2014 Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon - Race Report

Not my best performance but considering I'm coming off a 50 mile run and I'm still woefully behind in my training cycle, I'll take it. I was wide awake at 0400 for some reason. I finally got up at 0430 with my alarm, showered, and made a pit-stop at Sheetz for a small coffee. I made it to town in plenty of time to find a great parking spot and made it to the bathroom in Wal-Mart with enough time to only see 3 or 4 people in front of me. With one poop done, I headed back to my car to get my gear in order. I drank my first GenUCAN serving early and headed to the bathroom in Wal-Mart again. Only to find a long line at the front and a long one at the back. After waiting a few minutes, I headed over to Wegmans at a slow run. I wasn't that desperate for a bathroom but it was cold and I figured it would warm me up. Once in Wegmans, I headed upstairs and had a much shorter line that moved much faster. With a second poop done, I was on my way to the Start area. Big lesson of the day is don't eat avocados the day before a race.

On the way to the Start area some ladies somehow knew that my PRS Fit jersey was related to my Coach Jeff. Small world. I lingered a bit near the way way back and ran into another local runner. After a quick hello, I took a leak, and lingered some more. Some jets flew over twice and we eventually slowly moved to the Start line.

The race itself was fairly uneventful. I peed one more time, had enough fluids and fuel, and generally tried to have a good time. After the finish, I ran back to my car, ran back to the Finish, then ran back to my car again. After all, I needed to meet my training plan for the day.


Photos:
I was in the mood for a beer before the race. The was pretty insane at the end though so I skipped it.

This young lady was doing pretty good in the half. And she wasn't the first kid out there.

And this is me at the end. All done.

Weather:
Temps were 50F at the start and rose to about 60F by the finish. Sun was out in full. Winds were light until the end when it picked up a bit. Humidity was low.

Fluids and Fuel:
Before the run I had a small coffee and a serving of GenUCAN. During the run I had a bottle of plain water, a bottle of Hammer Fizz, a second serving of GenUCAN, and another bottle of Hammer Fizz. I also had two applesauce packs along the way. Recovery was a frozen mocha followed by a lunch of a burger and fries.

Aches and Pains:
Right calf, lower right glute, and both ankles were tweaky on and off during the run. Outside of that, things felt okay. Feet hurt more than normal but that was due to the bad shoe choice. Oh, almost forgot. Had some chafing in the center of my chest that didn't feel bad until I put on some body spray. Ouch.

Gear:
No special gear. Just ran with the basics.

Heart Rate:
Did pretty well hitting my surges every 20 minutes but totally blew the Zone 2 about halfway through the run. And the last few miles were way up there thanks to Hospital Hill.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 11:50 (AVG HR 147)
Mile 2 - 12:42 (AVG HR 151)
Mile 3 - 12:15 (AVG HR 153)
Mile 4, 5, and 6 = 34:41 (AVG HR 160) (AVG pace - 11:33)
Mile 7 - 12:22 (AVG HR 160)
Mile 8 - 12:07 (AVG HR 155)
Mile 9 - 13:02 (AVG HR 156)
Mile 10 - 11:54 (AVG HR 165)
Mile 11 - 13:16 (AVG HR 173)
Mile 12 - 12:12 (AVG HR 175)
Mile 13 - 11:34 (AVG HR 177)
Finish - 2:38:50
AVG HR - 159
MIN HR - 103
MAX HR - 201
Weight - 222.2 (after race but before recovery)

My warm-up and cool-down added about 3.5 miles to the beginning and end of my run. Plus I tacked on a few extra minutes. I was very happy to feel.... normal after the race. Normal enough to just run slow back to the car while everyone else was limping.