Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon

OBJECTIVE
Perfect race: 6:52/mi. = 1:30:38

ACHIEVED
Official 1:33:32 13.1 mi. (7:08/mi.)
Garmin 1:33:33 13.3 mi. (7:02/mi.)

0.57 mi. WU
1.27 mi. CD

7:29 AM 63° 73% 5 mph

It was an early morning wake up call to get up and ready for the drive to Seabrook. Paige went with me today and I was really happy to have her along. The fact she acted as driver was even better.

We made good time to Seabrook. I had picked up my packet on Thursday in Houston so I had my bib but all runners had to pick up their timing chips on site before the race. I got my gear together, pinned my bib, chose my Mizuno Musha racing flats, and headed for the congregating runners at the park. Got my chip and attached it then waited in the restroom line. I hate lines. After five minutes, it was my turn. Warmed up back to the car. Headed back toward start. Arrived for national anthem. Worried that I'd be stuck at the back but had no problem working my way toward the front. This was a relatively small event - limited to 500 runners.

The horn sounded and we were off. We started on a road but after about .4 miles moved on to a trail and stayed on trails the rest of the way. I was leery about wearing my racing flats because of the trails but they were crushed granite and pretty much packed so it worked out just fine.

All week and again this morning, I've had a hard time getting it into my head that this is a half marathon. Everything about this race just seemed like it should be shorter. And I started out like it was. Big mistake ... the course was, as advertised, 13.2 miles long.

Wanted to hold 6:52/mile pace but not go any faster than that. Thought I'd see how I felt about half way then go from there. After clocking 6:50, 6:45, and 6:44 over the first three miles, it was clear today wasn't going to be a perfect day and that I'd generally screwed up my pacing. I told myself out loud, "Slow down!" two different times. I found myself racing other people around me like I was at the end rather than just starting. Stupid, stupid, stupid ... I know better. The right thing to do was run the first five miles "with my head". Don't get sucked in to any duels and macho passes during this part of a race. I finally listened to myself when a guy I had reeled in passed me back. I just let him go. How stupid is this? I had dueled this guy for over a mile and after the race ended I found out he was part of a relay team. Can you say, "Stupid!" ... again?

Okay with that out of my system, it was time to settle in to a rhythm. I couldn't find it. Mile 4 and 5 went by at 6:53 and 6:58. It was around this point that I knew I was toast as far as holding 6:52 pace. What now? Real lucky for me, the course was a sort of double out-and-back so I started seeing the runners behind me. This helped me. My name was pre-printed on my bib so it was cool to have people calling out encouragement to me by name. Also, I was surprised to find I was in fifth place and there was a decent gap behind me. I figured I'd just try to hold my position and hope the guy in front of me slowed enough by the end for me to do something about it at the finish. Well, I got it half right. I held my spot but it was I who slowed over the remainder of the course:

7:05
6:48 (lifted by energy of start area crowd & John Walk calling my name on the mic)
7:05
7:12
7:15
7:20 (calling myself names at this point)
7:18 (wanted this mile to be 7:10 based on how I was feeling)
7:22 (wanted this mile to be 7:03 based on distance remaining)
1:59 [0.3 mi. = 6:39] (wanted this episode to be over!)

I did see Kathleen Woodhead out on the course. It was a great lift to know she was out there too. She was smiling, looked positive, and called out encouragement every time I saw her (which I believe was four times). This was in stark contrast to how I felt!

I was happy to finish fourth overall, second in men's masters, and first in my 40-49 age group.

The overall experience was good. It lets me know where I stand from a fitness standpoint. If you get down to it, I wasn't that far off my May 2009 PR of 1:31:35 in Ogden which is an aided course given its point-to-point downhill nature. In contrast, Seabrook was literally at sea level with the start and end at the same place. It was also on trails with many turns and limited passing over a majority of the course due to two-way running on the same narrow trail. So although I had hoped to do better, I'm not too far off where I'd like to be. This is good news given my February layoff. On top of it all, I'm thankful to be running again and very happy that my legs held up without any problems today.

PRE RUN
water, oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
apple & water