1000 Islands Half Marathon 1:38:42, 6th place, 1st AG
I almost ran this race last year but instead did the Rochester (MN) half marathon there which did not go well although it was a nice course and well run.
I had been meaning to sign up for this race but by the time I actually tried it said sold out. My brother Jim was already signed up for it. I checked again and fortunately there was a "no medal" option which I could sign up for.
It has been a busy May with my son Tom graduating from USF and my parents heading back up north but not before my dad was in the hospital with pneumonia and my mom came to the realization she shouldn't be driving any more. They made it back up north ok about a week before this race. My dad had cath lab appointment yesterday which went well overall but they didn't find any blockages which is good but also meant there was nothing they could fix either.
So, Jim and I headed up to parents cottage in 1000 islands last night, stopping for pizza in Oswego which we had for dinner. Race start was just a little over a mile from the cottage which we could have run for warmup but decided to drive. Got there in plenty of time for warm up. Chatted with a few people before the race started including a guy who said he was looking to run about 1:40 which is what I said I wanted (we both really wanted a little faster). The guy was former army helicopter pilot, nice guy, easy going.
Race starts and I get onto a comfortable but fast enough pace, 1st mile 7:26, a little uphill and some gravel (running on golf cart path) before getting back on pavement. Next two miles good at 7:22 and 7:23. Army guy pulled away from me and I let him go as the pace was maybe a little fast, maybe ok but didn't want faster.
Next stretch felt a little harder. Course start was two small loops then onto the main road and past the TI Club .
Miles 4-8 : 7:32, 7:31, 7:35, 7:39
From the main road we went onto the old main road, then back on main road very briefly then onto Peel Dock road. Just before Peel Dock road I could see the sign facing the other way for 9 miles which I woulnd't hit for a few more miles, seemed so far away and the 7:20's I was hitting earlier were now 7:30's and felt harder than those 7:20's
Finished the out and back on Peel Dock road and at some point came up behind the army guy who had pulled away from me. Mile 9 was slowest at 7:41
But, psychologically, after mile 9 I felt more energized and the 7:30's felt easier, miles 10 , 11, and 12 ticked off easily.
Felt like I was in the clear, but did not concentrate on that last mile and let pace slip to 7:52 - taking my victory lap a little too early.
6th place overall. I was able to get a medal from a previous year, I could've purchased a t-shirt but decided not to.
Waited for Jim to finish. This was his first big run in a while, had mainly been on bike trainer in his basement during the cold months.
Was grateful we were able to run the race together, grateful for the weather and grateful for my parents hanging in. Almost 20 years ago my parents sold the house I grew up in but they still have the 1000 Island cottage since 1980, so almost my child hood home.
Funny thing, just before I woke up had a dream where I could play the intro to "Over the Hills and Far Away" on the guitar using hammer ons (later found out from YouTube tutorials you really do use hammer on/pull off technique). I have hardly ever even picked up a guitar (just some bass lessons one time).
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