The MS Runner

Actually was a very good run.  I’m talking about the OBX Half Marathon last Sunday.  If I had to do it again, I would have stayed another day.  The weather was great that morning.  It was 50 degrees and the high was projected to only be 55 during the run.  There were a total of 2,771 half marathoners getting ready to take on this challenge, and my son Jason and I were ready.  One good thing that I liked about the run was that they sent you off in waves, 3 minutes apart.  We were in the second wave, the 8 to 10 minute milers.  So there was no cattle call and a crush of runners at the start.  When our time came, I think everybody thought it was the 100 yard dash!  Oh I forgot to mention, that I forgot to wear my Garmin.  So there I was, running like crazy with the rest of the pack.  I soon realized that this was stupid, and I backed down.  Jason however, kept up the brutal pace.  (I think there was some hottie he was chasing)  After a boring first 3 miles, we ducked down a side street into a beautiful neighborhood.  The ocean was to the right of us, and a golf course to the left of us.  Some magnificent homes also.  But then we go back out onto the main road for the final 6 miles.  At mile 9, we cross the bridge going into Raonoke.  The bridge they say, rises 35 feet, but I think it was more like 135!  When you come up to it, you’re thinking that there’s no way I’m going to run all the way across this.  Most of us however did, although there were a few that didn’t.At mile 11 we are headed into downtown Manteo and the spectators are more in numbers and definitley louder.  I admire those people that stand out there for hours to cheer you on and ring their cow bells.  Just after mile 12 you can see the finish line.  I pick up my pace a bit and I’m surprised at how much energy I have.  Was it because it’s finally over, or was I not running as hard as I could have?  As I cross the line I hook up with Jason and find out that he ran 1 hour, 43 minutes!  His best half marathon time before that was 1 hour 54 minutes.  I think he got better.  I finished in 1 hour, 47 minutes and 11 seconds.  I was very happy with that considering 3 weeks before I ran the Denver Half in 1 hour 59 minutes.  So I shave off 12 minutes in 3 weeks.  Like I said, I’m happy.  I finished 209th out of the 2,771 total runners and in my age group, I finished 20th out of 117.  I can’t believe how fast some of these dudes my age are.  My splits were at 6.9 miles, 7:51 per mile and the final 6.2, 8:34 per mile.  Wow!  What a drop.  I did go out way too fast which caused me to slow it way down the second half.  But I’ll take it.

Now to get ready for the marathon in Arizona in January.   Should be a good one.

Jason and I before the run

I did the half at the Denver Marathon this past weekend and I must say that it was a success.  My goal was not to push myself too hard, finish somewhere around 2 hours, and not hurt my knee.  The day was perfect for running.  It was 50 degrees at the start and got up to about 62 at the end.  The one thing that I would change about this marathon is the start.  You have the marathoners, the half marathoners, and the relaythoners all starting together.  It’s like a freakin’ cattle call and I felt like I was going to go to the slaughterhouse.  And the one thing that really pisses me off is the people that line up towards the front with runners that will run the race in 3 hours or so, and the only thing that they can run well with is their mouth.  Oye.  Anyways, I think they should have qualifying waves and if you are a slow poke, you will have to be at the end. But, after the crazy start, it thinned out a bit, but there were always other runners around you.  I like that because if can fall into a group that runs your pace, it seems that much easier to run.

Around mile 5, my legs started feeling heavy.  Being that I hadn’t run longer than 10 miles sine June, I was a bit concerned.  But then at mile 6, I had one of my Stinger Energy Gels, and felt much better.  I probably should have taken it a mile sooner, but I’m a creature of habit.  I seem to always have one at mile 6 instead of having one when I need it.

After mile 6, I ran into someone I knew and she was doing the half also.  This is a week after she ran the Chicago Marathon!  Amazing.

Between mile 7 and mile 11, I really don’t remember much.  I kind of get into a zone where I don’t notice anything or even pay attention to my time.  I checked my watch at mile 11, and it was at 1 hour and 42 minutes.  I was doing okay, and I didn’t even try and do the math to see if I was going to make it in 2 hours.   I just kept along at the pace I was going and figured I’d be right about 2 hours.

Once I hit the point where you could see the finish, I thought I’d pick up the pace a bit, because I felt strong and good.  There was less than a half mile to go, and I think I passed about 15 people to get to the finish line.  My final time was 1:59:38.  I broke 2 hours, and more importantly, I didn’t hurt myself.

One nice thing about this marathon, was the beer garden afterwards.  They actually had some good beer instead of the typical Bud or Coors.  It was all from Left Hand Brewing Company here in Colorado.  As I was sitting there tossing back a few Sawtooth Ales’s, this woman sat down next to me and starting talking about the run.  It turns out that she is 66 years old, ran the half marathon that day, and has done 5 marathons already this year!  She’s not even sure how many marathons she has done in her life, but she said it’s well over a hundred.  Maybe close to two hundred.  Incredible!

Well that’s it, and now I aim for the OBX Marathon in North Carolina.  Since I have not run much this summer, I’m doing the half.  At sea level, I’m shooting for 1:45.

My knee is feeling good after my 6 miler today.  I hadn’t run in 2 weeks and was a little nervous about running at all today, but everything seemed to go well.  Of course I took it easy and I didn’t even look at my watch for fear that I would want to speed it up.

So it looks like I’ll resume a schedule of running this week and see how things go.  A lot will depend on how my knee feels tomorrow after my run today.

My “marathon” is 7 weeks away now, but as I’ve already said, I’m going to try and run the half.  If I can’t run, then I will walk since I already paid for the freakin’ thing.  But my 2 sons are going to be running, and I’m sure they will be out gunning for the old man.  If my knee is feeling good, and I’m able to get some miles in before the race, then I smell a wager on who will win.  Of course I should get odds and I’m thinking of a 10 minute spot.  We’ll see what happens, and if anyone wants a piece of the action, let me know.

I know that I haven’t written anything in awhile, but I do have many excuses. I just won’t share those with you.

Other than house hunting and doing my training runs, nothing much else is new. It seems like my marathon, The OBX is such a long way off, that I haven’t been too serious in my training yet. I’ve been putting in the miles, but I haven’t been able to actually “get into it” if you know what I mean. Does anyone else ever get that way, and what do you do to get yourself out of that funk? I think what I need is to actually do a race, whether it’s a 5K, 10K, or a half and I’m leaning towards doing a half for sure. So it looks like I will do the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon on August 9th. I did it last year with a sore calf, and ended up really hurting it and not being able to run for 2 weeks. It’s a nice little half marathon though, although they don’t serve real beer at the finish. Last year they had some non alcoholic beer to drink. What’s the point of that? However, you can always walk about a block away to a great micro brewery called Tommy Knocker Brewery. Make sure to get the sampler which will give you a taste of all their beers. I like The Pick Axe Ale myself.