Category: Race Recap

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Frozen Stiff • First Call Half Marathon, Waukesha, WI, USA

I knew I was in for some colder weather when I flew north this weekend.  I just didn’t know how much Mother Nature was going to be out to punish me.  Since the forecast looked reasonable when I left, I packed some cold gear.  Not nearly enough!  The weather was actually pretty moderate until race day.   Then when I woke up on race morning it was cold and extremely windy with a wintry mix of precipitation threatening (as the forecast had predicted once I arrived up north).  I jogged my five mile warmup to the race venue dreading the weather to come.  Nearly five miles in and I still didn’t feel warmed up!  I arrived just in time for a huge gust of wind to start throwing things around.  It was going to be an interesting day!  Welcome to Wisconsin… sincerely, Mother Nature!

The rain and snow started shortly after.  Unsurprising lots of runners just stayed home in their beds, so there were fewer runners than anticipated.  Maybe they were the smart ones?  Thats not my style: I welcome a good challenge.  Sometimes it just requires shifting the gameplay or adjusting the goals a bit.   But in the end, I’ll always find my way to the finish line.

While I originally thought that the First Call Half Marathon might be a moderately fast race for me, today was anything but.  I figured the chilly Wisconsin weather would be close to optimal for performance, and with a course billed as ‘faster than flat’ it sounded like exactly what I needed to get in another sub 90 half without pushing myself too hard.  With the miles I’ve been running this year, and my lingering injuries it would be foolish to try to PR each race.  This sounded like a good opportunity…  Until I read the race day forecast.  More appropriate ended up being a goal just to finish, especially considering my total lack of familiarity with this type of weather.  Someone remind me please how I used to do this during High School Indoor Track Season in CT?!  Dahhhhhhhh!

So instead of stripping down to my race shorts and OneRun singlet then running hard to keep warm, I wore as many layers as I brought with me.  While the rain and snow had stopped just a bit before start time, I wasn’t confident of my ability to handle this weather in racing attire.  Sure enough, I was still chilly when those winds gusted, and the running gloves I have were not nearly enough to keep my fingers warm.  Dressed in a bit more than I originally planned, I started out at what I thought was a reasonable pace.  But I was frozen stiff, and it went downhill from there.  Even in the second mile, my back flared up badly.  It’s been quite a long time since it was this painful, and I wasn’t going to push it.  I’m not sure if the excessive back pain was from the cold, the fact that circumstances forced me to sleep on bed instead of the floor earlier this week, stress, general fluctuations or something else, but wow was it rough today.  The Holy Grail of the Boston Marathon is barely two weeks away.  I won’t risk that under any circumstances.  This became a ‘suffer through it’ and just finish race.  My miles slowed progressively throughout the first half of the race.  Yet I would not stop.  

The course itself was indeed a fast one.  Out and back on a paved trail, with only two U-turns.  Other than that it was straight with just gentle twists of the trail and very minor elevation changes.  There were plenty of water stops complete with sports drink and even gels at one station (passed twice).  There were plenty of race staff out at the few and lightly trafficked road crossings to ensure that racers weren’t interrupted on their run.  Mile markers were at every mile, and even though some of them had been flattened by the wind, you still knew it was there.  Perhaps if the weather had been a bit more accommodating this would have been the fast race I originally thought it was going to be.  Locals need not worry; they get another chance later in the season.  It’s a bit of a trek for me though.

Post race I joined everyone else huddled under the shelter hiding from the brutally cold wind.  While the fruit and other race food I’m used to were certainly welcome… today I was extremely grateful for hot chocolate.  Kudos to the team from Silver Circle for a great event despite some very challenging weather, and it was a pleasure to meet a handful of my extended running family up in Wisconsin for a couple milestones!  Although lucky number 13 half marathon wasn’t so lucky today, I still had a great experience, and passed the 800 mile marker for the year.  I’m disappointed I didn’t win an age group award like I’d originally hoped, or even run anywhere near my ability level but such is life.  I heard many good reviews of Silver Circle’s Trail Assail Race Series.  Who knows, perhaps my path will lead me back out this way at some point.

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Not So Elite • Sunrise Half Marathon, Sunrise, FL, USA

I knew today wasn’t going to be a fast run, but I wanted to see what I could do.  Yesterday I bricked myself: in total I covered nearly 75 miles on a heavy steel roadie thats too big for me (20+ on gravel), ran a half marathon and covered several additional miles during the March For Our Lives.  This after one of my rougher weeks health wise.  For my 12th half marathon of the year, I wanted to see what I could do under these circumstances.  I was targeting 1:35 – 1:40 with a fast start and finish, easing up slightly in the middle miles.  Although I hoped for the lower portion of that, I’m certainly satisfied with the result.

The Sunrise Half Marathon was very different than yesterdays.  While it was certainly a fun event there were several things that frustrated me.  The day started off on a sour note when I picked up my bib and shirt.  While this event had a Friday early packet pickup, there was no Saturday option.  So when I arrived on race morning I was not too happy that they were out of my shirt size.  I signed up nearly EIGHT months in advance, and specified the shirt size I wanted.  On race day, I was told we don’t have medium in the blue, but we do in green.  OK cool, I’ll take that… until I realized ‘that’ was a race shirt from a totally different event.  No thank you, I’d like a shirt from the event I’m actually participating in.  So I opted for the larger shirt (they ran out of both M & L) even though it wouldn’t be getting much use either.  I’ve got no problem taking whatever size shirts are left when I sign up late, but I definitely shouldn’t have to do that when I’m among the first.

Since I wasn’t too worried about my time, I didn’t fret the warmup.  Meandered around a bit and said hello to some of my running friends, then lined up at the start.  There was a bit of a flagpole malfunction during the national anthem, and then some speaker issues.  No worries… the crowd was quick to pick up singing the verse collectively.  What really frustrated me at the start was the old man who pushed his way to the front of the pack (directly in front of me).  At first I thought he was just trying to get a picture up there as there was a woman who snapped a few photos for him.  But he stayed there.  OK, who am I to judge?  I’ve been smoked by older folk before.  Maybe he was a lot faster than he looked.  Then 3…2…1… GO!  Guess not, I got stuck behind his slow start.

Once I managed to dodge him, I took off.  For nearly three miles, I was right where I wanted to be.  And then I wasn’t.  My back really began to act up.  I wasn’t too surprised.  It’s been a rough week.  Plus yesterday was a solid workout… or five!  So I eased up a bit more than I’d originally hoped, as it is always important to keep it on the lighter side of the discomfort/destructive pain dial.  Go easy and just enjoy the run.  I wasn’t gonna win today anyway.  I knew some of the local elites who showed up.  Even on my best day I couldn’t touch the overall podium.  But I could still have fun regardless, and that’s what this is all about.

Markham Park is a great place to run.  Lot’s of beautiful trails to run within and around the park.  This course took solid advantage of that, with most of the running on those parts.  There were also a few miles on the roads in a very lightly trafficked corporate park.  So this was a great course in that respect.  Nice, quiet, and almost completely car-free.  No major hills to worry about, so it was a fairly fast course.  There were quite a few U or sharp turns on the course, so I wouldn’t call this a PR inducing course.  Especially with that disheartening last little loop.  The course started out with a loop in Markham Park, then ran out and around before coming back into the park and basically repeating the first loop.  As you complete that loop, you run through the start line and off onto another mile or so loop within the park before finally ending up at the finish.  Just when the scenery starts to look like you are almost home… the carrot moves way further down the road.  I heard several runners talking about this same thing afterward.  It really was a tease there at the end.

So that was that.  Half marathon #12 of 2018 was in the books.  I didn’t have the kick I wanted at the end, but I still had a great time once I finished.  Crossed the line, backed away from the speakers (which still messes with my TBI’d brain), found some friends and found the food.  Sandwiches, chips, cookies, fruits.  Typical post race chow, which was much appreciated after my weekend calorie burn.  I’d certainly say this weekend was a tough one.  It definitely was a fun one.  I’m sure I’ll end up at another Elite event in the future, and hopefully next time my performance will live up to that name a bit better too.

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Unintentional Half Iron (For a Great Cause) • Race For Women’s Wellness Half Marathon

What a day!  I’ve been ‘racing’ a lot recently.  I use that term loosely:  I’ve been running a lot of organized races, I just haven’t been trying to run my fastest race at most of them (although I always have some sort of plan or workout devised).  I’ve run them for fun.  I love the environment, I love the energy, and in many cases I love the WHY – the reason these races exist.

Today’s race was one of those.  The team from ITZ Events has been putting on the Race for Women’s Wellness Half Marathon and 5K in Coral Springs for some time now, and it’s been an incredible event as long as I’ve known about it.  This was my third time running it (’14, ’15 & ’18).  Had it not been for my injuries, I most likely would have run it the past few years as well.

This is a great event if you are looking to race or PR!   The course is flat and fast.  Several pacers are available for those in the 1:50-2:30 range.  It’s is on well paved roads without too many turns (1 U-turn).  Mile markers are clearly labelled, and include clocks with accurate gun time.  While many of the roads the course follows are busy multilane roads, runners have a dedicated lane, since it’s early traffic isn’t too bad and police presence is robust (not to mention awesome: I loved running by the cop cars with windows down and music cranking, especially the rocky one).  There are lots of aid stations, some including gels or on course medical.  The biggest downside is its so early – 6am.  While this means its generally pretty cool for the majority of the race for most entrants, it means I have to get up way too early, and that the roads can be a bit dark at times.

It’s also got a solid post race.  Wet towels to clean up and cool down at the finish line, plenty of food (bagels, bananas, and more for the runners and even free donuts, iced coffee and sandwiches courtesy of the sponsors.  There were quite a few vendor tents and all in all a fun post race social.  Ohh did I mention the beer?  While I’m still avoiding alcohol with my TBI concerns, beer is alway a great race amenity.

The finishers medals are well done, and although the industry trend is otherwise… this is the size I prefer to see for a race of this distance.  While my performance this year didn’t earn me any awards, there were plenty.  In addition to the running awards, it’s always great to see this events recognition of it’s why – supporting the fight against breast cancer.  The awards ceremony honors all those present affected by this disease, as well as the fundraising efforts to support the Lisa Boccard Breast Cancer Fund.  Running a half marathon is nothing… these are the real champions of the day.  Overall this is the kind of event I love to support.  Well organized and clearly a product of passion for both running and it’s charitable cause.

In 2015, I raced this one, and finished ONE second shy of my then PR (set when I was just 17).  I wasn’t sure whether to be ecstatic that I could keep up with my teenage self, or frustrated that I was ONE SECOND off my PR!  This year, I originally hoped to try for another PR or close.  Unfortunately this past week my health has slipped a bit.  Half the week I could barely get out of bed.  Both the brain and back have been rough.  Which meant I wouldn’t likely be having my best race, and kind of limited my efforts to figure out transportation.  So I improvised…  Life can slow me, life can knock me down, but I will continue to find ways to thrive somehow.  I decided to make this a tough workout: I would bike ~45 miles to the start, run, then bike some more.  Total distance being pretty much a half distance triathlon, with the swimming replaced by extra cycling.

I wasn’t expecting this to be a quick and easy ride.  The only functional bike I’ve got at this point is The Beast.  She’s solid, but heavy and a bit too big for me.  But the Beast and I are unstoppable.  We don’t make excuses.  I left at about 2am for the 6am start.  I figured it should take about three hours to get there.  I was quite a bit off on that projection – with Miami Music Week chaos on South Beach, my less than ideal health and a heavy ride… it took close to four.

That meant I was pulling into the event venue as runners were being given final instructions.  Instead of a relaxed ‘transition’ it was super rushed.  So thank you (and sorry!) to the race staff for facilitating my bib pickup literally at the last second, and for not shutting off the start mat until I crossed (nearly four minutes after the race was underway).  I ran down the street to catch up to the sweep vehicle, pinning on my number as I went.  Yeah this wasn’t going to be fast… but I’d still have fun

It was a tough run.  My first mile was OK considering, and I had a solid next two with the psychological boost of passing everyone.  Around mile three I started to feel it.  I wasn’t too surprised considering how rough this week had been, and made the never fun decision to ease up significantly.  This was a brick workout.  Today’s goal was just to keep going, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

An hour and forty five minutes later I finished, soaked in the scene, partied with old and new running friends, then took off after the awards.  It was time to bike a few more miles to support the MSD students and pay tribute to those lost just over a month ago.  Especially after my experience in Boston nearly five years ago, its an honor to stand with all communities affected by these types of events, and further inspiration to renew efforts to build OneRun.  That is my why!

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Most Memorable Finishes • Gasparilla Distance Classic Part II, Tampa, FL, USA

Day two of Gasparilla was another memorable one!  As is often the case in hot Florida races, the half marathon started well before the sun came up.  I didn’t see Meb at the starting line, so I knew I was just going to go ‘easy’ today and enjoy the atmosphere.  Perhaps thats a good thing, as my back was even worse than yesterday!  After a solid first mile in the dark, I had to take a brief bathroom break.  Getting started again afterwards was not fun.  The pain was excruciating.  I knew this wasn’t going to be a time I was proud of.  The next five miles were rough, but when the 1:45 pace group caught up to me around halfway, I decided that was the perfect pace to hold.  Even with the pain, I was pretty sure this was doable.

The second half of the race was on Bayshore again.  Yes, it’s a beautiful place to run, but now on my third lap in just over 24 hours, it loses a bit of its appeal.  It’s still a great run though… there’s actually a solid number of spectators cheering you on.  Gasparilla is a very spectator friendly event.  With all of the events going out and back down Bayshore, if you set up camp on the large grassy median, you are surrounded by runners to cheer for all day, both days!  Turns out Meb opted not to run today… instead he was out there cheering for us.  That was also pretty cool!  So I trudged along with the 1:45 group.  I’d like to get involved in pacing.  I really do enjoy pushing my fellow runners to their best, even on days when I’m not at my best.  This would be a perfect exercise to make sure that even on a ‘bad’ day, 1:45 was a reasonable group for me to run with.  Yup, it hurt.  But no, it didn’t stop me!  With only a few miles left, the group caught up to one of the challenge runners.  Clearly he wasn’t having his ideal day either.  As I spoke with him about the challenge, he confided that he was seriously contemplating skipping on the last race.  It took a little persuading, but in the end he decided to give it a go.  Don’t worry about your speed I told him, just get to the finish!  Well, at least at this point in the day he had nothing to worry about: as soon as the finish line was in sight, he had a much better kick than me.  Three runs down…

Now came the worst part of the weekend.  Sitting around doing nothing between the half and the 8K is guaranteed to cramp you up.  I’ve never been able to get through this without some cramping.  Perhaps I should just go and run another four miles in between next time just to keep myself busy.  You know, because 30 miles for the weekend really isn’t enough already!  I also would have loved to chow on the post race food, but with one more race left on my plate, that was just a tease too.  As much as I love Gasparilla weekend, this is the one thing I wish could change.  If only they had a two wave start on the 8K, with the first wave going a good 30 minutes before the second.  Wishful thinking, and a lot of cramping!

Before I knew it though, that down time had passed.  I was in pain and cramped.  This was not going to be a fast race.  I might as well play frogger again!  So I started in the back, and slowly worked my way up.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.  The back was manageable, and the cramps too!  These were among my fastest miles of the weekend.  Certainly nothing spectacular, but considering my difficulties all weekend, I was more than happy with it.  Just past the three mile mark though, my plans changed:  just in front of me two young boys went from a solid run to outright stopping.  One of them was teasing his friend a bit about stopping, the other just didn’t want to run anymore.  “Come on man, you got this!” I told him.  “Run with me!”  I slowed my pace significantly to let him draft behind me.  I was his age once… you don’t have the mental part of running at your command when you are that young.  From his responses, I knew he was fine.  “Yes sir” he responded.  From the simple fact that he responded, I knew he had plenty left in the tank.  The only thing holding him back was himself.  Now I could teach him an important lesson: that we are more capable than we often give ourselves credit for!

So we ran.  I was in front, he was behind trudging along, grunting a bit because it hurt. But as I kept talking to him to distract him from the pain… “Yes sir.”  “Yes sir”  “Yes sir”.  I knew he was fine.  Had he responded with grunts and nods, then I would have been more concerned.  Now his buddy (the one who had teased him about stopping), he called it quits himself and slowed to a walk.  I tried to convince him to run with us, but he chose not to. So it was me and my new friend until the end.  “We can slow as much as you want,” I told him “but we aren’t stopping!”  I knew that as soon as he saw the finish line, I’d be left in the dust.  Unsurprisingly, his pace picked up a bit right as the arch came into view.  “Don’t let me hold you back!  Great run!” I told him.  While the pace had been anything but great for me, his success made it a great run!  I crossed the line, collected my bling, and felt more accomplished than when I run a solid pace myself.  Another memorable Gasparilla finish!  Not literally carrying a girl across the finish line like the half a few years ago… but definitely a memorable run!

As I walked through the chute, I saw my new friend with his mom.  “How’s he doing?” I asked.  “I knew he had it in him!”  She gave me a big hug and thank you.   Turns out this had been his first ever long run without his father by his side.  His father was in the military and  as such couldn’t be there with him today.  That certainly explained the young mans manners.  It’s not often that you hear “Yes sir” these days!  I suspect this race will be one that the both of us remember for years to come.  Now it was finally time for the food and afterparty!  Although I still had to position myself far from the stage and loud music, it was time to celebrate a successful race weekend with my friends from the 1K run club and elsewhere.  This had been a great weekend:  the running community had given so much to me, and I’d even had the opportunity to give back myself.  I would sleep well tonight!

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My Running Family • Gasparilla Distance Classic Part I, Tampa, FL, USA

This was my fourth year out at the Gasparilla Distance Classic and it certainly won’t be my last.  Every year has been memorable!  It’s a huge race (four actually) and an even bigger party.  Every year I have the pleasure of meeting and spending time with part of my extended running family.  Gasparilla, as its name implies, is pirate themed.  The medals, the decorations and even the costumed runners argh all thusly inspired.  The expo is hopping and fun, reminding runners that here in Tampa, it’s all about the booty!  Every year I find my friends from Roo Sport here, and of course make friends at other booths as well.  I spent a good deal of time with my new Boston-based Vice Cream friends.  Good people, and yes… ice cream is my vice!  I started mentally planning trips to some of the Florida Road Races in the bay area, as well as Philly.  I haven’t been there in a while, need to go back and run it!  I had the pleasure of meeting runners from all over.  Some were only running the 5K.  Others were just as crazy as me.  There are no shortage of challenges here, up to and including the Michelob Ultra Challenge.  Start off with a 15K on Saturday morning, and quickly follow up with a 5K.  Then on Sunday the half marathon, and after a lactic acid nurturing break, finish up the weekend with an 8K.  Yes, this is what I do for fun.

I knew I wasn’t going to be running any spectacular paces this weekend.  Quite frankly, I didn’t care.  I was here to have fun!  So I went out and ran a comfortable pace.   Well, not exactly comfortable: my injuries have been flaring up all month long.  Regardless, It was a great race.  I ran steady, I ran strong.  For this first race, running along Bayshore is fantastic.  A wide street with beautiful views, completely closed to cars and with a large grassy median stocked with multiple aid stations.  This is a great place to run!  Much of the surface is concrete, so it’s a bit less forgiving than asphalt.  I’ll admit, I wasn’t looking forward to all the pounding this would force my messed up legs and backs to absorb.  All the more reason why I wasn’t pushing myself too hard.  Just have fun, thats why I was here.

Next up there was a short break.  The sun was out in full force now, so it was getting quite hot.  Kept myself hydrated and found my way into the start corrals.  Just for fun, I was going to play race frogger today: start in back, and weave through masses of runners.  I wasn’t going to PR anyway, and this allowed me to enjoy the company of various runners I normally don’t get to run with.  Plus it pretty much guaranteed negative splits.  Each mile was significantly faster than the last.  Running like this is not conducive to a fast time: pace is up and down as you run nearly as much sideways as you do forwards early on.  It’s easy to get boxed in, especially behind pace walls.  I really want to look into running races as a pacer.  I’ve found it to often be more rewarding to guide another runner to their goals, than to hit intermediate targets myself.  When I do, someone kick me if I don’t keep my pace groups from spreading out and blocking other runners from passing!  I love this event, but I do wish the first wave of the 5K wasn’t so spread out.  Thousands of runners: with expected finish times from sub 15 all the way up to 24!  And then there are several other waves to follow.  I’d love to see this split a little more evenly pace-wise.   Wave 1: 7 and under pace.  Then split the rest of the waves proportionately based on the number of runners.  Yes, wave 1 would be smaller.  But with huge races like this, it’s inevitable that some runners who want to compete, get stuck in the back or middle of the corral… and then when the gun goes off, they can’t run their pace.  Today, that didn’t bother me, but I’ve definitely be in the position before where it kept me from my goals.

Now with two races complete, it was time for day one of the party!  I enjoyed some of the chow, and since my brain still can’t handle the loud music and party atmosphere, went back to the expo instead.  Not quite as loud, and for me just as fun!  While there I heard rumors that Meb might be running the race at mere mortal pace.  If true, I’d still have to pick up my own pace to hang with him.  Now that would be cool!  I was ready for day two!

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You Can’t Win Them All • The Florida Half Marathon, Melbourne, FL

I was feeling it this morning as I jogged to the Florida Marathon (and half) start line, and not in a good way!  But I was still determined to make the best of it.  I figured sub 90 was still a comfortable goal.  I wouldn’t make the overall podium (and with the competition at todays race I knew that probably wouldn’t even happen on my best day), yet the age group win was still realistic.  The heat would be my ally today.  As a South Floridian who frequently trains mid afternoon, I’m far more adapted to that than most runners.  I found the 1:30 pace leader and said hello.  “Kick me if you pass me” I said, “It means I’m not doing what I should be!”  Lined up near the front, I armed myself with my mantra.  For Sean, Krystle, Linghzi and Martin, pain or no pain, I would get this run done!

The gun went off, and we raced up the road – away from the bridge that beat me up yesterday!  Although that was a comforting thought at first, recalling that this meant I’d be ending the race with it was a bit of a kick in the gut.  I just needed to make sure my first 12 miles were on point.  We still started out on a climb, but the bridge would be the finale!  With the incline, I settled back to my pace quickly and held steady for several miles.  Faster than I thought I’d be running, and still amazingly conversational.  Perhaps this wasn’t going to be as rough of a day as I thought

Mile four was solid.  Downhill and my fastest yet, things were starting to look up…  I ran a bit past a turnaround point before being called back by a volunteer.  I guess I really didn’t want to turn around and go back up!  After a brief corrective surge, that’s were my day got tougher.   Just like yesterday it was the climb that brought on the pain.  My next two miles slowed a bit, but still were reasonable.  Of course that was when we hit the first bridge!

My body ground to a halt.  The pain was excruciating and I was only halfway.  This had abrudbtly turned to a “just finish” day!  Although it was a beautiful course, and the on course entertainment made it an enjoyable event… it certainly wasn’t going to be my day!  The top of that bridge made a great photo for the race photographers, with the beautiful backdrop and the white clad pianist doing his thing.  Cue my death-face… sorry for ruining the shot!  My facial expressions certainly don’t make running look ‘fun’!  Shortly thereafter the first pacer caught me, and no he didn’t kick me.  It sure hurt like he did though!

Mile nine… my worst yet.  I haven’t hurt this much in months.  But I can’t stop.  That would be contrary to everything I am.  Adjust goals… just finish.I found it in me to pick up the pace just a bit.  And then just as quickly, the course gave me a kick to the gut.  Not far up ahead, there loomed that massive bridge.  It was almost taunting me, daring me to run fast and promising to break me.  Yes, I’d run (perhaps not fast), but no… it wouldn’t break me!  I kept moving forward, found the bridge and with the sun beating down, conquered it.  I barely had any juice left in me, and with the pain and my less than ideal time there was no point in pushing the downhill anyway.  Gravity sped me up just a bit, and I powered through the finish.

I collected my medal, downed some water and inhaled some food.  Mission accomplished; not quite the original mission I had set out on though.  In a humorous twist, it was the 1:30 pacer who won the age group – pushing me back to fourth place.  There would be no prize for me today, which was kind of a shame as their awards were actually pretty cool.  As a consolation prize, I still got my Floridiot medal for running both days this weekend.

But no consolation was needed.  Pain or no, I can still run.  And run I did.  It was a good day!  I hung around to enjoy the post race party, congratulated the Brooks Hansons team who dominated todays race and celebrated another beautiful run.

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Short, Sweet and Still Painful • Florida Today 5K, Melbourne, FL

Last night I made a last minute decision.  It was time for a little variety in my racing schedule.  I knew I wasn’t going to go all out in this weekends Florida Marathon half, but perhaps I could in a shorter race.  My choices were Florida Today 8K, 5K or both.  In a perfect world I’d totally have done both, but regrettably I’m still reeling financially.  I’d have to chose, and although normally I like the longer races, I settled on the 5K.  Inspired by last months half marathon PR, I thought maybe I could finally break that elusive 18:00 mark!  I’d certainly try!  So I signed up for my first 5K of the year.

I jogged over to Front Street Park nice and early.  Even though I wasn’t running the 8K, I wanted to be there to cheer the runners out of the gate, and then again at the finish.  As they raced off, around a corner and immediately up a massive bridge… oy! What was I thinking!  I probably should have looked at the course before deciding to try and PR on a shorter distance.  I was just going to have to give it a shot anyway.  I watched the clock as the first few runners sprinted in… definitely a pace I could hold on a decent day.  I hoped this was representative of what I’d see in the 5K.  Even if I didn’t break the elusive 18 minute barrier, a win would be nice.  One way or another, I’d make the best of the circumstances.

So, it was with that mindset that I lined up for my own start.  I positioned myself at the front and took the lead early.  There was a small pack of runners right with me.  I could do this!  I knew they were likely to overtake me on the uphill, so I had to take advantage of every step on the flats and downhills.  Sure enough, as soon as we hit the slightest incline, I started struggling.  It wasn’t the drop in pace that worried me, but instead the major increase in back and leg pain.  My injuries had been subsiding for a few months.  I’d really hoped I was past the worst of it.  So much for that!  The top two runners now had a sizable lead.

When I reached the top of bridge (and it was quite a view!), I was able to pick the pace up again.  Definitely not to the degree that I’d hoped, and at a far higher pain level.  But I’m not one to give up.  I tried to decrease the space between myself and the leaders, and entered the return trip up the bridge with a more manageable challenge.  With that I succeeded, but it wasn’t enough.  The two leaders battled it out to a photo finish, crossing the line within a second of each other.  I was about 30 seconds behind, just barely under 19 minutes.  Nothing too spectacular, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of either.  I collected my medal, and enjoyed the post race party in the park.  It was time to shift my focus to the half.

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Brain Game • Islamorada Half Marathon, Islamorada, FL

One of the beautiful things about this sport is how varied it can be.  There are races designed to be fast and competitive, and races designed to be fun and scenic.  Races for causes, races for fitness, and races for fun.  All can be incredibly enjoyable, and more-so if you know what you are getting into.  I had no illusions of setting a PR in Islamorada, but when I ventured south with a carful of friends – I knew I was going to have a good time!  Originally the Islamorada Half Marathon, 10K and Beer Mile was scheduled for December of last year, but regrettably Hurricane Irma had something to say about that.  All the more reason to show up at the rescheduled date: the Keys need that tourism to keep rebuilding!  Happy to oblige!  I’d needed a good excuse to visit the Keys for a long time!

So my buddy Kevin drove down on Saturday morning with a carful of runners.  First stop the beer mile!  Now let’s be real… when an event includes a beer mile, it’s very unlikely they take themselves too seriously!  This was going to be a fun race!  It wasn’t going to be about PR’s, but instead about enjoying life!  That said… there’s always room for some friendly competition!  The beer mile was split into two waves: an elite heat and a fun one.  Kevin ran the second, and dominated!  He downed four beers and ran a mile in less time than most people run the mile, and certainly faster than even those in the more ‘serious’ wave!  As he crossed the finish line, Kevin took the mic, and thanked his Boston College education for his ability to put back those beers.  Like I said this was a fun event!  YEAHHHHHH! Even the race announcers demeanor made it clear: relax, have a drink, enjoy life and, yeah, a few miles won’t hurt either!

The other two races were on Sunday morning, and even though I’m still avoiding alcohol with my concussion headaches, my crew certainly enjoyed the night.  Kevin was convinced that I need to follow up his win with one of my own in the morning.  I wan’t so sure.  With this being my seventh half in just over a month I wasn’t going to break my back over it.  Instead I’d run a solid pace, and would see where that put me.  Far more important to have fun.

Well the race started, and the pack spread out real quick.  We ran north just under two miles before turning back.  By the time we passed the host venue around mile 3.5 only two people were in front of me.  One of them was my friend Jasmel, who was running the 10K.  The other was a half marathoner, and he looked strong but not out of reach.  If I wanted to win this race, I wasn’t going to do so physically.  I’d have to win the mental battle.  And that was something I had no doubt I could do… so much so that I even told the bike lead I was going to do it.

So we raced south, with the lead runner ‘comfortably’ ahead, but still in sight.  It was a simple course… there’s not even too many turns you can take traveling through the keys.  Lots of straightaway through beautiful but still quite devastated areas.  It was simultaneously stunning scenery, and almost depressing to see how much damage there still was from the storm.  Mother Nature can be ruthless!

If I was going to win this race, I had to be too… at least with my mental game.  There was a turn around near mile eight.  I would hang back until then, running exactly what I needed to keep the lead in my sight.  When he turned, and passed me on the way back I wanted to be at least a full minute behind.  A comfortable lead, or so he’d think!  So I eased up on miles seven and eight.  Extra perk: it allowed me to take in the smell of the ocean!  Despite living only a few blocks from the beach, this was the first time I’d smelled the sea since I got hit over two years ago!  Once again, while running, I’d caught a brief scent!  My hope for an eventual full healing soared!  It’s just a matter of time.

I was about seven and a half in when he turned around.  As soon as he was past, I picked up my pace.  Within a mile I’d catch him.  He was wearing headphones, so he didn’t even hear me as I fell in step behind him.  Right around the nine mile mark I made my move.  I wasn’t going to be able to win a physical battle today.  A sprint to the finish line would not go my way.  So this needed to be decisive.  With four miles to go I floored it and ran my fastest mile of the day.  I heard his step break as I passed him.  He was physically fine, but I’d broken his spirit.  Victory was most likely mine.  A mile later I eased up just a bit, then kept a steady push to the finish.  Sure enough, there was no one in sight.  Even though my overall pace remained right around what he’d been running, the psychological hit of seeing me breeze past him looking comfortable… well it broke him.  He probably thought he had it all wrapped up, and then suddenly he didn’t.  I’d kept my pace on target, but I’m pretty sure he slowed those last four miles.  Another runner caught him as well.

I’ve mastered the brain game.  With everything I’ve gone through these past five years, I’m 100% confident that I’m psychologically invincible.  I’ve no doubt of my ability to win the brain game every time.  That’s what I set out to do today, and thats exactly what I did.  Now it was time to celebrate.  Kevin won the beer mile, Jasmel the 10K, and I’d taken the half.  A South Beach sweep!  Now it was time for the important stuff: party time!

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Intentions: Boston Pace • Naples Daily News Half Marathon, Naples, FL

Today was my third half marathon in just over two weeks.  I think it’s safe to say I’m back.  Still injured, still in a lot of pain. But two important things have happened: 1) I have been healing and am steadily getting better.  2) I’ve learned to cope with the pain better – discerning that fine line between discomfort pain and destructive pain, and damn I’m going to do just that.

I made the trip out to Naples with my buddy Bryan.  In 2014, I think he PR’d here when we made the trip together.  This weekend I was ready to at least PTR (Post Traumatic Record).  It would be redemption for Naples 2016.  I had planned to run it again then, but just a few short weeks after being hit I wouldn’t have been able to run very fast anyway.  This year would be very different.  The night before the race I inhaled a tub of ice cream, jokingly recalling how I ran a great race at one point after doing just that.  Perhaps this would be the same?

It was a chilly morning.  That sucked until the race started, but that meant it was perfect PR conditions.  The Naples Daily News Half Marathon is a flat, fast and highly competitive race.  There is a lot of shade, and while there are several turn arounds, they are on cul-de-sacs, so they are not sharp turns.  It’s great for a PR even in decent weather.  But this year wasn’t just decent, it really was ideal!  I remember telling Bryan about my specific long term PR goal.  I wanted Boston pace – 6:17 per mile (617 being the area code for Boston phones).  I wasn’t looking for 6:16 pace, I could do that another time.  I wanted exactly 6:17 as my PR for just a little while!  I felt good, and was still flying high after my win two weeks ago.  I was confident that healthy I could comfortably smoke that pace.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that if I removed injuries from the equation, I’m at close to 6 minute conditioning.  So 1:22:xx was a very reasonable target.  In the back of my mind I could feel that this might be the day.  Even if not, I wanted a PTR.  Running the fastest race I’ve had since being hit would still be a solid accomplishment.  It was time!

As we lined up at the start, I got a bit distracted chatting with one of my new friends that I’d met in Delray, and also with a random girl wearing Boston marathon apparel.  Boston always gets me pumped!  That’s what it’s all about!  Before I knew it the gun had gone off… I wasn’t even ready.  Oops!  But I was in a good mood.  For Boston I would run this race.  For Boston at a 6:17 pace.  And so I did!

Over the first few miles I felt quite good.  My body was flowing.  Stride after stride.  Quickly, relatively comfortably… I was moving fast!  Before the first turn around, I saw Bryan fly by me.  “Go Bryan!” I yelled “Screw the PTR, I’m gonna PR today!”  I could feel it.  Today was the day!  I was nowhere near the front of this race… it’s way too competitive for that.  But I was right where *I* needed to be.  I was running my race, and it just felt right.  I remember joking to another runner nearby towards the end of the race: “It’s amazing how even when you have the race of your life, there’s always somebody ten times faster!”  Yeah… I was flying, but there was some serious space between myself and the winners!  But again, it didn’t matter.  I was running my race, they were running theirs.

I kept going.  Even though my back did start bugging me, it was on the discomfort side of the dial.  I would deal with it.  Today was my day!  I raced past a church, where the priest was sprinkling runners with holy water!  Yes, I was blessed to be here today, and to be having such an incredible race.  I never looked at my splits.  I just ran what felt right.  I trusted myself.  When I crossed that finish line, I was ecstatic!  I’d not only PTR’d… I’d PR’d!  I beaten the record I set in Tartu, Estonia during the summer of 2015.  And I’d finished at exactly 6:17 pace!  Those were my intentions.  Those were my actualizations.  2018, let’s rock!

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My Natural State • Delray Beach Half Marathon, Delray Beach, FL

I seem to have developed an affinity for getting to know a course in advance by camping out alongside it.  You know… it’s yielded some pretty solid results too.  Today was another of those.  After laying my weary head just off the course for the night, I woke pre-bright and early to head to the start.  I was excited for this race.  I was feeling good, and ready to end what had been a really, really rough year.  But I wasn’t going out with a whimper.  I was going out in style.  Life has been kicking me around a lot recently, it was time for me to have my say.

The Delray Beach Half Marathon is a small race put on by the folks at Bad Ass Running.  Race size is capped somewhere around 100, so this race does sell out.  I love that the smaller events tend to attract people who are passionate about the sport, and the community.  In some ways that makes it more appealing to me than highly commercial events.  It’s a great, small event with some pretty awesome people.  I wouldn’t hesitate to run it again.  There were nice shirts and medals, standard post race chow options and enough volunteers to make sure everything went smoothly.  This race does occur entirely on the sidewalk, and although runners are going in both directions at some points, it’s actually not an issue.  With the low cap of overall runners, and a staggered multi-wave start, the field spreads out enough that you aren’t tripping over each other.

I was in the second wave, and very quickly distanced myself from the rest of the group.  I felt good today.  My back hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as crippling as usual.  I was going to run with it.  Forget the clock, I wasn’t touching my phone. I was running solely on feel.  On what felt right.  My body knows what its capable of on any given day far better than any technology does.  So I ran, and I ran fast.  Within a couple of miles, I was passing many of the runners from the first wave.  There’s a bit of a boost when you pass someone, and I took advantage of that to keep fueling me through this course.  I made it a goal to see if I could catch ALL of the runners from the first wave.  I had no idea how fast they were running, so that just meant I had to run super fast myself.  As the miles ticked by I had fewer and fewer targets ahead to pick off.  I knew how many there were… I had counted at the first turn around.  Before I knew it there was only one ahead of me!  Since he’d had nearly a ten minute head start and was running at a solid clip, I knew the chances of catching him were slim.  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

I kept going, one foot in front of the other – at exactly the pace my body wanted to go.  I was feeling good.  Winning this race, on New Years Eve, would be a pretty epic middle finger to 2017.  This would be the last thing I did for the year.  I was going to make it count.  I’ve dealt with plenty of pain and discomfort these past few years.  No way I was going to let it get in the way of me being me.  I was running, and damn it, today I was winning.

In the end I didn’t catch him, although I did finish nearly four minutes faster.  I’ve won a race in the past with the second fastest time, so I wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work.  Per USA T&F rules, the overall winners are determined by gun time, while the age group awards are by chip time.  It makes sense if you think about it, but how would that apply when my gun time was different than the gun time of the first guy across the finish line?   If it was my choice, I’d have left the decision up to the first finisher.  If I were in his shoes, I’d want the overall win if I knew I could have beaten the other guy, while if I knew the other guy was just flat out better that day I’d acquiesce the second place finish.  It was out of my control.  I’d already done my part and quite frankly wasn’t too concerned about the official title of winner.  I did MY best, and I was quite happy with it.

So of course my day wasn’t yet over.  I talk about the running community all the time.  I’m proud to be a part of it.  My race was over, now I had plenty of time to go and cheer on the rest of the crew!  I made some great new friends at the finish line and once again, I stayed to the very end.  We all had a great run to celebrate!   In the end the discussion of who won was a moot point.  We both won the same prize – bluetooth speakers.

I was pumped with how I ran today, and yes winning a half marathon was a great way to kick 2017 into the rearview mirror.  Life did have to get its own little laugh in though – awarding me a bluetooth speaker for my efforts.  Shame I can’t use it with my ongoing brain issues.  Haha very funny life.  Don’t worry… I’ll continue to heal and eventually I will be able to not only use that prize, but win others.  Peace out 2017, I’m ready for a great 2018!