Race day! Got up at 4:10AM, after a great night of sleep (went to bed at 8:30PM, slept like a baby). I went down to the hospitality suite, grabbed a banana and had a cup of coffee, then we all loaded the bus at 5AM (about 20 invited athletes total). Shot the breeze and kept myself entertained by talking to Rik Ceulemans, a Belgian runner (1:02, 2:13 PR's). Very entertaining guy, great stories. Had another half cup of coffee. Thanks to coffee, this was a "5-star" race, and fortunately we had plenty of portapots in the VIP area, so 5 stars was very easy to accomodate. I can't say enough about the Rock and Roll franchise, and Elite Racing, who performed the hospitality. They really know how to do things right. Warmed up for about a mile. Listened to some music. Finally, it was time to line up for the 7AM start. I took one more potty break, stashed my clothes, and did some strides. It was an absolutely perfect day. Low-50s for temperature, clear sky, and little to no wind. There is no other place to run this time of year. The race started on time (yah!). My plan was to run aggressive from the gun; I had nothing to lose. Rizzo, Ceulemans, and Elija Nyabuti (an African) took off hard. I was with them for about 400m, but quickly dropped back to the next back when it became obvious they were intent on running 4:50 pace. I soon found the lead marathon pack, consisting of Peter Gilmore, several Kenyans, and Drew Polley (former Wash State runner who was debuting in the half marathon). It also meant some TV time, so I decided to stay with the lead marathoners as long as I could. And they were out hard. First 3 mile splits were 5:07, 5:04, 5:03. 5K in 15:52 (23 seconds faster than Indy). I took water at Mile 3, and the marathoners dropped me because of that, and I could not catch up comfortably, so I had to let them go. Drat. No more TV time. Now I was by myself, and we were going to come up on the first big hill. I hit 5:08 for Mile 4, and by then the hill was cranking. 5:44 for Mile 5. The hill was hard, but not THAT hard. Some downhill on Mile 6, and then flat again. 5:00 for Mile 6. It was fast, but not THAT fast. This was the first of several mile markers to be off, the only hiccup of the inaugural race. I knew the next hill would be during Mile 10, so I wanted to reestablish a good rhythm. I saw my college buddy Pete on his road bike starting at Mile 5. We stayed in good legal compliance, as he did not aid me whatsoever, but it was comforting just knowing he was there, as I had no one to run with still. A Kenyan had fallen off the lead marathon pack, so I focused on trying to reel him in as well. Mile 7 in 5:07. Good. 10K in 32:18 (7 seconds faster than Indy). We were now running on a curvy road along a very pretty lake. It was nice, although I was not paying attention much to the scenery. Still no real wind, which was good. Mile 8 in 5:23. Not good. Tried to pick it up. Mile 9 in 5:21. Cursed a G-rated expletive under my breath. What's the deal? At least the Kenyan was still coming back, and Peter my guardian angel lurking somewhere behind me on his bike on the paved trail near the road. During Mile 10, the half and full split from each other. The half went left, and the marathon right. I made the left and entered a very long, dark tunnel. There was no longer a Kenyan ahead of me. Hmmn...must have been a marathoner. This was good in that I didn't have to worry about him, but bad in that there was now NO ONE in sight and I was truly alone in a dark, scary place. There were all sorts of weird noises in the tunnel. The Mile 10 sign came about 3 minutes too early, so I didn't even bother with the split. The noises got louder and loud and freakier and freakier. Eventually I saw that it was a live band playing in the mouth the the tunnel, not traffic, that was making the noise. The sound was reverberating off the walls and it was very psychodelic. It's a good thing I don't do drugs, otherwise I would have been very freaked out. Felt like I was just flying through the tunnel, felt like 4:30 pace because the dark really messed with perception. But in any case I was feeling great still, which was encouraging at this point in the race.
Finally got to the end of the trippy tunnel of doom and was now running on the freeway. Weird, but kind of cool, and certainly a fast surface to be on. Closed course, by the way, so not even a hint of cars. Only RnR can afford to close a freeway, I imagine. Finally saw the 11 Mile mark, and took my split. 10:16 for 10/11, meaning I was back on a great pace, and perhaps I truly was pushing air through that tunnel. The course then took a nice downhill on a ramp and into downtown. I was still all alone; no one in sight ahead of me, and no one behind me that I could feel. Someone told me that I was in 5th! (great, because money is 5 deep). I also calculated I was probably the 3rd American, so I could get some U.S.-only prize money too. I was still feeling strong, and was determined that no one would catch me. If I could close with more 5:08 miles, surely I would retain my spot. I split Mile 12 with a 4:44. Okaaaay. Kept pushing. Feeling great. Terrain is flat again. Sub-1:08 is looking possible. I passed the Mile 26 marathon mark with total time of 1:06-low. Only a quarter-mile to go, I should get sub-1:08! Right?
Turned the final corner, after a suspiciously long amount of time after Mile 26. Hit Mile 13 in 5:34. Okay, so Mile 11 was another wrong mile mark, and so is Mile 26. So a better way to look at it is that 11/12 was 10:18 for 2 miles, so 5:09 pace. Still a good split, but my goal of sub-1:08 is looking suspect at best. I sprinted hard from Mile 13. I could see the clock, and it was saying "1:07:5x". Tried to bridge an impossibly long distance, but sure enough, it clicked over to 1:08:xx...like clockwork. Drat, I still had about 100 meters left. Eh. Eased up a little, but still finished strong, my watching reading 1:08:13 at the finish line, and the last 0.1 in 35s. But even though I missed sub-1:08, I was still elated at the finish. It was a 20s PR, on a much harder course than Indy. Not only that, but I was indeed 5th overall and the 3rd American, which should be worth a total of $500 + $500 = $1000 for my effort. By far my best winnings in a half marathon, and close to my best winnings for any race. And since RnR paid all my expenses, and it actually real profit (and will help out our down payment on our new house). I don't run for money, but I felt that hitting a money spot helped validate RnR bringing me out, as I feel obligated to "perform" when I get accommodations like that. And the money symbolizes a coveted placing, and means that I competed well, so I am very pleased with that. And it was good redemption from Indy, where I could not finish the race well and kick myself into the coveted money spot. The Kenyan won with 1:05:14, Rizzo 2nd with 1:05:34, the Belgian 3rd with 1:06:01, the WSU-alum 4th with 1:06:45, myself 5th with an official time of 1:08:15 (not sure why my watch was faster), 6th, 7th, and 8th coming in behind me with 1:08:52, 1:08:58, and 1:08:59. (Sean Sundall was the 7th place guy). Winning women's time was a low 1:11, which is smokin'. ****Update****Official time was updated to be 1:08:12. Sweet - another 3 seconds!
I liked the course. It was somewhat difficult with the hills, but still decently fast, since the roads where not crowned anywhere, and it had a good, fast surface throughout. None of the uphills were excruciatingly-long, and there were enough flat areas to get a good rhythm. Temp's were perfect the entire race. The only glitch were the various mile markers that were off, but the course as a whole was accurate, so the markers were not a big deal to me. Considering this was a first-year event with 25,000 total participants, it was VERY well-done. Sean and I are now 1-1 this year. If he comes to the Freedom Run 15K next Saturday, we will have the tie-breaker showdown, ha ha. No, I plan to have fun at the 15K, I've been wanting to do this local race for a while. I plan to go back to a base phase and dial things down a little for July and maybe August, depending how long it takes us to sell our house and move. I don't want to be training for anything while doing this move, and I don't want to deal with the stress of it all, plus being on Enbrel I just need to be careful with things like stress and overexertion. And if I've learned one thing over the last couple years, YOU GOTTA TAKE A BREAK SOMETIMES! But after this latest PR, I have to believe I have a good marathon in me, so perhaps Cal Int'l in December is still a possibility. But I need to get that fire back to train for it. Marathon training is very hard, and I need to make sure I can commit to it both physical and mentally before I give a Trials attempt an honest go. We shall see.
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