2016 – Page 3 – The Key Runner

Flashback: My First 20 Miler

Posted on October 14, 2016 by pjsmith73

Since I’m scheduled to do a 20 miler tomorrow, I was thinking back to the 20 mile run I did during last year’s training.

Two things you need to know:

When I run on the McMullen Creek/Four Mile Creek Greenways, I park at Johnston Road. There’s a path from the parking lot that goes down a hill to where the greenways meet, and Four Mile Creek goes to the left, McMullen Creek to the right. Normally, I try to finish my run before going up the hill to the parking lot.
I’m a Jets fan. (No, I don’t want to talk about how they’re doing this season.)

I decided to run at McMullen Creek/Four Mile Creek for my 20 mile run. I ended up running on Sunday, because I had been out of town for a funeral the previous week, and didn’t get home until Saturday afternoon.

For the most part, it was fairly uneventful, which isn’t a terrible thing for a 20 mile run. The weather was pretty nice, about 55 degrees.

As I was approaching my last mile, I did some math. I would pass the path to the parking lot with about .75 miles left, so if I ran past it to about the 19.60 mark and turned around, I’d just need to go .05 toward the parking lot. Since that path goes uphill (but not right away), I figured that would work.

Then, just before Mile 19.5, I saw a woman walking in the other direction wearing a Rob Gronkowski jersey.

Oh, hell no.

(As a Jets fan, of course I reacted the way I did. But I’d like to think that, at this point, most knowledgeable football fans have a healthy hatred of the Patriots and would have done the exact same thing.)

So I turned around and took off so I could pass her. It didn’t matter that I had already put in over 19 and a half miles. My hatred fueled me. I passed her around the 19.75 mile mark. (No, I didn’t say anything. Even under normal circumstances, I generally try to avoid conflict.)

Of course, the problem with this is that I had turned around early, so I got to the path to the parking lot well before I reached 20 miles. I ended up having to run all the way up the hill and halfway around the parking lot before I finally got to the 20 mile mark.

It was totally worth it.

This year, I’m doing my 20 miler on a Saturday, so I don’t expect any Gronkowski or other NFL jerseys. Maybe I’ll see some college football gear, but I don’t think anything will cause me to speed up like I did last year.

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 3-9

Posted on October 9, 2016 by pjsmith73

This week, I went into uncharted territory with my mileage and my long run. I also had to swap my Saturday and Sunday runs to avoid Matthew.

I hit a milestone this week, 1000 miles for the year. I’m going to fall short of my initial goal of 1500 miles for the year, but I wasn’t expecting my ankle to blow up like it did, and *knock on wood* barring any further issues, I should end up with a respectable number of miles.

Weight Check: 162.6, up 1.1 pounds from last week. On the one hand, since I moved my long run to Sunday, my weight doesn’t include any long runs. On the other hand, I drank a ton of Mountain Dew this past week. All these miles are really making me tired, and that’s how I’ve been dealing with it. My eating hasn’t been terrible, really. I did have a beer each night when I went out with friends Tuesday and Wednesday. But for the most part, the problem is the Mountain Dew.

**This Week’s Runs**
Day	Scheduled	Total Miles
Monday	Easy 4	4.01
Tuesday	1.5 mile warm up, 8 x 3:00 at Threshold (10:30/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 1.5 mile cool down	7.31
Wednesday	Easy 7	7.01
Thursday	Easy 7	7.01
Saturday	Easy 5	5.01
Sunday	3 mile warm up, 4 x 3 mile at Marathon Pace (11:00/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 3 mile cool down	18.76

Total: 49.11 miles

Yes, that’s a new weekly mileage record. Part of me wishes I could have gotten it to 50, but I just barely got it to 49, so it’ll have to do.

Monday I got on the treadmill to give my legs a break. I don’t remember what the weather was like that morning, but I don’t think it was either great or terrible. The treadmill, of course, is still mentally excruciating, but it does definitely help my legs when they’re feeling beat up.

Tuesday’s workout was pretty simple. The weather was OK. In my notes, I described my legs as “functional.” All of my intervals were under the target pace, and the very last interval I managed to get my pace down to 8:49/mile.

Wednesday was a no good, terrible, very bad run. I have no idea what happened. Yes, my legs were tired, but they’ve been tired since August. I can’t blame the weather, either. 57 degrees, no humidity. Every once in a while I have a run like this where I question everything, and after the run I have a strong urge to take all of my running gear, throw it in a pile, and kill it with fire. (Obviously, I didn’t do that, since I had 3 runs after this one.) Like I said in my notes, let us never speak of this run again.

Thursday was almost exactly the run that I needed. It wasn’t great by any stretch, but I felt much better, even though it was 63 and humid. No need to burn my running gear…yet. Side note, Thursday marked exactly one month until the New York City Marathon. I’m not freaking out yet, but there’s still time.

Saturday, I could have attempted my long run when it was 68 degrees, raining heavily, and lots of wind. Instead, I swapped my long run for the 5 miler that had been scheduled for Sunday. I drove to the Y, and except for the trip from my car to the entrance (and sweat, of course), I stayed dry. It’s still mentally excruciating. Also, I really don’t like doing 5 miles on the treadmill, at least not at an easy pace.

Then came Sunday.

A little background. I’m using basically the same training plan as last year, making a few adjustments for the calendar, and for work, and my trip to Portland. Last year, when I was scheduled to run this workout, we got hit with a ton of rain, and I couldn’t reschedule my workout because I had to leave town the next day for a funeral. I tried to run in the rain and gave up after 2 miles, then ended up doing two treadmill runs of 6 miles each. So this is the only workout on my plan that I had never done. Also, since I only got around 14 miles on this run last year, I ended up with no weeks over 45 miles. So that’s why I said I was in uncharted territory.

I really lucked out on the weather. 50 degrees, coolest temperature since April 10.

I also got a late start. I hydrated a little too well, and had to find a bathroom before I could get started.

My warm up wasn’t too bad. My first 3 intervals were pretty decent. My paces were pretty consistent, ranging from 10:37/mile to 10:48/mile. I felt pretty good, all things considered, for these intervals.

For the last interval, I ran the first mile in 10:46. Again, not bad. The second mile, my legs started to feel a little tired, but I managed a 10:44.

Then there was the last mile. My legs were really tired, but I put everything I had into that mile, and I finished it in 9:40. That’s a really good pace for me.

Here’s the thing, though. I can afford to pour everything I’ve got into the last mile. But that wasn’t the last mile. I still had 3 miles of cool down to run. And those miles were brutal. Like over 14:00 each mile. That brutal. Granted, I stopped a few times for water, which doesn’t help, but still. The only thing that kept me from stopping early was this thought: The Marathon doesn’t stop at Mile 25. Somehow, that kept me going, and I finished those 3 miles (and even added in an extra .1 mile to get to 18.76, a nice round-ish number).

I’m left with two possible conclusions. Either I had a major breakthrough on that 9:40 mile, and as a result, I’m going to go up to New York City and crush it, or I just completely destroyed my legs, I’m going to limp (hopefully only figuratively) through the rest of training, and my performance in New York City is going to make my performance in the City of Oaks Marathon look like my performance in the 2016 Charlotte 10 Miler. OK, the actual truth probably lies somewhere in between. (I’m still rooting for “Crush it.”) The one good sign (so far) is that my legs are tired, but I’m not noticing any pain. If that doesn’t change, I might be OK. I guess I’ll get some idea when I get out there and run again and see how my legs respond.

One other note, I need to find some new band-aids for my nipples. One fell off completely, the other shifted down about a quarter of an inch, and I ended up with some irritation on one nipple, with a tiny amount of blood (not visible on a gray shirt, fortunately). If the new ones can get through my 20 miler and stay on, they’re keepers.

Next Week:
Monday: Easy 5
Wednesday: Easy 4
Thursday: Easy 7
Thursday: Easy 6
Saturday: 20 miles LSD

The 20 miler. The big one. 6 days away.

I’m not sure what (if anything) I’ll be posting this week now that I’m completely caught up on my race history. I’ve got a couple of ideas, I just need to find the time to make them presentable. And if I don’t find the time, well, see you for the next Weekly Wrap-Up.

A Brief History of My First 8 Races

Posted on October 7, 2016 by pjsmith73

I’ve done Race Reports for all the races I’ve run since July 2014, but I ran 8 races before that. It’s been so long since each of these races that I don’t remember enough to write detailed Race Reports for each one, but I wanted to do something for them, so I decided to write up a brief summary for each one. I actually wrote most of this over a year ago, and was going to post it on my old site, but for some reason never got around to it.

September 10, 2011
Rock & Read 5K, Charlotte. 36:45.

My first race ever. It was good to experience a race before I did the Thunder Road Half. It was really cool that the overall winner was Mike Kahn, the guy who got me started running. Also, they had Highland Gaelic Ale after the race, which is one of my favorite beers.

When I ran it, the start/finish was near the Scaleybark library branch, but they’ve since moved it, and now it’s over by the Plaza Midwood branch. Also, at least in 2016, they’ve moved it to October. I haven’t been able to fit it in my training schedule since I ran it. The course I ran wasn’t too difficult, but since the race has moved, my opinion is no longer relevant. Still, it’s for a good cause, so I’d like to see if I could fit it into my schedule someday.

Also, this is the only race that I ran before I lost my car key in Ohio, so it’s also the only race without a post-race picture with my car key. I’m pretty sure my key is in my pocket, though.

Apparently I’ve never heard of a wonderful invention known as cropping.

November 12, 2011
Thunder Road Half Marathon, Charlotte. 2:49:35.

I still can’t believe I did this after running for just a little over 4 months. It was tough, especially at the end. I was worried about the 3 hour time limit, but I made it with just over 10 minutes to spare.

I broke one of the cardinal rules of racing, though. I bought a brand new long sleeved tech tee the day before the race and wore it for the first time. In my defense, all of my long runs had been done when it was at least 45 degrees out, and it was in the upper 30s at the beginning of the race.

Two things really stand out in my mind. Just before the start, I remember looking up and noticing how blue the sky was that morning. I also remember right after the starting gun, they played Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run.” As cheesy as it sounds, I loved it, and ever since then, that’s been a song that I use to get pumped up to go running. (I know the song isn’t literally about running. Take it up with the race organizers.)

First post-race car key picture. Birth of a tradition.

March 9, 2013
Get Your Rear In Gear 5K, Charlotte. 36:33.

After being lame and pretty much not running in 2012, this was the beginning of my comeback. I found out a friend of mine from high school, Tracy, was also running this race. We ran together, which was pretty cool.

It was a well organized race on a reasonable course. I’d be willing to do it again if I could fit it into my schedule.

The valet key. I have no idea why.

April 13, 2013
Come See Me 5K, Rock Hill, SC. 37:33

Worst. Race. Ever.

It’s not the organizers’ fault. I do think they could have done a better job marking the starting line, but otherwise, it was OK. I was getting over a really nasty chest cold. The worst of the cold was about a week before the race, but it cut into my training, and I wasn’t 100% recovered when I ran the race.

Someday, I’m going to get my revenge on the Come See Me 5K. I’m going to go back, when I’m not recovering from a chest cold or any other illness or injury, and I’m going to get a PR. Naturally, they’ve changed the course since I ran it, but it’s still got the same name, so revenge will still be mine.

I guess I wanted to make a quick getaway. First (and only) time I took the picture in my car.

May 25, 2013
Run For Peace At Home 5K, Charlotte. 34:49.

I had struggled with my runs in the weeks before this race for some unknown reason, so my confidence was pretty low going in. Right after the starting line, my phone had a complete meltdown (I ended up replacing it less than a week later), so I didn’t have RunKeeper, the app I used to track my runs with before I got my Garmin watch. I had no idea what my pace was. In spite of everything, I managed a new PR, beating my old record by 1:44, which is pretty significant in a 5K.

It was a smaller race, which was nice for a change. It was also on trails, which was also a nice change of pace. The trails weren’t too difficult, except for one hill in the middle. I’m not 100% they’re still doing this race, but I’d consider it. It’s a chance for (possibly) one last 5K before it gets really hot.

Valet key again. I still don’t know why.

Brief interlude: In late September 2013, I traded in my old Volkswagen Jetta for a new Toyota Prius. Before I turned over the key, I took one last picture of it. It’s the same one that I had to buy in Ohio to replace the one I had lost.

*short moment of silence*

OK, back to the races, now with a totally different car key.

November 16, 2013
Thunder Road Half Marathon, Charlotte. 2:38:26.

51 degrees and overcast. Not great weather for spectators, but excellent weather for runners. I blew away my old PR by over 11 minutes. And I proved that my half marathon in 2011 was no fluke.

When I ran the race in 2014, they changed the course. It wasn’t easier or harder, just different. And for 2016, they changed the name, and now it’s the Charlotte Half Marathon.

Landscape? Really? Uh, OK.

November 23, 2013
Charlotte Checkers 5K, Charlotte. 36:14.

A 5K one week after a half marathon? Sure!

There were extenuating circumstances. First, there were hockey tickets involved. (Will run for hockey tickets.) Second, and most importantly (Yes, more important than hockey), my friend Jess was running her first 5K. She had just completed the Couch to 5K program. So I ran with her, and it was really cool.

I wasn’t completely recovered from my half marathon, so I didn’t PR, but I stayed with Jess, even during the last mile when she tried to get me to go ahead. She still ended up faster than my first 3 5Ks. (In my defense, she’s younger than me by at least 5 years.) But it was pretty cool.

I ran it again in 2014 (on a totally different course), but they didn’t have it in 2015, and as of early October 2016, I don’t see it scheduled for this year, either. It’s kind of a bummer.

I had bib number 444. I thought that was cool.

I guess November 2013 was my Landscape Mode period.

March 1, 2014
The Road To Boston 5K, Concord, NC. 33:44

One of my co-workers organized this race to raise money so he could run the Boston Marathon. He ran it in 2012, which was the year it was like 90 degrees, and he literally almost died after the race. He skipped 2013, but after the bombing, a lot more people tried to get in, making it a lot harder to qualify for 2014, and he missed it by just a few minutes. So he raised money for a charity and got an entry. This race was part of his fund-raising.

It was cold that morning. 33 degrees. The course started with a steep downhill, and the nice part about it is that we never had to go back up that hill. I was still in the process of recovering from my foot injury, but that morning, I had a great run (although the downhill stretch certainly helped), and I set a new PR by over a minute.

To give you an idea of how small the race was, I finished 2nd in my age group. And my age group was Male 40-44, which, if you don’t know much about running, is actually the most competitive age group. (I don’t know why either.)

This was a one-time race, but if I heard about another 5K in the same location, I might consider it, although Concord is quite a haul for me.

Back to portrait mode. Pretty sure all my car key pictures since then have been portrait.

So that’s my early race history. It’s weird going back and looking at these races. I really was a different runner back then. Each race made me better in some way, though, and, with the notable exception of the Come See Me 5K (One day, I will get my revenge), I had fun at every one of them.

The Calf Blowtorch: How I Dealt With Shin Splints

Posted on October 6, 2016 by pjsmith73

Back in late August 2014, I started experience pain in my shins. I had been increasing my mileage as I trained for the Thunder Road Half Marathon, and shin splints are usually caused by an increase in mileage. The most common advice I found for shin splints is to take a week off from running. At the time, I felt like I couldn’t afford to take a full week off from running and still run my race at a decent pace. So I looked around some more.

I found the Calf Blowtorch.

The article doesn’t name the exercise (although they do describe it as “magical,” and I have to agree), but I came up with that nickname after trying them once. When I was done, I felt like someone had used a blowtorch on my calves. The pain went away after a few minutes, and there seemed to be no lingering soreness, so I kept doing them daily for a week. After a week, my shin splints were gone.

Every so often, if I start to feel a little bit of pain in my shins, I’ll break out the calf blowtorch exercise. The nice thing about them is that, in theory, if I wait 5-10 minutes, I can go for a run after doing the exercise. (In reality, during the week I’m usually pressed for time because I’m trying to get in a run before work, so I try to do them on a rest day.)

I should throw in the standard disclaimer that I’m not a doctor, and if you still have shin pain even after doing this exercise for a week, you should go see a doctor and find out what’s wrong. But I can say that, as painful as it is, this exercise worked wonders for me, and I’d recommend trying it out. Anything that keeps me running is a good thing.

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 26-October 2

Posted on October 2, 2016 by pjsmith73

Well, all of my race reports have been posted. I have one more post with brief summaries of my first 8 races which never got full reports. It’s funny, I wrote that post for the old site a while back, but for some reason never got around to posting it. It still needs some polishing, and of course pictures, but I’ll get it posted this week. Also, this week, I’ll do a write-up on how I’ve dealt with shin splints, the calf blowtorch exercise. I nicknamed it that because it really does feel like someone is using a blowtorch on my calves when I do it. The pain is temporary, though, and it seems to work for me.

I juggled my schedule this week so I could spend some time with my friends Wednesday night. I’m still not sure if my changes were good for my legs, but I did have fun hanging out with my friends.

Dental Update: I had a checkup this week with my dentist, and I’ve got 2 cavities. Bummer. When scheduling my follow-up appointment to get them filled, I chose Tuesday, October 11. I based that on my scheduled meetings at work, but later I looked at my training schedule, and that’s the only Tuesday on my entire training plan where I’m scheduled to have a rest day. I find that amusing.

Weight Check: 161.5, down 1.1 pounds since Friday, September 24. I weighed in before my Sunday run. A 17 mile run can cover up a lot. Last weekend, I drank a few beers, and drank soda while I was driving to and from my parents’ house. This week, I was exhausted most of the time, and so I drank Mountain Dew. I guess I did OK eating, though.

Since I decided on Monday to make the changes to my schedule, I’m going to use the revised schedule in the next section.

**This Week’s Runs**
Day	Scheduled	Total Miles
Monday	Easy 7	7.01
Tuesday	Easy 4	4.01
Wednesday	1.5 mile warm up, 3 miles at Threshold (10:30/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 3 x 1 mile at Threshold with 1:00 recovery, 1.5 mile cool down	9.51
Friday	Easy 4	4.01
Saturday	17 miles LSD	17.01
Sunday	Easy 4	4.01

Total: 45.56 miles

Originally, I had my workout scheduled for Tuesday, rest days Wednesday and Friday, 7 miles on Thursday, and 5 on Sunday. I took the 12 miles total from Thursday and Sunday, and split them into 3 runs of 4 miles each, and did them on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. I didn’t want to have two rest days in a row, so I figured this would give me the same number of miles.

The one flaw in this plan that I didn’t realize until it was too late is that it left me with only one rest day for the entire week. I ran 6 days in one week for the 2nd time ever. Oh, and you know how I always add an extra .01 to the end of each run? Well, with the 6th run that ended up being .06 instead of .05 miles added over the week. So my total mileage of 45.56 miles for the week ended up being my highest weekly mileage ever, breaking the old record of 45.55. (This week is actually the peak mileage for my training plan, although I’ve got two more long runs that will be longer than 17 miles.)

I guess I’ll find out next week if I screwed up.

Monday was hot and humid, but it could have been worse. There were torrential downpours in a large part of Charlotte Monday morning, but the rain stopped just a couple of miles north of me. A little bit of rain would have been nice, but I’m pretty sure the amounts that I heard about would have had me trying to get to a treadmill.

Tuesday was the first of my 4 mile runs this week. It was still pretty hot and humid, and my legs felt beat up, but it was only 4 miles, so I could tough it out. I did manage a reverse split, so there’s that.

Wednesday, it was still warmer and more humid than I’d like, although it was probably better than the past two days. I did my workout. It wasn’t too terribly complicated compared to some of the other workouts, but it was long, the longest mid-week workout so far. My splits for the 3 mile segment were 10:20/10:20/10:12, for an average pace of 10:17.3/mile. For the last 3 intervals, 10:11, 10:11, and 9:57. I do like it when I can rally at the end.

Friday, I decided that my legs could use a break, and for the first time since late July, I drove to the Y and got on the treadmill. It’s still mentally excruciating, but physically, it’s easier on my legs. Also, it was 68 and humid outside when I got to the Y, and that’s terrible running weather.

Saturday, I ran 17 miles, and it went fairly well. I always check the 10 day forecast, and it seems like, for the last month, cooler morning temperatures were 3-4 days away, but somehow they never actually got here. Well, Saturday morning it was 55 degrees with low humidity. I was actually a bit worried that I might go out too fast, but luckily my legs were tired/beat up enough that I kept a sane pace. On the last mile, though, I sped up, and finished up with 10:33, which was 54 seconds faster than any previous mile. I’ll take it.

I somehow lost the two band-aids I put on my nipples before my run. Luckily, there was no irritation or bleeding, so I guess they stuck around long enough to prevent any issues.

I went back out there Sunday for 4 miles. I’m still not sure if I should have skipped this run, but I can’t complain about the weather, pretty much the same as Saturday, just a few more clouds. My legs were tired and beat up (Clearly, this isn’t going to change anytime soon), but I managed a reverse split.

Next Week:
Monday: Easy 4
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warm up, 8 x 3:00 at Threshold (10:30/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 1.5 mile cool down
Wednesday: Easy 7
Thursday: Easy 7
Saturday: 3 mile warm up, 4 x 3-mile at Marathon Pace (11:00/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 3 mile cool down
Sunday: Easy 5

Wow. So I guess I only get one rest day this week too. All I can say is, this better get me ready for NYC.

Race Report: 2015 Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon

Posted on September 30, 2016 by pjsmith73

(Originally posted November 23, 2015.)

(This is it, the report from my first marathon. I still wonder if I could have run better, especially late in the race. Even worse, I feel like my struggles were more mental than physical. I’m really starting to believe that there’s nothing I could have done, and nothing anybody else could have told me, that would have fully prepared me for the last 6 or so miles of my first marathon. Even so, I still feel like I could have handled it better, especially mentally. If my body breaks down, it sucks, but I’ll get over it. If my mind isn’t strong enough, though, that really bothers me. Still, I finished it, the full 26.2 miles, and I shouldn’t downplay that. I set a really big goal to run a marathon, and I accomplished that goal. And as much as I struggled mentally late in the race, I never once considered not finishing.

I still wish I was a better storyteller, though, because I do think there’s a great story here, even though I can’t quite do it justice. I’m happy with my original introduction, though, so there’s that.

Regardless of my questions about my performance, I stand by what I wrote just after the race: It was absolutely worth it.

OK, enough hand-wringing, here’s the report.)

I’ve often heard a saying, and I have no idea what the original source was, but it goes something like this: “I’m not saying it will be easy, I’m saying it will be worth it.” I’ve thought about that many times over the last 16 months. I knew that training for and then running a marathon wouldn’t be easy. (I was right about that.) I kept going in part because I didn’t know for sure, but I hoped that it would all be worth it.

It was. It was absolutely worth it.

It was also tough. Tougher than I’d ever imagined. Still worth it.

This is a long one, but it’s a good story, even if I’m probably not up to the task of telling it well. So much for my theory that writing about my running for over a year would help me write a better recap. I probably waited too long to write it, and forgot about a few details. But this is what I’ve got, so here we go.

I’ll start with the easy part, the Expo. I finally have another expo to compare Thunder Road with. City of Oaks is a smaller race, so therefore, the expo was smaller. It was at the McKimmon Center on the outskirts of the N.C. State campus. The expo went from 4-7 on Friday and 10-6 on Saturday. I decided to come in to town early Saturday, and got to the expo around 11:30.

The race organizers had sent out an e-mail with everyone’s bib numbers Friday morning. That’s because at the expo, the bibs were organized by number rather than name. So instead of going to the S-Z volunteer, I went to the 1 to three hundred something volunteer.

Like I said on Facebook and Instagram, it just got real.

My packet included a t-shirt and a hat. Another blue t-shirt. Well, I didn’t have a long sleeved tech tee in blue, so there’s that. Nice logo, though.

I had seen on Facebook that they were giving hats to all the runners. Unfortunately, I have a really big head, and it’s pretty common that I prove that, when it comes to hats, “one size fits all” is a lie. My fears were confirmed when I tried on the hat and it didn’t fit. I ended up giving it to my sister. I forgot to take a picture of it, but here’s a picture I grabbed from the City of Oaks Facebook page with all 3 available colors. I chose the white hat.

The race also had a virtual event bag, which had some fairly decent deals at some Raleigh area businesses, but they’re all about 3 hours away from home, so the deals about as useful for me as the hat that won’t fit. Still, for the locals, it seemed pretty good.

Raleigh Running Outfitters is the local running store for this expo, and they brought some merchandise. I saw that they had Adrenaline 15s for only $90, which told me that the 16s are out. Alas, they didn’t have a pair of 15s in my size, so I had to wait until I got back to Charlotte to get a pair for cheap.

I checked their selection of Gu, and they didn’t have my flavor, Strawberry Banana. Well, I had brought 5 packets of my own, so I’d be OK, but it was a good reminder to keep buying the Gu I want in advance.

The rest of the day Saturday, I took it easy, drank a lot of water, hung out with my nephew (He’s the best, he’s 19 months old, and he dressed as a puppy for Halloween), had pasta for dinner, and got to bed around 10. We had the time change Sunday morning, which meant everybody else got an extra hour of sleep, and I got an extra hour to toss and turn.

I don’t think you could say I got a good night of sleep by any objective measure, but compared to some of my other races, and considering that this was the night before my first marathon, I actually slept better than I expected.

I didn’t take any chances. I brought my own peanut butter (Jif creamy) and bread with me. I ate my usual two pieces of bread with peanut butter, a Clif bar, and a few handfuls of Goldfish. I washed it all down with water. I also took a pre-emptive Imodium AD.

The weather forecast had finally settled on mid 50s, overcast, light rain arriving around 10 or 11 AM. Because of the threat of rain, instead of riding with my brother-in-law (he ran the half), I ended up driving over separately, since my sister wouldn’t want to stick around with my nephew if it started raining. I was fully prepared to bring my car key with me, even if I didn’t drive, because I have to have it for my post race picture.

Two of my brother-in-law’s friends were also running the half. One of his friends lives along the course, and just a few blocks away from the start, so we drove over there and parked.

I walked past the starting line to get to the bag check. I got this picture along the way.

Yes, the banner says “You Can Do It!” I also took a picture of the N.C. State Belltower, because it’s the symbol of my alma mater. (Go Wolfpack!)

As I walked back to the starting area, I realized I’d need to hit the Port-a-Potties. No, the Imodium hadn’t failed, I had hydrated a little too well. I was waiting in line and I heard them sing the National Anthem. Right after that was done, I got in and did my business. I then hurried back to the starting area and got there just in time. They had signs along the side indicating paces. I found my brother-in-law just behind the 11:00/mile sign. I also saw the 5:00 pace group, slightly ahead of us. I tried to get a picture of the crowd in front of me before the start, but the picture got screwed up. Good thing I got that earlier shot of the starting line.

The next thing I knew, the race had started. My race would have to wait, though. Remember that picture of the starting line? Yeah, everybody had to go through that. It’s the width of 2 lanes of traffic. It took over 6 minutes for me to get to the starting line. I looked at the Belltower as I ran past it, and got a little emotional.

Miles 1 to 5

Splits: 10:53, 11:23, 11:23, 11:21, 11:50.

For this stretch, I ran with my brother-in-law. My plan had been to try to take the first two miles slower. That’s pretty much impossible when those miles are almost completely downhill.

Early on, we passed a church with a minister outside holding up a sign saying, “You’re beautiful.” I told my brother-in-law, “Everybody’s beautiful after .17 miles.”

The first aid station was just after 2 miles. I took Gatorade. Mile 3 took us uphill a bit, Mile 4 was generally flat, and Mile 5 had some small hills.

Just after the four mile mark, there was an aid station. I took my first Gu, and washed it down with water. I had to walk while eating my Gu, which is while Mile 5 was slower. My brother-in-law told me to go on ahead, and I didn’t see him again until after the race. It was good to have some company for a few miles, though.

Miles 6 to 11

Splits: 11:20, 11:11, 11:14, 10:56, 11:15, 11:09

Mile 6 had a few more hills, Mile 7 flattened out a bit, Mile 8 was mainly uphill, Mile 9 mostly downhill, and Miles 10 and 11 were slightly uphill.

At some point in this stretch, I felt around my flipbelt, and counted 3 Gu packets. One was missing. I thought I might have accidentally left it in the bag that I had checked. Crap. I knew there would be snacks at the aid station at mile 16.5/18.5 (it was during the out and back), so I figured I could replace my scheduled Gu with some kind of snack, and I’d still have a Gu left at 22.5 miles.

I understand the spacing of the aid stations during the out and back part of the race, but in this stretch, it was kind of odd. Aid stations were at 7, 8, and 9.5 miles. I took Gu with water at 8, and Gatorade at the others.

There was something that happened during Mile 8, but I’ll save that for the end.

Early in Mile 10, I checked my watch and found that, around .2 in, my pace for that mile was 10:20. Even though I was on a flat stretch and not really tired, I walked just to slow down my pace, since I knew 10:20 was way too fast.

During Mile 11, we got on the greenway and started the out and back portion of the race.

I was still feeling pretty good at this point.

Mile 12

This is where the course broke me.

My time was 11:19, and that included an aid station. (More on that in a minute.) The rest was downhill. A really, really steep downhill. I’m honestly not sure if I’ve seen a steeper hill during a run.

There were two problems with this. From a mental standpoint, I knew I’d have to go up this hill at around Mile 21. That made me pretty nervous. From a physical standpoint, going down a much steeper hill than I’m used to did a number on my legs. I didn’t feel it right away, but it ended up slowing me down.

At the aid station, someone was giving out Gu. I decided to grab one to replace the missing Gu. Vanilla Bean was the flavor I chose. I had never had it, but it seemed like the least likely to disagree with me. I ate a Strawberry Banana Gu (the flavor I had brought) and took some water.

Miles 13-16

Splits: 11:11, 11:35, 11:14, 11:34.

Mile 13 continued the downhill, so more mental torture, more pounding on my legs. Mile 14 had a mix of uphill and down, but nothing major. Mile 15 was mainly downhill, and Mile 16 was pretty flat.

At 13.1, my time was 2:28. Theoretically, that time could get me under 5:00, but I’d need to do the second half in 2:32. I was hoping to finish under 5 hours, but starting to think I might not quite get there.

There were aid stations just before 14, 15, and 16.5. I took water and the Vanilla Bean Gu at 16.5, and water and Gatorade at 14 and 15.

At some point during this stretch, I started to notice my right knee didn’t feel right. It wasn’t necessarily hurting, but it was a little stiff, and just felt off. It felt a little better when I stopped to walk, so I tried to take a few walk breaks. I’m fairly certain that the steep downhill in Mile 12 caused my knee problem.

Mile 17-20

Splits: 12:50, 12:26, 12:59, 12:57.

Yeah, I realized 5 hours was just not happening. I took more walk breaks, hoping that somehow my knee would get better. It didn’t actually hurt, which was good, but it still worried me.

The turnaround was at 17.41 miles according to my watch. All of these miles were relatively flat.

At 18.5, I got to the aid station with the snacks for a second time. I remember seeing bananas, orange slices, and some Halloween candy. (Yes, this was the day after Halloween.) This time, since I wasn’t scheduled for a Gu, I grabbed some Gatorade, some water, and an orange slice. I also saw a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the mix of candy. I knew I wasn’t hitting 5:00, so I just said the hell with it and grabbed a peanut butter cup. A volunteer actually had to help me open it. It was delicious. If it upset my stomach, so be it. (As it turns out, I had zero stomach issues all day, even with the unfamiliar Vanilla Bean Gu in the mix.)

Then I got to Mile 19, and I was clearly struggling, but the universe decided that wasn’t enough, and it started raining.

Before City of Oaks, I had completed 17 races. Two races were on the same day, so that’s 16 race days. All of those race days had one thing in common: no rain.

First marathon, first time getting rained on during a race. Sigh. Luckily, it was pretty light rain, and the course had been completely dry before then.

There was another aid station at 20. I got water and Gatorade.

Mile 21-23

Splits: 14:45, 15:13, 15:07

Three miles. According to my Garmin, 237 feet of elevation gain. Egads. I didn’t even try to run up any of the uphill parts.

Aid stations at 21.5 and 22.5. I had my last Gu at 22.5 with some water. Water and Gatorade at 21.5.

I should probably point out here that I don’t think I ever really hit The Wall, at least not how I interpret what The Wall would feel like. I felt more like I just hit a pool of quicksand around Mile 17 or so, and things got gradually more difficult from there.

Mile 24 to the Finish

Splits: 15:21, 15:15, 13:30. (Last .34 at 10:04/mile pace.)

The rest of the way was fairly flat. There were some small hills, but after that last climb, they were like anthills.

Right at Mile 24, we turned on to Hillsborough Street. Except instead of turning left, towards the finish line, we turned right, ran about a half mile, then turned around to head toward the finish. That’s just mean. Mentally, I wasn’t doing so well. I was still walking a lot, even though the course had flattened out. It was raining, and I was exhausted.

After the turnaround, we were headed in the right direction. I was still pretty slow. Still tired (both physically and mentally), still wet from the rain.

There was one last aid station around 24.5. I got water and Gatorade.

At Mile 25, we got to the N.C. State campus. Seeing the campus buildings brought back memories, and that helped me through the last mile. I found the energy for a final kick, and I crossed the finish line.

Yes, I’m a sucker and I bought an official photo. (The only other race photo I’ve bought was after my first half marathon.) The banner was changed after the start, from “You can do it!” to “You did it!” I’m looking to my left because a friend of mine from college was there at the finish line to cheer for me. I can’t put in to words how much that meant to me.

I got my medal and a bottle of water. I was completely drained, but just incredibly happy. My friend got a great picture just after the finish that really captures it.

Next up: Post. Race. Beer. One of the selling points of this race (for me, anyway) was the official beer sponsor. Lonerider is a Raleigh brewery (Local, unlike Michelob Ultra) that distributes their beer across North Carolina, so I’ve had some of it before, and it’s pretty good (unlike Michelob Ultra). I walked over to the beer garden, and I went with Shotgun Betty, one of my favorite hefeweizens. It was excellent.

Food, on the other hand, was a problem. Because I finished relatively late, and I went to the beer garden first, and couldn’t leave the beer garden until I finished my beer, by the time I made it over to the food area, they were closing up. (Also, I think they probably closed a little early because of the rain.) I know they had some bread, and some Krispy Kreme donuts, but I missed that. The Papa John’s truck was still open, and because things were winding down, they gave me a whole pizza. I ate half of it. Under those circumstances, it was delicious. In retrospect, I should have gotten food first, because it was OK to bring food in to the beer garden, but it wasn’t OK to take beer out.

I have to give a shout out to the race volunteers. In spite of the food area closing up a little early, I thought the volunteers did a fantastic job throughout the race. They were always encouraging, always helpful (one helped me open the wrapper for my peanut butter cup), and were still cheerful even after it started raining.

Let’s talk about the medal. Holy crap, this thing is huge! It’s really nice, though.

I used a Gu for scale in the first photo. The second photo is the back, and it’s tough to read, but it says “Esse quam videri – To be rather than to seem.” It’s the state motto of North Carolina. Also, the acorn spins. Definitely the best medal I’ve gotten so far.

As I write this, it’s been two weeks since the race. (It took me an extra week to get it posted.) My initial disappointment over my time has faded, and more than anything else, I’m really happy that I finished, that I set a really big goal, I worked hard towards that goal, and I achieved it. Like I said at the beginning, it was absolutely worth it.

My official time was 5:24:37. Definitely slower than I had hoped, but the course was a lot tougher than I expected. I’ve had races where I felt like the course beat me (OrthoCarolina 10K, Charlotte RaceFest). In this case, I felt like the course pounded me into a bloody pulp, chewed me up, and spit me out. It’s probably not a good course for a first marathon. Oh well, it’s done, and I don’t regret it.

One more thing, though. I’ve got to go back to Mile 8. My brother-in-law’s friend who ran the race lives on Mile 8, and I mentioned earlier that’s where I parked. Well, my sister drove over there with my nephew so they could cheer us on. (Side note, my nephew had a little bit of a meltdown later on, and that’s why they weren’t at the finish. It just means I need to run faster next time.)

As I approached, I heard my sister yelling my name. I looked over and saw her and my nephew. My nephew pointed at me and had a big smile on his face. OK, that was pretty cool. Right after I passed them, I heard him yell out, “B.B.! B.B.!” He can’t say P.J. yet, so that’s what he calls me. I laughed and kept going. As I was running along, I could still hear him, and I thought, “Man, that kid is loud!” I found out afterwards from my sister that he started running after me.

He’s on his way to being a runner, just like his uncle. I’m so proud of him.

And to close it out, here’s the obligatory post-race photo with my car key.

Race Report: 2014 Thunder Road Half Marathon

Posted on September 29, 2016 by pjsmith73

(Originally posted November 16, 2014.)

(I normally try not to comment much before these old race reports, but I need to write an introduction for this one, since I have a lot of perspective since this race. I know I’ve run 3 half marathons and counting since this one that were faster, but I always go back to this race. I think it was a breakthrough for me. I see a big difference between the races I ran before this race, and the ones I’ve run since. This was the first race where I went in with a plan, and executed it pretty much flawlessly. I can’t say it’s the race I’m most proud of, because it’s not 26.2, but in the non-marathon category, it’s absolutely my proudest moment so far.

I noticed I made a reference below to a calf blowtorch exercise. Once I’m finally done re-posting race reports, I’ll post a full explanation, but the short answer is that it’s a stretching exercise that has helped me deal with shin splints, and if I do it right, it feels like someone is using a blowtorch on my calves. It works, though, and that’s all that matters.

Also, putting the finish time right at the beginning? Way to kill the suspense. Eh, other than that it’s not a bad report.)

2:23:29.

Well, that was unexpected. A pleasant surprise for sure, but unexpected.

Let’s start with the Expo.

Thunder Road is the only race I’ve ever done that has an expo, so I have no idea how it compares to other races. It was at the Charlotte Convention Center, which was nice because I could take the light rail and not have to worry about parking. It ran from 10 AM to 9 PM. I took the day off work so I could just pop over there whenever, but if I hadn’t been able to get the day off, I still could have made it over there in the evening.

Run For Your Life had a section with a lot of merchandise. They had shoes on sale for 10% off, so I figured I’d check them out. I’ve got two pairs of shoes, and the older pair is up to 357 miles, so I’ll probably need to replace them soon. I’ve always worn Brooks Adrenaline GTS. They’ve worked well for me. I saw that the newest model, the 15, is out, which seems a little early. Unfortunately, I have wide feet, and they didn’t have any wide ones.

Then I went over to the closeout section, and found the old model, the Adrenaline 14, size 10.5 wide, $80. Good running shoes are expensive (although I’d argue that a good pair is worth every penny), and $80 is a great deal. Sold.

After getting a sweet shoe deal, I picked up my packet. After last year, when we got a short sleeve non-tech tee, I was relieved to see that this year, they gave us a long sleeve tech tee. Not only that, but the t-shirt for the half is red, and I don’t have any red running shirts. Excellent.

The goody bag included a race sticker, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a packet of Mixed Berry flavor RAP Protein Gummies. I didn’t eat them during the race, of course, because eating something new during a race is a very bad idea, but I tried them Saturday afternoon. Meh. Some people like chewable stuff during a race, I prefer Gu.

My bib number was 3014. Last year, I was 3114. Go figure.

Friday night, I ate my usual pasta. I got to bed just before 10. I slept great…until 2AM. I think I got a little bit of sleep between then and 4:50 AM when my alarm went off, but not much.

I showered and put on my clothes. I really debated about whether to just wear a long sleeved tee (not the race shirt I got on Friday, of course), or to go with a tee underneath a pullover. I also debated between long pants and shorts. I went with the long sleeved tee and long pants. I grabbed a hooded sweatshirt to wear before the race (and after) that I could put in a bag and check the bag.

I ate whole grain toast with peanut butter. Normally, I don’t toast the bread, but I figured every little bit of warmth would help. I also ate a Chocolate Chip Clif Bar. Originally, I had hoped to save the Clif Bar for closer to race time, but with the weather, I decided conditions in my kitchen were much more conducive to eating a Clif Bar.

I brushed my teeth, went to the bathroom, gathered my stuff…and then realized I’d need to go to the bathroom again. I grabbed some store brand Imodium AD first, and hoped like hell it would kick in soon.

I was running a few minutes late, but I still made it to the train station on time. One thing I learned the hard way last year, if you’re parking at the I-485/South Boulevard station, park on the top floor of the parking deck, because going down the stairs to the 1st level after running 13.1 miles is not fun. So I parked on Level 3.

I put a $5 bill in the ticket machine for a round trip ticket, which costs $4.40. I got my ticket, then 2 quarters, then what looked like another ticket. It was a 10 cent voucher. The machine was out of dimes. I would have needed to go to the Charlotte Transportation Center to get my dime. For 10 cents? They can keep it. I don’t mind paying $4.50 for my train ride.

I got on the 6:30 train, and got off at 3rd Street at around 6:50. When I got there, it was right around 26 degrees according to my phone. I walked with the crowd down 3rd Street, and made a beeline for the Porta-Jons. Nope, store-brand Imodium hadn’t kicked in yet.

I wandered around for a bit, trying to stay warm. They did set up a few heat lamps, but they were already pretty well surrounded. And then I realized I’d need one more trip to the Porta-Jon. Thankfully, that would be my last stop.

I put on some sunscreen. Fortunately, because of the long sleeves and long pants, I only had to worry about my neck and my face. Then I took a look at the bag check line, and decided I needed to get in line, since it was 7:30. I was frantically trying to take off my hooded sweatshirt without holding up the line, but I got it.

Wow, it was cold without my hoodie. Luckily, once I headed over towards the starting line, there were enough people around that it didn’t feel too terrible.

Here’s the obligatory crowd shot before the start.

You can’t quite see it, but the banner above the starting line says “Start Your Engines.”

The starting gun went off, and they played…Thunderstruck by AC/DC. Um, OK. I still prefer 2011 and 2013, which started with Born To Run, but I suppose you could do a lot worse than AC/DC. It took me a little over 2 minutes to get to the starting line. Officially, I started at 7:47:16 AM.

Here’s how each mile went. I’m going with the times from my Garmin. I ended up running 13.23 miles according to my watch, so it doesn’t match the course exactly. Oh, and the official starting temperature was 28 degrees.

One other note, there were some changes to the course this year.

Mile 1: 11:02

Unlike last year, where we started on Tryon, turned on to 4th Street almost immediately, and then went downhill for almost a full mile, we started over by the baseball stadium, then ran towards Tryon. So part of it was actually slightly uphill. I’m OK with that. Anything (within reason) that helps me limit my speed in the first mile is good.

Mile 2: 10:34

Mile 2 is the new Mile 1. (Almost literally.) It started just after we turned on to 4th, so the long downhill on 4th now covers most of Mile 2. Yeah, this was probably faster than I should have gone, but really, if I get a downhill like that, I’m going to take advantage of it. Considering the final result, it didn’t hurt me too much.

Also, the first water stop was actually around the 1.6 mile mark. I was running into the sun (and forgot my sunglasses), and almost missed the water stop because I didn’t see it until it was almost too late. I had planned to walk through each of the water stops, but in this case, I think I stopped running about half a second before I grabbed the water cup.

Mile 3: 11:10

OK, back to earth. Pretty much the entire mile was uphill. Luckily, I’ve got some experience with hills, so it wasn’t too terrible.

Mile 4: 10:56
Mile 5: 10:56
Mile 6: 10:52
Mile 7: 10:56

Apparently I screwed up Mile 6. Seriously, I don’t think that I could do that again if I tried.

Mile 4 is where I had my first Gu, right before the water stop. Apparently it was mostly downhill, but eating the Gu and walking through the water stop slowed me down a little. Miles 5, 6, and 7 were a mix of uphills and downhills. Mile 6 had a water stop, so I’m a little surprised that it was the fastest of the bunch.

Mile 8: 10:47.

This was a little faster. Late in the mile, there were a couple of spectators handing out bananas and orange slices. Unfortunately, I was about a tenth of a mile away from my 2nd Gu, so I declined.

Mile 9: 11:22

So I had my 2nd and last Gu right before the water stop. I’ve never experienced this firsthand, but I’ve been told that mixing Gu and Gatorade is a pretty good way to induce vomiting. So even though each water stop (except for the first, which was water only) offered water and Gatorade, I always chose the water.

At every other water stop that offered Gatorade, the water was on the first set of tables, then the Gatorade. But for some reason, at this water stop, they alternated, water at one table, Gatorade at the next, then back to water, and so on. And the guy at the first table was having trouble with the cups, so he didn’t have a cup of water ready. So I had to keep walking until I got to a table with water. It was kind of annoying.

This ended up being my slowest mile, and the water stop definitely slowed me down, but the rest of the mile was mostly uphill.

Mile 10: 11:16

This mile was entirely uphill. Also, the next water stop was a little early.

At the end of Mile 10, I looked at my time, and I was at around 1:50. I knew I basically had a 5K left. I thought back to my worst race, the Come See Me 5K, which was over 37 minutes. I realized that even if I ran a Come See Me 5K the rest of the way, I would still get a PR. This is where I started to realize this could be a really good run.

Mile 11: 10:38
Mile 12: 10:24

Well, I decided I didn’t want a repeat of the Come See Me 5K. Mile 12 ended up being my fastest mile. It was mainly downhill, but it also had the last water stop. So I was moving pretty well here.

Mile 13: 10:36

My legs were starting to feel a little tired, which makes sense, since my longest training run was 12 miles. Still, I pushed through, and towards the finish, I took off. I passed several people along the way. The last .23 miles on my Garmin took 2:05, for a pace of 8:58/mile.

I got my medal, then got in line for the food. They had bananas, fruit cups, bottles of water and Gatorade, granola bars (chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip), protein bars, and these little mini-muffins in several different flavors, the ones I got were apple cinnamon and something with orange. I didn’t get any of the fruit cups, but I got one of everything else. I know what I said earlier about mixing Gu and Gatorade, but I figured it had been about 5 miles since I had Gu, and I figured I’d wait until I had eaten everything else and finished the water before cracking open the Gatorade. If all of that food didn’t make me sick, I figured Gatorade probably wouldn’t push me over the edge. (I didn’t get sick after all.)

I usually like to mention what beer (if any) is available after a race. Sadly (for me), all they had was Michelob Ultra. Now, I know that my (low) opinion of this beer is entirely subjective, but there is one objective fact: it is not a local beer. Thunder Road is Charlotte’s major running event, so I think they should offer Charlotte beer at the finish. I mean, the half and full marathon courses pass Unknown Brewing, and the full passes NoDa Brewing, Birdsong Brewery, and Heist Brewery (although Heist is more of a brewpub and doesn’t usually distribute). If one of the other breweries in town that isn’t on the course wants to participate, I’m good with that, too. Just offer us something local. OK, rant over.

Yes, my car key made it to the finish line with me.

You can’t tell in this picture (I took it in the shade, because I figured the sun would overwhelm everything), but the outer blue part of the medal is sparkly. Ooh. Aah. Hey, it’s the 10th anniversary of the race, they can do whatever they want to celebrate.

I went over to the bag check, and while I was waiting in line, I looked at my phone. I had signed up to get a text with my results. I knew I did well, but I didn’t know my official time until I looked at my phone.

That’s when I saw it: 2:23:29. I did some quick math, and figured out it was about 15 minutes faster than my old PR. I have to admit, when I realized that, I got a little emotional. I didn’t burst into tears, but I definitely got a lump in my throat. I was just so happy that all the work that I had put in, all the crappy runs when it was way too hot and way too humid, the calf blowtorch exercises, the runs in the dark, all of it finally paid off.

Before I started, I knew I had a good chance of getting my C goal, a PR. I knew that I had a decent chance at my B goal, 2:30. I really wasn’t sure if I could hit my A goal of 2:26. And I beat it by 2 and a half minutes.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been watching my pace as it’s been improving. And part of me saw that and realized that I had a chance to make this race really special. But part of me was scared to even think that, let alone say it out loud, or even write it here. I thought of all the things that can go wrong. I worried that if I got overconfident, I’d try to run the first mile at an 8 minute pace and crash and burn before the end.

I’ve never been a very confident person. That’s why I think I doubted myself so much. But in spite of all of the doubts, I really did it. I’d say an almost 15 minute PR on a half marathon qualifies as something special. I’ve found myself checking the results to make sure I really finished in 2:23:29. So far, they haven’t fixed the glitch.

I did want to add a couple of other things. With the exception of the Mile 8 water stop, which really wasn’t that bad, the race ran pretty smoothly. I have no complaints. Although the chances that any of them will see this are pretty small, I have to give a lot of credit to the spectators. It was really cold out there, and I can’t imagine standing around for a few hours to watch maybe 1 or 2 friends or family members and several thousand strangers run by. There were probably fewer spectators this year, which I understand, but the ones who were there did a great job cheering everyone on.

This year, the course was changed. Ultimately, I don’t think the course as a whole was more difficult or less difficult than last year. However, I do think the last mile or so was slightly flatter, and felt easier. Of course, I was definitely better trained this year, so maybe that’s the difference. It’s still a tough course, though, and I do wonder what I could do with a flat 13.1, but for now, I’m happy with what I’ve done on this course.

I did want to mention that my plan going in was to walk the water stops, and try to run everything else. I succeeded.

So to sum it all up, I went out there and ran pretty much exactly the race I wanted to run. I’m not sure if I’ve ever managed to do that for a race before.

I don’t know yet what’s next. I’d like to do another half sometime in the spring. I may squeeze in a few shorter races here and there. I’d love to get my revenge on the Come See Me 5K if I can fit it into my schedule. And yes, next fall I’m going to run a marathon. It may end up being Thunder Road, but I’m still looking at other options.

Race Report: 2016 Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Posted on September 27, 2016 by pjsmith73

(Originally posted March 18, 2016)

I guess I can finally say it, but starting with the Road to Boston 5K on March 1, 2014, I had a streak of 12 straight races with a PR. Four of those (OrthoCarolina 10K, LungStrong 15K, 2015 Charlotte 10 Miler, and Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon) were my first race at that distance, so they were guaranteed PRs. But there were still 8 legitimate PRs, and even with the cheap ones, I think I still ran well at LungStrong and the Charlotte 10 Miler. OrthoCarolina was a difficult course with horrible weather conditions, and City of Oaks was a brutal course, and my first 26.2, and I’ve reached the conclusion that nothing that anybody can say that will prepare you for the last 6 miles of your first marathon.

So, yeah, my PR streak is over.

I’ve been lucky so far. I haven’t had a major injury except when I hurt my foot in early 2014. I also never had any major issues during a race. (Foreshadowing.)

Let’s start with the expo.

They had a two day expo, Friday and Saturday, which was nice. I didn’t get to town until around noon on Saturday, and stopped by there first. It was in a hotel ballroom, and I’d call it a medium-sized expo. Bigger than City of Oaks, smaller than Thunder Road, pretty close in size to Charleston. I got my bib number e-mailed to me a few days earlier, contributing to my theory that everybody outside the Charlotte area does it that way.

I picked up my bib (I brought my own safety pins with me, but they had plenty available), a water bottle, and a t-shirt. It’s…blue, just like my t-shirts for the Road to Boston 5K, 2015 Charlotte 10 Miler, Yiassou Greek Festival 5K, and Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon.

I looked at some of the merchandise on sale, and saw some shoes on clearance. I didn’t expect to see any Adrenaline 15s in size 10.5 wide, and I didn’t, although I was amused to see a pair of Adrenaline 14s(!) in size 7(!!) for $60. They stopped making Adrenaline 14s around October 2014, so they were close to a year and a half old. Also, there are adult men who run who wear size 7s? Anyway, nothing else really caught my eye, so I left.

Since I was staying with my sister in Raleigh, I decided I would eat dinner at her place (She’s a good cook), and move my now traditional pre-race Burger King dinner to lunch instead.

The race started at 8 AM. However, there was limited parking near the starting line. You could buy parking passes if you signed up early, but they were sold out before I even signed up for the race, so I had to take a shuttle bus. And they advised runners to get to the shuttles by 6 AM. Two hours of waiting. Ugh.

My sister cooked some delicious pasta for dinner, and I drank plenty of water with it. I managed to go to bed around 9 so I could get up at 4:50 AM, which, with the time change (stupid DST), felt like 3:50 AM. I showered, attached my bib, put some water in my water bottle, used the bathroom, and headed out. It was about a half hour drive from my sister’s house. I got to the parking lot right around 6. My shuttle left at 6:15, and I arrived at the starting area at 6:30. I had apparently hydrated very well, because once I got off the bus, I made a beeline to the port-a-potties. I got there before the lines formed, so that was good.

I sat down on a curb and ate two Chocolate Chip Clif Bars that I had brought with me, and used my water bottle to wash them down. (Later, I noticed they did have some water coolers available before the race. If I had known that, I could have left my water bottle at home.)

I bumped into two of my friends who I didn’t realize were also running the half. This gave me something to do while waiting for the race to start. We chatted for a bit, took some pictures together, then they went off to the port-a-potties and I walked closer to the starting line.

I found the 2:10 pacer, and stood just in front of her. The Mayor of Cary said a few words, someone sang the National Anthem, there was a countdown, and we were off. (It took 1:48 for me to get to the starting line.) I remembered to take a picture of the starting line, and yes, that is a large American flag hanging from a crane.

Two notes before I start. First, even though it was only March 13, it was 63 degrees and humid at the start of the race, and with the exception of a run on Friday when it was 61 degrees, all of my training runs were in considerably cooler weather. Second, the course was an out and back, 2.5 miles of roads to a trail, 4.05 miles on the trail, then the turn around. The roads at the beginning and end had some small hills, but it was mainly uphill at the beginning and downhill at the end. The trail was pretty flat.

Miles 1-3: 9:52, 9:40, 10:11.

Not a bad start. The 2:10 pacer passed me sometime during Mile 2, which meant she was actually a little fast at that point. I tried to stay steady and not let it bother me.

The first aid station was at 2.41 miles. The aid stations were unusually spaced because there were only certain places on the trail where they could set up. I slowed down to take some Gatorade.

The second aid station was right at 3 miles. (I told you they were unusually spaced.) I slowed down before so I could take my first Gu. I wouldn’t normally take it this early, but I knew the next aid station wasn’t going to be until close to 6, and I need water to wash down the Gu.

Miles 4-6: 9:55, 10:00, 10:18.

During this stretch, I was looking at my watch, and considering my overall pace, it seemed like I was putting an awful lot of effort for this pace. I guess the heat was affecting me. I also lost sight of the 2:10 pacer, but I was still hopeful that I could rally, since I’d had negative splits at my last few races.

The next aid station was at 5.75. I took water and Gatorade, but walked as I drank them, which is why my Mile 6 time was a little slower.

Miles 7-9: 10:04, 10:00, 10:14.

At 6.55 miles, we turned around. My time was 1:05:12.5. I hung in there. It was hot, my legs were tired, but I kept going.

There was another aid station at 7.3 miles. I slowed down and took my second Gu. Again, earlier than I would have liked, but again, spacing of the aid stations.

Miles 10-11: 11:06, 11:19.

And this is where things went south. My legs were pretty worn out, so I took an unscheduled walk break. (I had planned to only walk through the aid stations.) When I started back up, that’s when my left ankle started hurting. I kept running, but my ankle was really slowing me down.

There was another aid station at 10.1. I drank water and Gatorade and wondered how I’d get through the last 3 miles.

Mile 12: 12:29.

I walked a good bit through here. It didn’t help my ankle though. After the last aid station right before the end of Mile 12, I started running again. It hurt like hell to start back up, and I decided that since the walking wasn’t helping, and going from walking to running was so painful, the path of least resistance was to just keep running.

Mile 13: 11:44.

A slight rally. I was helped a little by the fact that it was mostly downhill. I had just enough at the end for one final kick, and I somehow ran the last .13 at a pace of 8:33.

My official time was 2:17:58.4. My Garmin had me at 2:18:00, and at 13.13 miles, which is pretty good.

One thing that they have at Tobacco Road that I’ve never seen for any other race is a bell at the finish line. If you qualify for Boston (which will probably never happen for me) or get a PR, you’re supposed to ring the bell. After 12 straight PRs, this is the race that I miss a PR. The Running Gods can be very cruel sometimes.

I got my medal and some water. In spite of everything, my car key made it to the finish line, and here’s proof.

Once I stopped running, my ankle really started hurting. I hobbled around the post-race area, ate pizza, and got some beer from Natty Greene’s. (Odd, since they’re over an hour away in Greensboro, and there are several better breweries in nearby Raleigh, but it still beats the hell out of Michelob Ultra.).

Eventually, a race volunteer saw me limping around and suggested I go to the medical tent. I went over there, and it was full of people getting IVs. Somebody checked out my ankle, and said that since I could put weight on it, it wasn’t broken, it was possibly sprained, and that the Red Cross had all the ice and ibuprofen on the course, so there wasn’t much else they could do. Oh well. I don’t blame them, because the heat related stuff is way more life-threatening than a bum ankle.

Getting on the shuttle bus to leave was really tough, though. Getting off of it was worse.

Once I got back to my sister’s house, some combination of ice, elevation, ibuprofen, and a hot shower got me to the point where I could walk without pain. Over the next few days, my legs felt pretty beat up, but my left ankle didn’t really feel any worse than anywhere else. Still, I took a few days off from running to give it some rest, as it had been giving me some trouble for a few weeks before the race. (As of March 18, 5 days after the race, I haven’t tried to run.)

Overall, I’m not as disappointed as I’d expect. I guess I’ve accepted that it’s something beyond my control. It happens. I didn’t go out and get hammered the night before the race, I didn’t blow off any training runs, and I didn’t do anything stupid.

Maybe I’m still in a good mood because I got in to the New York City marathon less than a week before the race. Also, the medal has a train on it, which is really cool.

The biggest thing for me, though, is that I’ve realized how far I’ve come as a runner. Last April, I ran the Charlotte RaceFest Half. I got what was then a PR, by 6 minutes, but I wasn’t happy with my performance. The weather was about 5 degrees cooler, and I had no injuries. Still, I felt like I should have done better.

Well, at Tobacco Road, with much worse weather conditions, and running on a bum ankle for the last three or so miles, I finished 10 seconds faster than at RaceFest. Progress.

(One thing I didn’t mention in my race report when I first wrote it is that the thought of not finishing the race never entered my mind. I was determined to cross the finish line if I had to crawl to do it. I guess I didn’t realize that until after I had published the original report. I’m either really dedicated, really stubborn, or both.)

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 19-25

Posted on September 25, 2016 by pjsmith73

I’m heartbroken over what’s been happening in Charlotte this week. I don’t live anywhere near the protests, so I’m OK. For now, all I can do is keep going, and hope that people can come together (myself included) and work to make things better.

I did go to my high school reunion last night. (I still can’t believe it’s been 25 years.) I was worried about Charlotte dominating the conversation (or, alternately, my employer, who I’m not going to mention by name, but they’ve been in the news lately for some bad reasons), but it went better than I expected, and I enjoyed myself. And yeah, being able to say that I’m running the New York City Marathon was pretty cool.

I did find a lot of people thought you have to qualify for New York City. You can, although you have to be pretty close to an elite runner to do it, so most people get in through the lottery like I did. The Boston Marathon is the one where, except for charity runners, everybody has to qualify. With my time at the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon last year, 5:24:37, I wouldn’t even be able to qualify for Boston as an 80 year old.

Weight Check: Friday morning, before my run, I did my official weigh-in for the week, and it was 162.6, down 1.3 pounds. That’s better. I do think I was a little hard on myself last week. Without a long run, I basically had no margin for error. As for this week, between weigh-ins, I was pretty good, with no soda or junk food, and only one beer. (This weekend is another story, but I’ll cover that after next week’s weigh-in.)

As a side note, the last high school reunion I went to was my 10 year reunion, which would be 15 years ago. I don’t remember exactly how much I weighed in 2001, but my guess is somewhere in the low 160s. So there’s roughly a 50/50 chance that I weighed less at my 25 year reunion than my 10 year reunion. Either way, I’m in much better shape at 43 years old than I was at 28.

**This Week’s Runs**
Day	Scheduled	Total Miles
Monday	14 miles LSD	14.06
Tuesday	Easy 4	4.01
Thursday	Easy 4	4.01
Friday	15 miles LSD	15.01
Saturday	Easy 4	4.01

Total: 41.1 miles

Monday was the long run that I was supposed to run on Saturday but rescheduled because I was on call. Had I run it Saturday, it would have been 66 degrees. On Monday, it was 73. Bloody hell, it was hot and humid out there. I survived.

My 2nd fastest mile was Mile 13. My fastest mile was Mile 14. I guess I finished strong, so there’s that. I sometimes forget how pretty the McMullen Creek and Four Mile Creek Greenways are. I just wish they had more water fountains. This was my 3rd 14 miler during this training cycle. I was faster than the 1st 14 miler, and slightly slower than the 2nd, but the 2nd 14 miler was the one where it was only 63 degrees, a temperature I haven’t seen since. So my performance was decent.

In case you’re wondering about the odd mileage, last week my longest run was 7.02 miles, so I wanted to have a run that was more than twice as long as that, but wouldn’t be my longest run for this week, so I went with 14.06 miles.

Tuesday was uneventful. I guess it was a recovery run.

Thursday was supposed to be the first day of fall. It was not fall weather, except for the wind. My legs felt pretty beat up, but that’s pretty much going to be the new normal for me until at least my taper, and possibly until after I’ve recovered from the race.

Friday I did my long run a day early, and once again, a rescheduled long run gives me much worse weather. In this case, I rescheduled it so I could be with my family, so I don’t regret it. I still didn’t enjoy the run, though. It was definitely not fall weather, 72, overcast and humid, with no wind and occasional mist. I ended up with a better time than my previous 15 miler, but I felt worse afterward. Part of it was the lack of water fountains – I went back to McMullen Creek/Four Mile Creek – and I can’t help but feel like my 14 miler earlier in the week made a difference. I feel like I did a better job of pacing on the previous run, because even though I rallied a little bit on the last mile of this run, it wasn’t my fastest mile, and in general, I felt much more drained. I got through it though, and I really hope this is my last long run in really miserable conditions.

Saturday I ran in my parents’ neighborhood, and it was only 65 degrees. That’s not really fall weather, but after the past few days, it felt great. Even with the 15 miles on Friday, my legs held up decently. I still don’t like running in my parents’ neighborhood for some reason. I think it just has a lot of rolling hills that are hard to avoid, unlike my neighborhood, which has a couple of hills that are much worse, but if I need to, I can avoid them.

Next Week:
Monday: Easy 7
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warm up, 3 miles at Threshold (10:30/mile) with 3:00 recovery, 3 x 1 mile at Theshold with 1:00 recovery, 1.5 mile cool down
Thursday: Easy 7
Saturday: 17 miles LSD
Sunday: Easy 5

Back to normal, I guess, if running 17 miles can be considered normal.

I’ve got 3 race reports left to re-post: the 2016 Tobacco Road Half Marathon, where my ankle blew up, the 2014 Thunder Road Half Marathon, which is probably my favorite race performance, and the 2015 Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon, my first marathon. It’s funny, I want save the “best” for last, and I’ve gone back and forth on which race report to post last, even though it doesn’t really matter much in the long run. Ultimately, I think I have to go with the full marathon, because it’s 26.2, but even though it’s dropped to my 4th fastest half, I still look back fondly on the 2014 Thunder Road Half. Regardless of the order, I should get them all posted this week.

Race Report: 2015 Joe Davis Memorial Resolution Run 10K and 5K

Posted on September 23, 2016 by pjsmith73

(Originally posted January 11, 2015.)

(I didn’t run the 2016 edition of this race, but apparently they didn’t offer the option of running both the 10K and 5K, you had to pick one since they started 5 minutes apart. They also moved to a new location, so they managed to fix the insane number of turns on the 5K course.)

My overall impression: I’m pleased. (Also, I’m still cold.)

I definitely have a new 10K PR. 5K? I’m going to say yes, although it’s a little complicated.

You can read the story of Joe Davis on the race web site.

First, packet pickup. They did offer Thursday packet pickup at the Y in Fort Mill (which is also where both races started and ended), but it was only until 6 PM. Even if I didn’t have class on Thursday night, getting down to Fort Mill by 6 would have been a stretch. Still, I always like to give races credit for offering packet pickup two days before the race.

I went to Charlotte Running Company off of Providence Friday evening. The packet had my shirt (I was too late registering, so my shirt was 100% cotton, but my understanding is that the early birds got tech tees), some Yaktrax hand warmers (I decided not to mess with them for the first time on a race(s) day, even though I could have used them), and coupons for the Fort Mill location of Fleet Feet, a Fort Mill chiropractor, and Road ID. (The Road ID one has the best chance of me using it, obviously.) Oh, and it had my bibs. Plural. One for each race, and each with its own timing chip. And that’s when I found out about the Plot Twist: Don’t cross the timing chips. In other words, when crossing the finish line for the 10K, if I wanted my time to officially register, I couldn’t have the 5K timing chip on me, nor could I have the 10K chip at the end of the 5K. (Both races had the same finish line, by the way.) Normally I prefer it when the timing chip is attached to the bib (one less thing to worry about on race day). Here, that made things a little more interesting.

By the way, here’s a picture of the t-shirt. I really like the logo. I’m not sure how useful a 100% cotton t-shirt will be when running, but I’ll give them credit, it looks nice.

I forgot to even look if they offered any safety pins. They didn’t put any in my bag. Luckily, I save the bibs from all of my races, and I found two bibs that still had pins.

I considered several possibilities for the bib swap. I could take off the 10K bib and put on the 5K bib between races, but I have enough trouble putting a bib on straight without poking holes in my chest when I’m looking in the mirror in my bathroom and it’s warm. 20 something degrees and no mirror? With a possible time constraint? That wouldn’t work. So I decided to pick out two different pullovers, and attached the 10K bib to one, and the 5K bib to the other. I’d leave the shirt with the 5K bib in my car, then between races I’d go back to my car and change shirts. That sounded like a plan.

So, Saturday morning, I got up and showered. Used the bathroom. Ate 2 pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter and drank some water. I put on my long running pants, a long sleeved tech tee underneath what I will now call my 10K pullover, and a hat. I also put on a hoodie and some non-running gloves, since my car was going to be cold. I brought a pair of gloves I could run in. I also brought along a packet of Gu. I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to eat it between races, but I figured I’d rather bring it and not eat it than not bring it and wish I had it.

I headed down the road to Fort Mill. It’s about 20 minutes from my house, so it’s not too bad.

Parking was kind of interesting, since the races kind of go through the parking lots at the Y, but I found a spot on a nearby street that looked like it would be close enough that I could get to it between races.

I stayed in my car for a little while to stay warm. I did put on some sunscreen while I was waiting, and gathered up my stuff. I took off the hoodie, and changed gloves. Around 7:30, I got out and walked toward the Y.

The Y very graciously let runners stand around in their nice warm lobby before the race. So I warmed up a bit before making my way to the starting line.

I noticed as I was waiting to start that the temperature was sitting at 20 degrees. So, the two 10Ks I’ve completed were 76 degrees and 20 degrees at the start. Someday I’ll do a 10K in reasonable weather. (For the record, I’ll gladly take 20 over 76.)

Here’s my pre-race starting line picture.

Before the race, someone said a prayer (possibly my first pre-race prayer, but I’ve also been in some races where the sound system was really bad and I couldn’t hear a word), then a young girl sang the National Anthem.

I checked my phone after the National Anthem, and saw that it was already 8:04. This made me nervous. I was already going to be cutting it close for the 5K if they started it at 9:15.

And then we were off.

I started out a little too fast. In this case, I think it was partially nerves, worrying about the 5K, and partially just me trying to get warm. Still, I managed to slow down a bit and settled in to a decent pace.

At around the .8 mile mark, we ran down to a greenway and through a tunnel underneath Highway 49. I thought that was pretty cool. We came back through the tunnel around the 3.3 mile mark.

There were water stops around 2.2 and 4.2 miles. I did take walk breaks at the water stops, because I figured it would be best to slow down a little.

Other than the tunnel, most of the rest of the race was through the neighborhoods around Baxter Village. After a while, the houses started to blend together. There were some hills here and there, but as I expected, nothing as bad as my neighborhood. I wouldn’t call it an easy course, but it wasn’t all that difficult.

Here are my times for the first 6 miles from my Garmin:

Mile 1: 10:01
Mile 2: 10:26
Mile 3: 10:25
Mile 4: 10:15
Mile 5: 9:56.3
Mile 6: 9:54.8

I noticed at the first mile marker, my Garmin said I had gone 1.07 miles. That had me worried that it was going to take me an extra .1 or more to finish, which meant even less time between races. But at each mile marker, the overage went down, which I thought was odd.

At 5.8 miles, we turned off of a road on to a path that went past a pond and then into some woods. The path through the woods was uphill, which is uncool at the very end. It was a change in scenery from all the freaking houses, though, so that’s a plus. Right at the end, we turned off the path, went into a field next to the Y parking lot, and crossed the finish line.

When I stopped my Garmin, I was surprised to see it said 6.19 miles. Huh. .01 miles short. I’ve never had that happen in a race, I’ve always gone over. (According to my Garmin, I ran the last .19 at a pace of 9:56/mile.) My watch said I finished in 1:02:54. So yes, I had the least surprising PR in my racing history.

Well, I didn’t have much time to think about the mileage shortage. Someone handed me a bottle of water shortly after the finish, and I drank some of it as I began the race between the races.

As I was alternating between walking really fast and actual running, I paused for a moment before I took off my bib (and shirt) from the 10K, so I could take the traditional post-race picture with my car key.

I did notice as I walked that it was 9:09 according to my watch. So I had a few minutes, but I still needed to be quick. At some point, I decided to skip the Gu. I left the water bottle in my car. I took off my glasses and hat, changed from the 10K pullover into what I will now call the 5K pullover, put my glasses and hat back on, and started running towards the 5K starting line.

(I’m sure anybody who’s ever done a triathlon is laughing right now at my complaints about having to do a between-race swap.)

I got there just after the start of the National Anthem. I had just enough time between that and the start for a starting line picture.

I moved up closer to the front after that. In spite of taking two pictures with my phone, I never bothered to check the temperature. The reporting station that my Garmin used said it was 28, but it also said it was 25 at the start of the 10K when my phone said 20. I’m going to split the difference and say it was 25. I’m about 95% sure it was under 28, which would mean both races were colder than any other race I’ve ever done.

After a countdown, we were off.

It was a slightly flatter course than the 10K, but there were still a few hills. It was still mostly through the neighborhoods, many that I had already run through. As I expected, my legs were pretty tired, but I managed. My pace was good compared to my usual pace, and even compared to my 10K pace, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough for a PR. I kept pushing, and I even skipped the water stop, which I don’t think I’ve ever done in a race.

My Garmin reported Mile 1 at 9:39, and Mile 2 at 9:41. I remember seeing a marker for Mile 1, but I can’t remember how close it was to where my Garmin said I had completed 1 mile. I don’t remember seeing a marker for Mile 2, although it’s possible I might have missed it.

Then things got interesting.

The ending was the same as the 10K, we turned off of a road, on to a path around a pond, up a hill through some trees, off the path onto the field, and ran across the field to the finish line. I stopped my Garmin at the finish line and looked at the total.

2.92 miles.

Wait, what?

I knew my official time was under 29 minutes, which would qualify as a PR. But…that’s .18 miles less than a 5K. Of course I PRed it. (For the record, according to my Garmin, I ran the last .92 miles at a 9:46/mile pace.)

I asked around, and found a few other people who reported getting a shorter distance. So it wasn’t just my watch. But still, I have to admit, I felt a little disappointed.

One thing that did not disappoint me is that I still had my car key, and here’s the obligatory picture to prove it.

They did hand me another bottle of water after I crossed the finish. (They must not have recognized me after I changed into my 5K pullover.) The post-race food (which I assume was similar after the 10K, but I didn’t have time to look) included orange slices, bananas, blueberry muffins, assorted granola bars, and bagels. Also, they had something that looked like Irish Soda Bread. I skipped that, because it’s got raisins, and I firmly believe a raisin is a waste of a perfectly good grape. Still, coming from an Irish family, seeing the Irish Soda Bread brought back memories. (My grandmother used to make it a lot, and pretty much everybody agreed that hers was the best.)

Once again, like the Charlotte Checkers 5K, they had tablets set up where you could look up your time. Officially, I finished the 10K in 1:02:58.1, and the 5K in 28:25.8.

So once I got home, I wanted to look at the route that my Garmin recorded to see what the deal was with the 5K course, since my watch said I only ran 2.92. I looked at the course, and saw many places where it looked like I cut the corner, and even a couple of spots where it looks like I ran through someone’s living room. Well, I didn’t cut any corners, and if I could walk through walls, I’d pick something cooler to do with my power than run through people’s living rooms. I counted how many times we turned at an intersection, and got 28. For comparison, I went back to the course for the Thunder Road Half, and I got 23. So, I believe the course really was 3.1 miles (or very close to it), and I understand why my watch showed the course being short. After some deliberation, I’m going to call it a PR.

I have to say, 28 turns in a 5K (and that doesn’t count times when a road made a 90 degree or so turn, or when we went off the road to get on the trail near the end) does seem a little high, and it’s definitely going to throw off any GPS. Although this was the 3rd year for the race, apparently they outgrew the old location, plus they decided to add the 10K this year, so both courses were brand new.

A day later, I feel a lot better about my performance in the 5K. It’s a shame that I couldn’t celebrate at the finish line after breaking 29 minutes for the first time, but I’ll take it.

I couldn’t find any numbers for how many people ran both races like I did (I did notice that the same guy finished first in both races), but there were 238 finishers in the 10K, and 399 in the 5K.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty well organized race. The turns may have been a bit excessive, but every one of them was either well marked, or had a volunteer to guide us. Speaking of the volunteers, they really, really, really liked cowbell. Mississippi State fans? Christopher Walken fans? Both? Anyway, they did provide plenty of encouragement in some really freaking cold weather, so kudos. I wish there was a better way to do both races than doing the bib swap, but I don’t know enough about timing to know if there even is a better way. Maybe a bag check would have helped. Also, it would have been nice to have something for anybody who completed both races. But those are nitpicks. Really, other than the 5 minute delay on the 10K, I have no complaints. (And if it hadn’t been for the 2nd race, I wouldn’t have really cared about the delay.)

I’m very pleased with my performance in the 10K. I mean, it’s almost an 11 minute PR, so yeah, that’s nice. Granted, it was a much easier course, and while the conditions weren’t exactly pleasant, I’ll gladly take 20 degrees over 76.

The more I think about it, the more pleased I am with my 5K performance. The one thing I noticed, though, is that, according to my Garmin, I actually slowed down a little on each mile. I don’t know how much of that was due to the routing issues, though. Even so, this wasn’t miles 1, 2, and 3 for me, it was (roughly) miles 7, 8, and 9. Also, the biggest hill of the 5K was the trail near the end, so that slowed me down. Overall, I ran 9.3 miles in 1:31:24, at an average pace of 9:50 per mile, which is pretty amazing. (It’s 14 minutes faster than the Lungstrong 15K, although with the break in the middle, that may not be a fair comparison.) I’m most proud of the fact that I took no walk breaks other than the two water stops during the 10K.

My goals were 1:06 for the 10K and 30:00 for the 5K, and I beat both of them.

So, overall, it was a good challenge, and I’m happy with the result. I have no idea if I’ll try it again next year, but I’ll consider it.