Cross-posted on jeredb.com
It has been a couple of days since I finished the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon (here after referred to as RnR) in Virginia Beach, so here is my break down of how the run went.
After a trip to Alabama, which included an 11 mile run, I started my taper. The RnR was on Sunday, so I wanted to have a nice long taper. I ran on Tuesday, a brisk 3 mile run and that was it. Starting on Thursday, I began a gradual carb-loading, which ended on Saturday night was a pasta feast prepared by Esther.
For the RnR, I planned on taking my Camelbak, I learned in my training runs that the water stations were spaced just a little too far for my comfort. I also planned on running in my KSOs. The rest of my gear was basic, hat, sunglasses, GPS. One notable item missing, my iPhone. I was going to run this one pure, no music. Plus, why would I want to miss all of the bands (more on this later).
Sunday was an early start. 4:30. Okay, really 4:45, but I was up before the alarm. I had pinned my number the night before and set out all of my gear so I could be ready while Esther showered. For breakfast I had about 3 inches of french baguette, split down the middle, toasted with cultured butter. This was a good choice, it kept me from feeling hungry.
We started driving to Virginia Beach, which is a surprising distance, and I was starting to get focused. We tried using a Griffin FM adapter, but it couldn’t find a good station, even in the HRBT tunnel, so I switched over to CDs (Note to self: Make a pre-run CD). When we arrived at the runner drop off point, it was backed up. Eventually, I had Esther let me out, i was going to walk to the start. I had to find her car among the traffic to give her my glasses.
The first thing I did after coming around the front side of the Convention Center, was line up for the Porta-potties. I knew I had to go, I had about 24 oz of water on the way down, way too much. So I waited and waited. Heard lots of conversations about how fast people were planning on running and saw all manner of gear. After 15 minutes in line, I was finally relieved.
I walked around the sea of people waiting to start, I was tempted to grab a bagel or banana, but I knew it would only sit in my stomach, weighing me down. I stretched, i warmed up a little and made my way to the corrals.
When I got to my corral, I found Esther. She thought I wanted to run with my iPhone, so she parked and rushed to get it to me. It was actually really good to see her before the race, not only because she is so awesome, but she also had my DIY Goo, another thing I forgot to do. I slurp down a couple of ounces of syrup, gave her a kiss and head into the corrals.
When a sign says “Corral 15″ you think it would indicated that it was where Corral 15 was. The corralling was kind of messed up, entrances weren’t clearly marked, what corral people were in was messed up, particularly after the elite runners started. The sea of runners shuffled forward while people were trying to get into their corral, but they were sliding into the corral behind the number they thought they were. There was one gentleman in my corral who was not happy about how the corralling was done, “I’m going to complain to the organizers about this.” Go ahead buddy, I just want to finish.
Needless to say, I was in the wrong corral, 14 instead of 15. I decided to take whatever advantage I could get. If I got disqualified because of it, I would still have run the race and have the time from my GPS, so I shrugged that thought off.
I started in the same corral as Woody, the Toy Story cowboy. Seriously. A guy dressed in full costume. I wonder what his time was, I didn’t catch his bib number. Woody was also the bozo who was inflating beach balls to be tossed through the crowd. Why? I’m trying to focus on my run and I have to worry that I’m going to be hit by a beach ball or someone trying to keep the ball in the air. Sigh.
We finally got up to the starting line, the previous corrals has been released, and I’m nervous. I have been worried that people would step on my toes in my KSOs, luckily no one has. I’ve had some stares and one person asking about them. I hope my feet hold up. 13.1 miles is a long time to be in them.
The horn blows and we are off.
After I started, I felt like I had to pee. More of that 24 ounces, oh well, have to hold it for a while. The roads were smooth, very comfortable to run on, the sun had just come up and broken through the clouds, the temperature was great. This was going to be a good run.
20,000 people registered for the event. It is really hard to cram 20,000 people down a few streets in Virginia Beach and not have people cut one another off or have people wanting to stop and walk right in front of you. Off the starting line, I was pretty sure I was going to be in heavy traffic all day. I worked really hard to to cut anyone off, but I can’t say the same for my fellow competitors.
Just before the half mile mark, the bands started. I won’t be writing about how I found my new favorite local band, unfortunately, I found a few tone deaf, or really off key singers and some wailing guitars. The odd thing was, I never heard song all the way through. You can hear the bands for about a quarter mile before you reach their stacks, and about a quarter mile after, an though the entire race, not once did I hear the middle section of a song. Always the end of one and the beginning of another.
The other thing about the bands, they destroyed my mental mojo. Just as I would get a rhythm in my head, a tempo, I would reach the next band and it would all be shot to hell. Same with the cheerleaders on the course. When I run it again, I just might have to bring my own entertainment.
The water stations on the course were a mess. Some road paint would be really nice, so would have keeping them on a single side of the street. I didn’t need any water, I was hauling my own, but I did try a little CytoMax. Disgusting. Melon flavored “citrus” made me happy stick with water, Buddha-ade and Gatorade. The water stations were a mess not only from organization, but the number of cups and amount of water on the road. I was behind a woman who nearly wiped out from a poor landing on a cup. I was also not entirely thrilled to be running through the sticky Cytomax that coated the street.
At mile 6.5, I had to stop and pee. The distraction from my feet had been nice, but the tank was full. 6.5 also happened to be the GU station on the course, so I grabbed a GU Strawberry and made for a Porta-John. Had to wait for a minute or two, but then finally got in, did my business and got back out on the course.
Mile 10.5 was the return trip over a bridge. Just before, a nice family was in the median handing out I-Cee Pops, which I graciously took. Orange flavored, sugary slush never tasted so good. I sucked most of it down on, discarding it at the foot of the bridge. The cool down from it was excellent. A very big Thank You to the I-Cee pop people just the before the bridge.
I was doing really well mentally until Mile 11. That was as far as I had run in training. I guess my playlists had kept me entertained on my runs. At Mile 11, my sense of time and distance got totally out of sync. I knew there was a hard right turn some where ahead, but I couldn’t see the runners in front of me disappearing in the corner.
By that point, i was feeling it, I felt it in my legs and between my shoulder blades. My legs were feeling heavier. I wasn’t going to walk, but I could feel it.
The crowds were thick from Mile 11 on. One thing that pissed me off where the spectators who were smoking. I don’t know if was the physical depletion, but it seemed like I could smell it a quarter-mile away. Come on! I guess it is not as bad a runner lighting up on the course, which I didn’t see, but it felt like it.
Before Mile 12, an ambulance came racing down the free lane in my direction, “Weird.” I thought, “Someone probably pushed it to hard, dehydration or something.” Apparently not. TK It was weird afterwards to think about the implications of that. It actually put a little bit of a damper on my post run glow.
Mile 12 to 13 was hard, not physically, in that regard it was pretty easy, flat, smooth surface. It was a little hot, being out in the sun on the Boardwalk, but mentally, it was crushing me. I think I had left a little too much out on the race course. I cruised to the finish, but didn’t have the legs for a final “kick” like I would have liked to.
With a goal time of 2:15:00, my finish of 2:12:30 has made me really happy. I think that the RnR will become a regular stop on my running calendar as long as we live in the area.
Recovery wise, I have done well, It is 3 days on and I am not sore. I am itching to get back out running, after all the OBX marathon is only two months away!