6:48… What surprised me most was that at this point
in the race it was easier to run a faster pace than it was to slow it down.
Mile 6 7:55
Mile 7 7:18
Mile 8 7:49
We left the park and headed back to the city streets of
Richmond. I was feeling really good
about my position in the race, my breathing was good, noticing hardly any
stress. At about this point I noticed a
few runners around me were really struggling, yet my conservative start put me
in a great position. I did have a
challenge to overcome, somehow at this point my brain could not figure out how
many miles I had left, 4, or maybe 3 no 6?????
Oh I hate math and math on the run…I’m lost. But through all the mental fog, I knew it was
time to attack the rest of the course. I
had set myself up in a great position and It was time to run. It was time to claim the
PB.
From here on out it no longer was just a run, it was “Catch
that runner in the yellow shirt, the orange shirt…catch that guy wearing no
shirt!” Every colored shirt in front of
me became a target. At one point I felt
like an Olympic runner closing in on a podium finish. And I ran hard…
Mile 9 7:28
Mile 10 7:34
Mile 11 7:22
Mile 12 7:27
Mile 13 7:31
If I have to say the finish was a big surprise…..No, it was
the biggest surprise. I was making great time coming down Grace
Street, catching
runner after runner, then turning onto 5th street I
saw the massive downhill to the finish.
My legs loved it as it was effortless to run but my mind hated it, a
fear of tripping actually had me slowing down to not over stride. I’ve run the full marathon a few times in the
past, and I had heard they moved the finish.
BUT nothing got me ready for the massive downhill finish going onto
Bellis Island. An epic battle was ragging
in my head, RUN FASTER….NO, slow down. Don’t fall….don’t listen to him Gump! RUN. RUN. RUN FASTER! But, Gee Wizz, Batman don’t fall down.
Crossing the finish line, it hit me…I had just set a new PB
for the Half…just three weeks after running my sub four. After a terrible week…I found a few moments
of joy.
FINNISH: 1:42:41
POST RACE: Michele
and our Dear friend Kendra, finished their half in 3h 11ms…a first for both of
them. All in all it was a great
day. Just don’t ask me how long it took
me to find my car after the race… Hint: nearly as long it took me to run the
race. Not a happy camper but it was all
my fault. In the future I will pay
attention to where I park!
(Michele and Kendra)
PACER RANT: And I
know they, the pacers, do this out of good will, and I know they have a lot more
experience than me, but why have the last three pacers gone out so hot on the
start of the race? I fear they burned
out a lot of the folks counting on them to achieve their goals? At the Crawling Carb Half, the 1:45 pace
group burned me out…I could not keep up the 7:40s they were running from the
start and at mile 8 or 9, I was dropped.
OBTW an 8:01 will get you a 1:45 finish.
At Niagara Falls the four hour pacers went out so fast that they were
out of my site early on. Last seen they
were dragging a big crowd with them. I
ran an opening 9:25 pace off a 9:10 target that will get you a sub four finish. I caught them near mile 20 and the large
crowd was reduced to a few suffering stragglers. And here at Richmond, I caught the 1:45
pacers around mile 10 maybe 11 and again the large group that was at the start
was gone. I’ve got friends who pace
people, I’ve got tons of respect for these people and I’ve read tons of success
stories about how pacers ran perfect races helping other achieve their goals. I ran behind a pacer at Shamrock, and he did
a great job, I turned a PB. But my
recent experience points me to a thought that maybe these pacers (just the
three I have crossed paths with lately) burned some people out. Just my two cents…and yes I’m going to see if
I can try my hand a pacing.
PLAN YOUR RACE, RACE YOUR PLAN.
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