Caesar Rodney Half Marathon

On Saturday, I ran only briefly. I headed to the Heinz Wildlife Sanctuary on my way home from picking up my race packet it Delaware. After running only a little over a mile and a quarter, I had to stop because nature was calling. I walked back to the car and drove home. It was a pretty run. Perhaps it was for the better that I got some rest.

I ran the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon on Sunday. It was about what I expected in terms of overall time. There were certainly plenty of surprises though. The weather was nearly perfect. I actually didn't know what to wear. I went with regular short sleeves, but probably should've went with a singlet. I used the bathroom before the race, but there were long lines when I had to go again at the start. I passed on going then.

Although I felt like I went out easy, the first mile was just a blistering pace. Even with trying to slow a bit, I still ran it around 6:47. A lot of it was downhill, so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. The pace throughout the first few miles was very fast. I was amazed at it. I didn't feel like I was working too hard, so I just continued to press on.

I continued to put in under 7 minute miles as we cruised along the waterfront. It was frustrating when I got to the 4 mile mark. We twisted and turned all throughout those first few miles. Because of it, my GPS said I actually ran 4.11 miles at that point. That was a bit frustrating. I guess I have to really work on taking the shortest route.

After the waterfront section, we headed slightly uphill back into town. That climb was a little rough, but overall not too bad. I ended up chatting with a guy for a bit during this section. We nearly got hit by a car that was pulling out and not looking. As we approached the big hill, he told me to pull ahead.

I had ran at a nice clip early on, but I definitely saved something for the climb during the middle portion. The hill wasn't steep, but it seemed never ending. There were some short, flat sections in between each climb. They were just long enough to catch your breath and get your legs back.

Even once I thought I was at the top, I still had some climbing to do. It was a slight uphill to the turnaround at a middle school. It seemed like forever until I started back down the hill. I took some Sport Beans at the top of the hill and it took awhile to swallow them. I hydrated quite a bit, but didn't take many of the Sport Beans.

Once I finally got to the downhill portion, it didn't seem like much of a decline. It didn't feel anywhere near as long as the climb. My quads were killing me, but I was able to open up my stride and cruise down hill. Every minor uphill destroyed me by this point though. There were a couple slight hills in this area too. I was pretty happy with where I was at at this point, but knew I was just in survival mode, not pick up the pace mode.

As if the middle of the course didn't have enough of a hill. The final quarter mile is all a slight uphill. Usually I have a strong finishing kick, but on this day, it didn't come until very late. I did pass a guy just before the finish though.

I was pretty happy with the way I ran the course. I planned on going out a little slower, but I didn't work that hard early on. I don't think that saving energy early on would've helped much. The uphill just took a lot out of me. I still wish I could get to the point where I could run very hard at the end of one of these races. I'm usually strong at the end, but just not strong enough to really turn it on.

I actually sort of just quit on the final mile and cruised home. I knew I was well inside my PR and nowhere near my better goal times. My GPS actually said that I ran an extra .17 miles and at a 7:01. I'm very happy with that. Hopefully next time, I'll run on a straighter course.

I was very happy that my IT band didn't act up. I wasn't very sore at all afterward either. It was sure a big different from my fall half marathon. I even got called into work and I worked for about 4 hours. I'm slightly sore from being on my feet all day, but it's really no worse than a hard training day.

I'm right around where I thought I was at this point. Obviously I have to extend my long runs, but I'm just so close to a potential Boston qualifier. I could probably do it with the right conditions. I'm going to work more on my speedwork, with some tempo runs and fartleks. I've done some speedwork, but really not enough of it. I'm going to go for broke when the spring marathon comes around too. I have nothing to lose.

Tomorrow is an easy run. I don't even remember the distance. Since I don't feel too bad right now and I'm off tomorrow, I'm sure I'll complete the scheduled run. For now, I just need to think about resting though.

13.1 miles 1:33:11 (7:07 pace)

147th of overall 1499
20th of 70 in age group