DATE: March 05, 2022; 7:00 AM
DISTANCE: 13.1 MI
PLACE: NewPort news, VA
WEATHER: 45F, SUnny
OFFICIAL TIME / PACE: 2:26:05
SWAG: Long-sleeve Tech shirt, Medal, 2 Beers, Food voucher, coupon book for local businesses
My first half marathon of 2023!!!! I think all went well, but I will say that I was slightly disappointed with my results. I finished my last half marathon, the Norfolk Harbor Half, in November with a 2:27 time. However, I finished this one with a time of 2:26. Ok, so I had a slight improvement. ;)
Expo:
The expo was no frills with a ‘grab your sh*t and go’ vibe, which was fine with me. There was quite a bit of traffic driving from Norfolk to Newport News, and I was kind of over the expo before I arrived. Then, there was a sh*t ton of traffic going back to Va. Beach because of the rain.
What a cool coincidence, I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles), AND my bib number was 1311!
before the half:
I mentioned in previous posts that making it to this half marathon would take a lot of dedication because Newport News is about 40 minutes away by car. Not a big deal, but I would have to arrive at the race around 5:30 am to take a shuttle to the starting line. Also, since my early morning poop schedule is really unpredictable, I wanted to give myself plenty of time to clear my system. All in all, I had to wake up around 3 am so I could leave the house by 4:50 am (at the latest). I was a good boy and didn’t get into ANY shenanigans the night before my half, so I did not have too much of a problem waking up.
Not sure if this is snow or snot.
Going into the half marathon, I pretty much was planning on doing the very bare minimum. I had this attitude for a few reasons: 1. I still had a bit of a back injury from NYC Marathon. 2. Honestly, running just has not been doing it for me later (more on that later). 3. I was dealing with a little GI issue. 4. I was not really prepared physically for this race.
Like always, as soon as I put on my running gear, I had to poop again. Maybe this is like a Pavlovian effect. Since I always poop right after putting on my running clothes, my body is now conditioned to doing this. I wonder if I can trick my body out of this. Maybe I should put on my running clothes as soon as I wake up so I can get my poops out of the way 60 – 90 minutes before leaving the house instead of having one last poop 5 minutes before leaving.
Ok, enough about poop!
Overall, I will say that the One City Marathon's organizers were pretty on point with the shuttle schedule, race logistics, and (of course) the after-party. One thing I have enjoyed about racing in Virginia: the local race organizers are all about the post-race parties - especially with beers at 9 am. Hey, it's 5 pm somewhere in the world.
Since the starting lines for both the half and full marathons were at two local high schools, I thought it was really awesome that we were allowed to congregate in the schools’ gyms before the race. Extra points because no one wants to use a porta-potty unless you absolutely have to.
Hell, New York Road Runners would have had our assess waiting outside in 20F temps until the official starting time
Miles 1 – 5:
Going into this race, my plan was to run and walk 0.15-0.25 miles after each mile – similar to what I did for the Norfolk Harbor Half in November. Actually, for that half, I walked 0.25 miles after each mile. Overall, the first five miles went well. Unfortunately, I did have a little lower back pain for the first 2-3 miles, which has been happening a lot in races. Going forward, I think that it might benefit me to run 0.5 miles before the race starts. I guess my reasoning for not doing this is why warm up by running 0.5 miles if I’m going to run 13.1 miles.
I’ll say that running NYC races has really spoiled me because I’m used to running on 100% closed roads for those races. Here, you gotta share the roads with cars. Since I do not trust other drivers, I’m always a little apprehensive about sharing the road during these races. What if someone loses control? What if someone doesn’t realize there is a race going on? What if someone at an intersection gets frustrated with the closed road, and decides to run over the runners?
Miles 6 – 9:
I was really getting into my groove. Since I wasn’t feeling too much like a struggle, I decided to walk 0.1 miles (or was it 0.15 miles), instead of 0.25 miles, after each mile. I really enjoyed this portion of the run because of the scenery – in particular running through Christopher Newport University and running along the James River and portions of one of the Civil War Trails.
Miles 10 – 13.1:
This is when I got my second wind (it’s about time) and started running without taking my 0.1-mile walk breaks. In addition to eliminating my walk breaks, I started fartleks and picking up the pace in 0.25 mil increments. I was kind of excited because I started catching up to folks and passing them. Also, I managed to do a full-on sprint for the last 0.25 miles. Well . . . as much of a sprint that I could do after running 12 miles. 😉
I forgot where I saw this, but I thought the Quitters Chair (with refreshments) was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen during a race.
She told me after Mile 11 not to let the ‘fake’ finish fool me. After Mile 11.5, which was near the start, there was a lot of commotion and cheers, BUT you still have to run some more and make another loop to the finish line. The commotion was not for the finishers approaching Town Point Park, but it was from people at the post-race party. I’m so glad I listened to her because I was have been really frustrated and annoyed from Miles 11 to 13.1. Yes, we all have GPS devices, but this was my first time running this race . . . and to be perfectly honest, I did not really study the course. All I knew was the race started and ended at Town Point Park, BUT I didn’t know that you had to run past Town Point Park two times for the finish.
Post-Race Thoughts:
-While I am happy that I finished the race with a decent time. Well . . . decent time for me. I am a bit annoyed that I did not perform as well as I did for this one (2:26) compared to the one in November (2:27). A couple of reasons why I was slightly annoyed:
I was more dedicated to training for this half marathon training, especially after I changed my registration from the full to the half marathon.
I did not walk as much during this half marathon as I did for the one in November. Hell, I didn’t take a food break (walking about 0.5 miles while eating a Cliff bar) for this one like I did in November.
-After finishing writing this, I realized that the Norfolk Harbor Half in November was a couple of weeks after NYC Marathon. Maybe I was in a better physical state back then compared to this weekend. I gotta think this through because something is a bit off.
-Perhaps, not setting a goal is what contributed to my minor improvement of one minute. In fact, I had to look up my finishing time for the November half marathon. I think if I had an actual finishing goal, I probably would have pushed myself starting at Mile 8.
-Man there were a LOT of churches along the course. I actually lost count, but I think we passed at least 8 of them in 13.1 miles.
-Beer . . . easy post-race carbs. Actually, I think this is my 1st rectangular medal. Most of my half-marathon medals have been circles or ovals.
-Jesus, look how big my post-race pizza was.
