Bottom left photo (from left to right) is myself, my friend Phil, as well as Larry and Alan after finishing the 27th Annual Seaside Half-Marathon. The above photos are scenic shots taken of Wachapreague, Virginia (the one on the upper left was taken from the Island House restaurant near the race's beginning and end).
Just received the results in the mail for the 27th Annual Seaside Half-Marathon that I ran the other weekend in Wachapreague (Accomac County), VA on Saturday, December 6, 2008. There were about 76 runners and about 22 walkers for the 7.7-mile walk option (which in my opinion is quite a long walking distance, especially in colder weather). Anyway, it's about time I get around to relating details on the excellent Seaside Half-Marathon, a seemingly smaller half-marathon compared to some of the other ones in the Maryland/Delaware/Virginia/Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Washington D.C. area, but fortunately I was able to be pushed by some of the other runners most of the time and I wasn't out in "no man's land" where it seems like I'm the only one running and the people in front of me are way in front of me, and the people behind me are way behind.
Phil, myself, and a couple of Phil's friends (Alan and Larry) arrived at the race with enough time to warm up, register, use the bathroom, and stretch, all of which I think were important to do. I remember feeling a bit anxious about it. By the time we were gathering in the suburban residential area of Wachapreague by the water where the race started, I kept reciting something like, "don't embarrass yourself" or "don't do anything stupid", as if they were a mantra. I knew I was in a delicate position, because less than a week ago I had finished my one-hundredth race of the year within an "eight race kick" where I ran eight races in five days (from Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - to - Sunday, November 30, 2008). I hadn't run much in the week in between that eight-race stretch and this Saturday (December 6, 2008) of the Seaside Half-Marathon. I knew I could easily get hurt, or "crash and burn" if I went out too fast, but I figured if I went out conservatively and tried not to get too ambitious with this race, I would probably get through all right. I knew from past experiences that I usually don't hold up on these longer runs as well as I do in the shorter races.
I ran my first half-marathon earlier this year on Sunday, July 27, 2008 on a hot summer morning; the Riley's Rumble Half-Marathon around the Poolesville/Seneca area of Montgomery County, Maryland. The course was hilly and I had run about an hour and forty-seven minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Though, it wasn't that the course was hilly as to why I ran a slower time than what I normally would for that distance, but I had gotten there a bit late and didn't take the extra time to use the bathroom and I had to stop a couple of times on this run to pee on a tree, and also my shorts started to sag and I had to hold them up for like the second half of the race. The shorts I wore accumulated sweated and with that weight, they began to sag. With better "race preparation" and consideration, I probably could have saved myself a lot of grief, but it could have been worse and I got through it all right (and I mainly ran that one just so I could do a running event in Montgomery County Maryland when I tried to run in one in every Maryland County within half-a-year between Saturday, May 3, 2008 and Monday, November 3, 2008). I was hoping that I would at least run better than that at this flatter race (and I also made sure I wore better running shorts for absorbing sweat).
The longest race I had run at this point was actually a few miles or so longer than a half marathon, and it was back in the early December of 2006 in Columbia and Ellicott City (Howard County), Maryland. It was the Howard County Striders' Metric Marathon, a rather hilly 26.2-kilometer race (approximately 16.3 miles) that I had gotten into great shape training for. That Metric Marathon race went a lot better than I had planned, because I ran negative splits (where the second half of the race was run faster than the first half), and also I went through 13 miles in about 1:27:51, which meant that my half-marathon (approximately 13.1-mile) split was probably around the mid 1:28's, and I do believe that is still my best half-marathon to date!
However, I didn't think it was a realistic or a healthy goal to even try to run this half-marathon in under an hour-and-a-half, and for one thing I think I was in a little bit better running shape back in 2006 going into the Metric Marathon than I did the other wekeend going into this Seaside Half-Marathon.
So yea, I had reasons to worry, yet in light of the high volume of recent races, a lot of those performances were good confidence boosters as well (not to mention the thought of running in over a 100 races in less than a year up to this point).
Before the race started, I prayed a good amount and put my trust in God for helping me to pace well through this race. I started a little bit in the back of the pack, and after the race started it had taken me about five secodns to reach the starting line and once I reached the starting line I hit my watch to time myself as I ran. Now, I enjoyed this first mile, 'cause I took it easy and tried to maintain a more conversational pace, and I ddn't feel like I was missing out on much by going out slowly, because I knew I still had 12 miles and then some still ahead before this race was over. This first mile consisted of running through the downtown area by the water and some buidlings and houses. It was nice, and it kind of reminded me of running through smaller Maryland Eastern Shore towns like Federalsburg, Rock Hall, and Crisfield; all of which I had run races in in this year alone (and from which I have pleasant memories of too).
I went through the first mile in about 7:21 on a road leading away from the water to the more rural areas of town and I thought that was fair enough for a conservative start, but I should be careful not to push the pace much faster than that. Shortly after the one-mile mark, we went out onto rural country raods that lasted for the next several miles into the race. Here are my splits for these next several miles:
Second mile: 14:41ish (great, that meant my second mile was about a second faster than the first mile in 7:21)
Third mile: 22:00 (at this point I was running an even 7:20-per-mile pace, slightly faster than the 7:21 I went out at the first mile. I didn't know much longer I could hold it, but I was feeling all right and had managed to meet several runners in this pack and have a brief conversation with them as we ran)
Fourth mile: 29:33ish (slowin' down a bit)
Fifth mile: 36:33ish - I deliberately tried to pick it up a bit here and pull away from the pack after the fourth mile since I was feeling pretty strong, and it was nice to see how in this mile I had gotten under a 7:20 pace and actually did this last mile in about 7 minutes. However, maybe it was unfortunate that I decided to try and pull ahead of the pack at this point of the race, because there came a point on the course where there was a right turn or keep straight on the road. I happened to be in a position where the runners ahead of me were far enough ahead that I couldn't see them (at least without my glasses, which I did not wear during this run), and those behind me seemed a good distance behind me. I didn't see any course marshals or course markings at this point on the course, so I decided to just keep running straight and see what would happen. Fortunately, the runners behind me were not that far behind for them to yell to me something like, "hey buddy, you were supposed to turn right!" I looked back and I saw some of the people behind me making that right turn I had run past, and quickly retraced my steps (careful not to pick up the pace too much) and made a left to get back on course. I'd say I probably spent anywhere from about 40-60 seconds having gone the wrong way, and fortunately for this longer distance I don't think it was that detrimental.
Mile 6: 44:05 - This is not bad at all and at this point I had pretty much caught back up to where I was in the race before I went off course a bit. Since my three-mile split was actually 22 minutes, I actually went pretty well under 22 minutes for this next three miles because I had run extra accidentally going off course. So basically I ran the second three miles faster than the first three; how encouraging.
Mile 7: A bit over 51 minutes I think - We entered another small town called Melfa at this point and I'd say we probably toured a sizeable portion of it in running through it. There was a water stop around this area. I was beginning to cramp up a bit. Right around here, we began to run on this two-mile (give or take) stretch of flat cross country/dirt terrain right next to this railroad track (and this railroad track runs parallel to Highway 13). I had heard that this portion was tough because of the terrain, but fortunately a couple of the runners who were behind me had caught up and got a little ways ahead of me and I was able to focus on staying on them to take my mind off of the unique terrain.
Mile 8: 58:54ish - Still running along the railroad tracks.
Mile 9: A little over an hour and six minutes I think. I was beginning to tire around here, but at least at this point we made a left back onto Wachapreague Road and were off of the railroad track area. Now it was pretty much a straight, almost five-mile stretch of straight rural roads back into the more residential area of Wachapreague where the finish was. I was worried about this because the long straight roads can get monotonous and that has proven a bit troublesome for me in the past. Though, the Good Lord was helping me to hang in there and I felt like I still had a decent amount of energy left.
Mile 10: 1:13:40 - Well I was certainly happy with this 10-mile split, 'cause it was over a minute faster than what I ran the at the Chestertown Tea Party Distance Classic 10-Miler in Kent County, Maryland, and I had run that in about 1:14:57/1:14:58 according to my watch, so it was motivating to see that I was running faster than that on a similar kind of course for a longer distance. The first time I had run a ten-mile race was in the February of 2000 when I was in tenth grade, and it was the hilly Road Runners Club of America Ten-Mile Club Challenge in Columbia (Howard County), MD and I had run that in 1:13:48, so I was even going a little faster than that here for my half-marathon split. From this point on, I felt inspired and I felt myself begin to pick up the pace just as the wind was beginning to do the same.
Mile 11: 1:21:05 - I knew I was getting closer; hoping that I could get these next couple of miles done at least in under 15 minutes (which is under a 7:30-per-mile pace). The wind resistance was picking up, but I felt myself doing the same and praying that God would continue to help me through.
Mile 12: Mid 1:28's I think - I was thinking that had I been running my personal best half-marathon time in this race, I would have been done with the whole 13.1-mile race right around the time I hit the 12-mile mark. The road was still open ahead of me with trees flanking both sides and no clear sign of a town coming up where the finish line was. I was just waiting to see "Wachapreague" welcome signs any moment!
Mile 13: 1:34:54 - Finally the course came back into the residential area and shortly after, I followed the course marker to make a right down this street where the 13-mile mark was. From then on I picked it up, made a right and saw the park ahead, and then made a quick left and dashed through the finish line in about 1:35:35! YAY!!!
After crossing the finish line, I was handed a place card for the sixth place finisher... WOW! All the while I was not quite sure of my position in the race since I started further back, and this is the highest I've finished in this long of a race. In addition, I later found out at the awards ceremony that I won my age group division (25-29 male), and I have never won my age-group division for this long of a race before. I even won a nice draw-string backpack and some other goodies as a result of this door-prize drawing thing. It was such a blessing to have done this race and to have run well. I think I was most pleased with the fact that I had started out with my first mile at 7:21 thereabouts, but running a 1:35:35 half-marathon is pretty much a 7:18 pace, meaning that my pace-per-mile to finish in 1:35:35 was faster than the pace that I started out at for the first several miles. That was great pacing in my opinion, especially in light of the recent high volume of races I ran (such as running 8 races in 5 days) the week before this. God was certainly faithful in getting me through my first race on Virginia's eastern shore, and getting me through well :) The clock time for my finish was 1:35:40, and that was because I started my watch about five seconds after the race started, 'cause I started a little ways in the back of the pack and it took me about five seconds to reach the starting line where I started my watch. Either way, 1:35:40 is still a product of a pace-per-mile that is slightly faster than the 7:21 I ran the first mile in. Plus, I ran a little bit more than a half-marathon since I accidentally went the wrong way, but again, it probably did not really slow me down much.
Alan, Larry, and Phil ran pretty nicely. I think Alan earned an age-group award and Phil ran at least a minute or so faster than he expected since he was kind of doing this as an easier-paced run to gear up for a 5K in West Virginia the following week (which he ran very well at :) After wards, there was a nice post-race party at this water side restaurant which I think was called the Island House. Nice seafood; I do believe that was my first time eating clam. I enjoyed the food there and it was great to kick back with the other participants of the event over some good food, refreshing beverages, and a nice view of the tall grass and water from the windows of the restaurant. It was a terrific way to celebrate after a race like that.
Now, it's Monday, December 22, 2008, a little over two weeks after this half-marathon and since then I've run in five races: The inaugural Lower Shore Family YMCA Jingle All the Way 5K in Pocomoke City (Worcester County), MD on Saturday, December 13, 2008, the 25th Annual Dasher Dance 10K in Westminster (Carroll County), MD on Sunday morning, December 14, 2008, the 11th "Legends of the Fall" Howard County Striders weekly series race at the Lake Elkhorn venue in Columbia (Howard County), MD on Sunday afternoon, December 14, 2008, the Celtic Solstice Five-Miler around the Druid Hill Park in Baltimore City, MD on Saturday, December 20, 2008, and then the Holiday 5k in Bel Air (Harford County), MD on Sunday, December 21, 2008. The next race I hope to do is this Saturday, November 27, 2008 at the Mountain Express Open Indoor Track and Field Meet at Hagerstown Community College's indoor track in Hagerstown (Washington County), MD where I hope to run in the 1,600 meter, 800 meter, and 3,200 meter races. I ran there last year and had a nice time. Later on this week, I'm hoping to go over to New York around Christmas time to visit with relatives I haven't seen since I was in high school. I'm looking forward to that and am excited about it. I'll see if I can get in a run or two while I'm there.
All right, thank you all for reading. Have a good night, a merry Christmas, and an excellent holiday season :)
No comments:
Post a Comment