I have had a hard time figuring out how to write about this half marathon race. Quite often the words for these articles come flooding in while I am out for a walk or doing some menial task. I keep waiting for that to happen with this one, but it has been a week, and nothing.
I find myself wondering why that is. This was a big goal. We worked towards it for a long time. As I wrote previously, things didn’t turn out exactly as we had planned and maybe that is also why I find it hard to put into words what the day and the experience meant.
We decided to walk the race because of Stefanie’s knee. But truth be told, it was my glute, hip and hamstring that slowed us down long before her knee did.
Getting race ready
Let me back up. This race was a point to point race. That meant that we needed to take a shuttle, pretty early in the morning, to get to the start line. The alarm went off at 4:45 am so that we had time to eat a little something and get ourselves ready to head out.
We stuck to our usual pre-race meal. English muffin with spun honey for me and peanut butter and blueberries for Stefanie. I had fixed our bottles with our G1M Sport the night before. I freeze about half and then fill the bottle with the rest in the morning. This eliminates the annoying bounce of ice in the bottle and as the ice melts it includes some of the mix instead of watering it down.
The start line
It was set to be pretty cold at the start of the race so we took layers. Thankfully they had a bag drop so I was able to ditch my sweatpants at the start and pick them up again at the end. We opted to keep our sweatshirts and tie them around our waist when we warmed up.
The shuttle buses stayed at the start for quite a while, so we had the option to stay on the warm cozy bus. Of course my bladder had other ideas. All three of us got off pretty much when we got up there and headed to the port-o-potty line. It was probably a good thing that we did because the lines only got longer as we waited for the start.
Luckily it was not quite as cold as we had anticipated and the time waiting for the start was not too bad. It was fun to watch all the other half marathoners and get caught up in the race energy. By this point I had a pretty serious case of nerves. I was confident we would finish, but in the last few long training walks my glute and hip started getting fairly uncomfortable. I was just hoping that it would not flare up too bad during the race so that I did not have to deal with pain for too long.
Our plan was to walk from the start. I had said that if we were feeling good by mile 8 and Stefanie’s knee was holding up, then we could try adding in some jogs. I was hoping to protect her knee and myself from going out too quickly and struggling through the back end.
Best laid plans
The energy of the race really got to us. Halfway through the first mile I looked down at my watch and saw an average pace of 16:30/mile. This was about 2 minutes per mile faster than we had done our training walks. It is crazy because it didn’t feel like we were going faster. Clearly we were being pulled along by the crowd. And there was definitely a bit of a crowd. We decided to do a little jog to put some space between ourselves and the other clump of walkers. (So much for the plan of waiting to do that until mile 8). We were really humming along for a few miles there. We did sprinkle in some short bursts of jogging. It all felt really good, so we decided to just go for it.
At mile 4 we stopped at the aid station to use the restroom and that stop took us down to about 17 minutes per mile pace. But we quickly earned some of that time back. It was also at this aid station that we were for sure being overtaken by the marathoners. That was an interesting part of this point to point race. The people running the 50K and marathon were also running a point to point race. The marathoners started 13.1 miles up the road and 30 minutes before us. The front runners caught us somewhere in the 4th mile. They were moving!
Challenges arise
We recorded each mile marker, thanks mostly to Stefanie reminding me, so that I could put together a reel for Instagram. Looking ahead for the aid stations and mile markers was helpful. Once things started to feel hard, it really pulled us along. We always spotted the blue marathon markers first, and then .1 mile past were the half and sometimes ultra mile markers.
We were moving along at a pretty quick clip for most of the front half. Between mile 6 and 7 is when the discomfort set in for me. I did my best to ignore it and keep moving. But inevitably, I needed to slow down. We did less and less jogging from cone to cone and just set in for the trudge.
Midway reflections
Right around this point, when we realized we were half way there and that finishing would mean walking for another 2ish hours is when I think Stefanie turned to me and said, “I don’t ever need to do another one of these.” I asked her later if she remembered when she said it. I can picture the spot on the course, but don’t recall for sure when it was. My best guess is that it was about this point. What is funny is I was also wondering why I would ever want to do something for this long again too.
I think this is the issue. I think this is the reason I have struggled to write this. Although from the length of the article already, I certainly had a lot to say. Finishing this race feels the same as when I finished the Long Beach Marathon with my brother Jimmy. It’s not that I never want to do it again. It is that I want very much to do it again, but better.
After that marathon I vowed I would never train for another one until I was much faster. The amount of time it takes to train for a longer race is high, even for a traditional runner. When you factor in the slower pace for walking or even run/walking, it just consumes so much time
Just before mile 10 we caught up to a marathoner who was really struggling. By this time my own leg was starting to really mess with my head, so I could really feel for this guy. He asked to borrow my phone and sent off a text to let someone know that he was still on the course and going to be significantly slower than anticipated. He was definitely bummed about how his race day turned out. I was impressed to see him continue his effort to finish, no matter that according to him there was “no point anymore.” He kept trudging along all the same.
Supporters to the rescue
At the mile 11 aid station we stopped at a port-o-potty again. We wondered at the intelligence of this move given that neither of us was sure we would be able to stand up and keep moving if we sat down. It turns out that a few minutes of pause was good for the legs. At that same aid station there was a group of drummers and dancers that really provided a boost to morale.
Then for an even bigger boost our family cheering squad, Stacy, Brian and Hailey, were waiting and cheering at the 11 mile marker. Looking back, seeing them really saved the end of the race for us. They walked a little bit with us, Stacy commenting, “You guys are moving fast!” which made me feel a million times better than I felt. We also offloaded the sweatshirts we had tied around our waists and headed off for the last two miles with a pep in our step. A bit further down the road, my brother Dave was also waiting. He had finished quite a bit faster than we did, but was still there to cheer us on and let us know what to expect in the last couple of miles.
How do I know it was them that gave the much needed boost? Because on the backside of mile 12 the struggle came back hard. Stefanie asked if I wanted to run a bit. But by then my shin was on the verge of cramping and each step was a careful balance of moving forward and not seizing up.
The finish line
As we turned the corner to where we could see the finish line Dave, Stacy, Brian & Hailey were again there cheering us on. I wasn’t even looking at my watch at this point, but we managed to cross the line in under 4 hours. Our overall pace was 18:12/mile which is still faster than any of our training walks.
In the end, we did what we set out to do. We accomplished something that a lot of people will never even try. Stefanie promised in her wedding vows that she would do a half marathon with me someday. Promise fulfilled.
Future Goals
I do fully intend to work on getting faster and doing it again, but better. Stefanie has promised me that she will be there. But this time it will be as part of my support and cheering squad. And I am very much okay with that.
Having a race goal helped me find consistency in training that I had been lacking. My current plan is to find a 5K race sometime in late February or March. My ultimate goal is to get much faster so that I feel confident to target another half marathon. This time I would like to prep for it with the plan to run the whole thing. Along that line, the current goal is to get back to a place where I can run consistently. The best we got in this training was a 2/2 walk to run split. I will slow down my pace and build back up to the point where I can run consistently. Then I will keep doing that, over and over, until I get a little faster and can go a little farther.
Running has been a recurring theme in my life. I have come and gone from it several times. My dad was a runner. He found peace and enjoyment in the solitude and I am like him in that. Running is something that I know I can get better at if I keep putting in the time and effort .
I will do it again, but better!
