My First Half Marathon...

This past Saturday I ran in my first half marathon!  It was the Run the Bluegrass (RTB) half marathon and I had a great time.  It didn't feel like I ran 13.1 miles during the race, but the after effects were definitely there. I will go through my day and race over this post and close out with my results and some final thoughts.

To say I was nervous about this race would be an understatement.  I knew deep down I could do it.  But there are always those race day jitters.  Worries about the hills, the crowd, the logistics, etc.

The night before the race Abby and I were volunteering at church, so that was a good distraction to keep my mind off of it.  Before heading to church we ate some Fazoli's and I totally carbed up!  Not sure if it helped any or not, but I did it!  I went to bed fairly early to try and get some rest before the big morning, but my nerves got the better of me for the most part.

The morning of the race I woke up a couple hours before I had to leave.  I had my typical race morning breakfast of a waffle with peanut butter, a banana, a yogurt, and lots of water.  I got my gear ready (knee support band, compression calf sleeves, arm sweat bands, water bottle, and GU Chomps) and organized so I wouldn't forget anything and proceeded to get dressed for the race.

I had been fighting myself with what to wear for the race the entire week.  It was supposed to be rather cool the morning of the race, but mid-50's to low-60's by the finish of the race.  So I had to decide whether I would rather be cold at the beginning or hot at the end.  Cold at the beginning won out.  I decided to wear shorts and short sleeves rather than long sleeves.

Right as I was finishing getting ready my mom arrived from Louisville.  She likes to come to as many of my races/events as possible.  I was very happy she was going to be able to make it to this one!  I wanted to leave a little early because of road construction on the road that leads to the venue, Keeneland.  We didn't have much issue getting there and I was easily there 30 minutes before the start.  Perfect!  I spoke with Abby and she said that the kids were just then waking up, so they wouldn't be able to make the start, but would be there with her parents for the finish.  Good enough!

This race had corralled starting groups.  I was in group "N".  Not sure what that meant, but they definitely were not A, B, C, etc.  I found my group and lined got inside the tape that segregated us from the other group.  I was able to get in the front of my group.  I was a little bummed to not be at the beginning, but whatever!  I took off my jacket and pants and handed them to my mom to hold during the race about 8:55 (5 minutes before the start of the race). Approximately 2 minutes later, the race organizer came over the mic and announced that there would be a 15 minute delay.  The police recommended the delay for the low fog and also to let people get into the race that were running late due to traffic.  Jacket back on, nerves back up!

About 9:10, the race organizer introduced some guest speakers and got us prepped for the race.  At exactly 9:15, the first corral got sent off.  My corral worked its way to the starting line.  They announced that we would get the green light to run at 9:19.  My nerves somehow went away during the walk to the start line.

Walking to the start line (the quality is bad, but if you look hard enough you can see me to the far right behind the guy in a blue shirt):

That was a good feeling.  I was ready to go!  I watched as the seconds clicked by on the clock, then they counted down 10, 9, 8...

Off we went (starting the GPS watch):

Just for reference (and for my ability to look back), here is a diagram of the race and the different water stations and music spots throughout:

The first 2.5 - 3 miles I was weaving in and around traffic.  It is a necessary evil for races and I hate to waste energy doing it, but I needed to get clear so I could establish my pace.  There were times when it was frustrating because groups of people would be running and chatting together, but who am I to get frustrated with that?  That is their choice to run and enjoy with a friend or two or eight.  So I methodically weaved through a good bunch of the runners and it eventually got clear enough to concentrate on my pace and my race rather than my next move to get around someone without stepping on someone's shoe or running off the edge of the road.  The first water stop (after the two mile mark) cleared out a lot and I skipped it to keep running and pass a large group.  After that, I think it was much better.  There was quite a bit of traffic the whole way, but not to where it impeded your race, that was really nice to be running around others that share the same passion.

Once I was able to run my race, it felt great.  I really enjoyed my surroundings and the atmosphere was excellent! The scenery couldn't be beat.  As you can see from the diagram above, we were running around horse farm country. There were at least 3 times where horses from the farms were up against the fence running with the runners.  They would run the length of the fence, then turn around and go back to the starting point of their fence and do it all over again.  It was something I can't describe in words.

The most difficult part, by far, was the dreaded "S" curve.  You can see it right under and after the "9" mile marker. The curve was not just a curve.  It was a steeply inclined hill.  I passed many people walking the curve.  It was brutal and took quite a bit to recover from.  I ate my GU Chomps between miles 5 - 6 and then again after that brutal climb. Not sure if they provided any energy, but they made a good distraction to chomp on something.

Before I get into my favorite parts (and least favorite) and also my results, here is a picture that a blogger snapped of some runners on the course.  I am not sure at what point in the race it was taken, but here I am:

Just because my favorite parts of the experience WAY outnumber my least favorite, I will start with the least favorite.  OK, there is just one thing I didn't enjoy.  That was the race timing company.  In this case, 3 Way Racing.

First some background; the 10 mile race I ran a few weeks ago was also chipped and timed by this company.  They offer a lot of neat features, such as scrolling finish line results, text alerts at the finish, etc.  My experience from the 10-miler was not good.  Somehow, my chip didn't register when I crossed the start line, but it did at the halfway mark and also at the end.  But that meant that my results were not available at the end of the race.  To say I was worried about the half timing being managed by the same company would not cover my feelings.

At the expo, they had a machine working to test your chip.  I used it and it worked.  Shew!  That helped me feel a little better about the situation.  But now onto the RTB experience with this company.  I must note that my chip worked great and my results showed up perfectly.  However, that being said, they claimed to have a power outage for a 10 minute period of the race.  I found that funny since nothing else went out like the music amps, lights, etc.  The other issue was that it took them over 24 hours to post their "official" results.  If you know me, I am a tad type A.  OK, a LOT type A. So I was constantly checking to see my standings.  They showed up in the unofficial results.  Then they became official.  Great!  I tweeted those results out.  Then I checked again on Monday.  The "official" results changed again and my overall standing changed.  Then it changed again Tuesday, again on Wednesday, and even again today. So while they claimed the results were "official", somehow they keep changing.  The last complaint I have about this company was that the finish line text (a text sent to your phone when you cross the finish with your time) was accurate, BUT the subject of the text was for the 10-miler race, not the RTB.  Sigh.

Just my personal opinion, but that just seems to be unprofessional and unacceptable.  If I were going to be a race director, I would not choose to use this company.  At least not until they have proven to be successful at a quick, efficient, and accurate reporting process.  To the benefit of the RTB race organizers, the timing issues were not under their control.  My guess is they contracted the timing company.

OK, that is enough complaining!  Now, on to my favorite parts...

This race hosted over 3600 runners between the half marathon and rookie 7 mile race.  That is a lot of people.  They reported that there were over 5000 people on hand the day of the race including racers and spectators.  That is a HUGE crowd!  Regardless of the size, the event was extremely well organized and everything flowed nicely. I don't think I had to wait in line for anything!  The corrals were easily marked and easy to find.  The speakers were placed perfectly for the pre-race announcements and were loud enough for all to hear.  Even after the finish there was a specific area roped off just for racers to grab some snacks and drinks and cool down for a minute before going and finding their "fans".  Very well organized!

The other thing I want to highlight was the course.  Sure, I already talked about the beauty of the course, but there was more.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this course was all hills.  I can't remember a single flat surface.  You are either going up or down, but it seemed like mostly up, lol.  OK, back to the matter at hand.  The course organization was incredible.  The drink stations were well manned.  Anybody who wanted a drink got it and FAST.  It was easy to tell who was giving out water and who was giving out sports drink.  The hydration stations were numerous and well placed.  Each volunteer would cheer as we ran by.  Huge shout out to all the volunteers at the hydration stations!  I only grabbed water twice, but it was nice knowing there were many if I needed them.  I did my best to thank as many of the volunteers as possible while running by.  On top of the water, yes there is more, was the music!  There was music throughout the course.  It. Was. Awesome!  It felt like each time I was starting to get tired or slow down, I would come over a hill and hear the beat of bass or the voice of a bluegrass singer.  That was enough to motivate me to get my head (and feet) back in the game!  I felt like the bands and DJ's were placed perfectly throughout the course and the music selection was outstanding!  You can see where they were stationed on the map I put up earlier in the post and check out the bands at the RTB link at the top of the post.

One last thing for honorable mention was the social media strategy for the race.  The organizer was constantly on FaceBook and Twitter to update any and all who cared.  Not only did he update everyone, but he replied to and read each tweet or post sent his way.  Great job!

Wow, that was a lot!  How about some results and pictures?  OK!

Here are some pictures Abby took as I approached the finish line.  It was really nice to have a cheering section made up of Abby and the kids, my mom, and Abby's parents.  It definitely gave me the needed boost to get across the finish line:

Here is a pic of me right as I was about to cross the finish line:

Here is a picture of me as soon as I caught up with Abby and the crew.  I am holding a water and a chocolate milk. How cool is it that they had chocolate milk at the finish?  One of the best recovery drinks ever!

And before I get to my results here are some photos from after the race:

Adalyn giving some love to the horse:

High five for the Goetta mascot:

Adalyn chilling with "nana":

Cayden getting cozy with "grandma Burns":

Family pic; Cayden liked my new hardware:

One last thing before the results.  (There is so much to share that I keep thinking of things).  You may ask what the medal and race bib colors are for.  They are actually race horse inspired.  It fits well since the race starts and ends at Keeneland and is run through horse farm country.  The colors are the silk colors of the horse Genuine Risk who won the Kentucky Derby in 1980.  Pretty cool huh?

Here is an up close picture of the medal and also of my "race" wall in my office:

OK, OK, time for the results:

Not sure if they are the same right now, but here is what they were when I did the screen shot.  I was EXTREMELY pleased with my results.  I told myself to be happy with anything under 2 hours, but I was really shooting for 1:45.  And I killed it with 1:38!  (Side note: not sure how my chip time can be longer than the gun time, but that goes back to the weird chip timing company)  Honestly, I never thought I could keep that pace for an entire 13 miles!  When I saw my time on my watch at the finish, I was blown away.  I was so happy and satisfied with myself and my run.  All that ON TOP of the extreme hills.  It just goes to show what race day adrenaline really adds to the body's abilities.

Speaking of the body's abilities...  I decided to take this whole week off of strength and endurance training.  I decided that I had pushed it pretty hard the last few weeks and a week of rest is probably a good thing.  I am itching to get back out there, but am going to try and wait until Monday.

One last thing.  I want to thank my family for coming out and supporting me during my first half marathon.  Especially my wife.  She supported me from the beginning to accomplish this goal and also took care of the kids for my early Saturday morning runs.  Thanks!

What's next?  Who knows!??!?!  I will just leave it at that for now.

I am impressed if you made it this far in the post, until next time blogosphere...