HALF (NO PUN) ASS TRAINING

I also have this issue with full-marathon training. At the beginning of every training cycle, I’m so overcome with putting 13.1 miles in my running book. However, about halfway through my training plan, I start losing interest because of several factors – not meeting time goals, the weather, injuries, life getting in the way, a full moon, etc. What typically happens: I’ll take 1-2 weeks off to find my ‘why”, but it becomes difficult to get back into the groove. Actually, I don’t mind taking skipping a couple of weekday training runs, but I lose my steam once I start missing my long runs or shaving miles off of them.

PROCRASTINATION THE DAY BEFORE RACE DAY

I am getting better at this one

After a few struggles with race day logistics, I realized that I’m one of those people that needs to prepare EVERYTHING the night before. Normally, I would lay out the main things that I would need for the race (e.g. clothes and shoes). For additional odds and ends, I would say to myself: Oh, you can grab those things (e.g. your hat, gloves, calf sleeves, etc) right before leaving. What happens the next day? I cannot find what the hell I need so I start tearing up my drawers, looking for said item(s), and stressing the f*ck out. Now, EVERYTHING is prepared by 5 pm (at the latest). By everything, I mean clothes, breakfast, and even putting the coffee in the moka pot. Since moving to VA, I really had to nip this procrastination in the bud because race day logistics now involve driving to the race and finding parking.

TOO MANY PRE-RACE CELEBRATIONS

I’m getting better at this

Rock N Roll Madrid Half Marathon (Oct. 2021)

On several occasions, I have been known to hang out late on a Saturday or Sunday before a half or full marathon. Prime example: Rock n Roll Madrid Half Marathon. Out of the gate, I changed my registration from a full to a half marathon. The night before the race, I told myself that I would let the hubby hang out with his friends, and I would return to the Airbnb by 9:30 pm at the latest. So what happened? Yeah, I was drinking gin-tonicas with my husband and his friends until about 3:30 am for a race that started at 8 am. Let’s just say that I was still a bit drunk when starting the race, at least the organizers started the race about an hour late. That half was a struggle, and there was some vomit involved around mile 6 or 7. BUT, I powered through and finished…barely.

I take back the downgrading from the full to the half. If memory serves me correctly, I originally registered for the full marathon (scheduled in April), but it was canceled because of the pandemic. The organizers rescheduled the full/half for Oct, which fortunately coincided with our trip. Since I was running NYC Marathon in November, I was like there is NO way in hell I’m running TWO full marathons within 30 days.

LOL something similar happened with my 1st NYC Marathon experience. Normally, folks are super scared before their 1st marathon. What was I doing the night before? Having bud lights (you know, for hydration) in Hell’s Kitchen. In this case, I wasn’t too bad because I was home by 10 pm.

LOWERING MY STANDARDS (AKA THINKING LESS OF MYSELF)

Rock n Roll Va Beach Half Marathon (May 2021)

Since my running fitness has gone downhill over the past few months . . . years, I have fallen into a cycle of running a half or full marathon just to finish instead of having some sort of time goal. Sometimes, this causes me to go into a race thinking what’s the point. Followed by placing myself in slower corrals where I will not feel the need to really keep up.

succumbing to Too many distractions while running

I've gotten better with this one.

For quite a few races, I would fall into the trap of taking a bunch of pictures during the race. While this should not significantly affect my time, I think it does because it throws me off of my grove. Recently, I have limited myself to taking 1-3 pictures while I run. Come to think about it, snapping photos probably contributed to me not meeting my 1:45 time goal for the NYC Half back in the day (above pic). The first time running the NYC Half, the entire race was in Manhattan (now, you start in Brooklyn and finish in Manhattan). If memory serves me correctly for my 1st NYC Half, we ran 6 miles in Central Park, through Times Square, down Westside Hwy, and finished in Battery Park. Since I had to wait in line to poop during the first 6 miles, I figured that I would not make my 1:45 goal. So, I took a bunch of pictures and probably spent anywhere from 60-90 seconds just to get the “perfect” selfie in Times Square (and it still didn’t come out great). The NYC Half is one of two times a year that Times Square is closed to motor vehicles (the other is New Year’s Eve), so of course it was a perfect reason to get that “perfect” selfie. So what was my official time? It was somewhere around 1:48. Even with waiting in a porta-potty line to take a poop during the race, I might have hit my 1:45 goal IF I didn’t BS with taking a bunch of pictures. Since I lived in NYC for at least 12 years at that point, it’s not like I was taking pictures of things that I have not seen a million times before.

Not experimenting

Norfolk Harbor Half Marathon (Nov. 2022)

No, I am not referring to trying new things on race day, I’m talking about not trying new things while training. To this day, I have yet to try any Nunn or Honey Stinger products. I’m the type of person who is like if it ain’t broke then don’t try to fix it. However, I probably should change my mindset to if it ain’t broke, why not try something to make it better.

NOT RUNNING FOR CHARITY

Ok, I don’t think this is a mistake per se, but it’s something that I have always brushed off doing. Perhaps, running for a charity would really help me stay focused and run for a reason outside of a time goal (or running just to finish). In terms of focus, several charities tend to have group runs and coaches that can help runners meet their goals. I guess my main issue with running for charity is feeling like I’m begging people for money to run.

DATE: MARCH 20, 2022; 7:30 AM

DISTANCE: 13.1 MI

PLACE: VA BEACH, VA

WEATHER: 37F, SUNNY

OFFICIAL TIME: 2:24:56

SWAG: LONG-SLEEVE TECH SHIRT, MEDAL, CAP, 4 BEERS, IRISH STEW, BLANKET

This was my 2nd J&A Racing half marathon, and I have to say this organization does a wonderful job planning its events. Well, technically, this would have been my 3rd J&A Racing half, but the Crawling Crab Half was canceled because of a potential tropical storm.

Quick rant before we get into the review. Since this half marathon took place on Va Beach’s Oceanfront, I was a bit disappointed with a couple of parking garages that were clearly price gouging. Seriously, a couple of garages that were near the starting area were charging 30 BUCKS for parking. Fortunately, I found a garage that charged $10 for the day.

Oh, there is some more parking drama, but I’ll get to that near the end of my race report.

Expo:

I visited the expo center on the 1st day, and it was more of a festival instead of an expo. I guess it makes sense because this race is a St. Patrick’s Day-themed race, so there was a LOT of green . . . and a lot of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ . . . and a lot of beer. Since I’m not too big on hanging out at expos, I did not stay too long. You know that I’m ‘a grab my bib and go’ kind of guy, but I did stick around to take a few pics.

before the half:

already discuss the 1st part of the parking drama (the second part of the drama is at the end). Going into this half, my only goal was to do better than or comparable to my One City Half Marathon performance from a couple of weeks ago.

I had a little clothing 'drama' because I normally wear my NYC 50th Marathon tech shirt (blue). Since this was the Shamrock Half, I considered wearing my United NYC Half Marathon shirt because it is green; however, the United NYC Half shirt is a bit tighter (ie I didn’t want to look like a busted can of biscuits while running) than the other. In the end, I went with the blue shirt. I figured my bright green shoes were enough to keep me in the shamrock theme.

Miles 1 – 5:

Pace: 11:21 min/mi

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I had the same plan for this half marathon as I did for the one a couple of weeks ago – walk up to 0.25 miles after each mile. However, I slightly modified my walking plan for this half.

Miles 1 -5: walk 0.15 miles after each mile
Miles 6 – 9: walk 0.10 miles
Miles 10 – 13.1: walk 0.05 miles

While the weather was not super cold, at least to someone who has run many races during NYC winter, it was very windy.

I thought this chunk of the race went well because I did not have any lower back pain (like a tend to have) during the 1st couple of miles. I probably did not experience this pain because I had to walk about 1.5 miles from my parking garage to the starting area. 😉 During this part of the race, I did become very nervous because the 2:30 pacing group passed me, and I did not really see them again until Mile 6 or so. Maybe somewhere along the way, the two pacers were like: Oh, sh*t we are running this thing too fast.

Miles 6 – 9:

Pace: 11:03 min/mi

I found this part of the race a bit boring. Actually, I take this back. Rather than saying this part was ‘boring’, I will say that there were not many distractions during this part because a decent chunk of this segment took place on a military base (Fort Story), which did not have many spectators.

We did pass Cape Henry Lighthouse (built in the late 1700s), which is the main component of VA Beach’s city seal.

Miles 10 – 13.1:

Pace: 10:33 min/mi

A little deja vu. From Miles 10 to 12, the course was pretty much a repeat of what we ran from Mile 1 to 2. During this portion, I found myself getting into my groove and ACTUALLY enjoying the race. Better late than never, I guess. I didn’t feel tired at all, and my adrenaline was pushing me through. Also, during this part, I started to pass folks who passed me earlier in the race. I noticed that a LOT of people (not sure if they were half or full marathon runners) were running super fast during the first couple of miles. I actually thought I was in the wrong corral because of the number of folks that were passing me. But, this was the point where it was time to say goodbye to our full marathon runners.

I thought the last 0.25 miles on the Boardwalk were amazing because of the crowds. The cheering reminded me of the first time entering Manhattan during NYC Marathon. I was like; wow the spectators are really feeling us. LOL, it turns out that I was finishing the half marathon as the 1st place MARATHON finisher was making his way to the finish line. LOL.

Post-Race Thoughts (& Drama):

-This week, I will sit down and think about how I can be a better runner. While I was not disappointed with my performance because I knew what to expect from the half marathon that I ran earlier this month. However, I would like to become a faster runner. A few years, ago I was completing half marathons with times around 1:50 . . . now (unfortunately, I’m at 2:25).

-Man, this course was super flat. I can understand why a lot of folks this course (well the full marathon course) is great for trying to time qualify for Boston’s Marathon.

-J&A Racing (the organizers) knows how to throw a party. Race registration included an invitation to the post-race party, FOUR beers, and Irish stew.

-Extra points for J&A Racing hosting the post-race party inside a heated tent because it was a bit chilly on Sunday.

-The drama: My dad came to see me run and finish. Since he was too cold, we did not get a chance to meet at the post-race party. No worries because he saw me during the last part of the race. However, my time at the post-race party was cut short because I received a phone call from him telling me that his car was towed. Without getting into too many details, the towing company’s representative was a complete piece of sh*t, loser, punk a** b*tch. He (in his late 20s) pretty much was lecturing my father, a 70-year-old man about taking accountability and how actions have consequences. My dad wasn’t trying to avoid paying for parking, he made a simple mistake because 1. it was a Sunday, and 2. there’s free street parking during the off-season (Oct – Apr) in certain parts. Even the manner in which he answered the phone from other customers was in a very condescending holier thou attitude. *Let’s just say, I don’t lose sleep at night when people like him get their asses kicked by multiple people.* Since there were about 12 people who arrived at the impound lot while we were there, I think this towing company was taking advantage of towing cars that were in the area for the half or full marathon. My father said that his car was towed within 1.5 hours of his arrival in the area. Also, there were a few people in the line who were wearing their finisher shirts. Can you imagine the annoyance of walking to your car after running 13.1 miles (or 26.2 miles), learning that it was towed, then having to make your way to the impound lot (about 1.5 miles away), and paying 145 bucks to get your car back?

-Fortunately, we took care of the towing thing relatively fast, and I wasn’t too late for bunch at one of my favorite spots near the Oceanfront

Social Media Plug: @smokinscientist (Twitter); Kwame S (Strava)