Preparation
I had been training for this half-marathon as well as the duathlon that I raced the week before so I had been doing a lot of running and biking. If I had just been training for one, then I think it probably would have helped my results but then playing soccer 2-3 times a week also didn't allow for total focus on any of the events either. But I'm essentially doing these to challenge myself and for fun so quitting other activities is not really in the cards. I generally tried to get in one "long" run every week leading up to the half; so like a run 5-7 miles, as well as my other running and biking. I did one run of 10 miles but that's as long as I went. The week of the race I kept on normal pace except I just took rest days on the 2 days prior to the event (except for the soccer game I played the night before; more on that later). I've still been following my same diet and didn't really change it until right before the race. The day before was a binge day so I could have eaten anything but I did the same chicken and brown rice dish that I had done the week before and at turkey sausage and brown rice for breakfast the next morning. Going back to the soccer game; in order to get rid of the lactic acid from my legs after the soccer game I took an ice bath. Essentially, I put 20 lbs. of ice in the bathtub and soaked my legs for 15 minutes; it sucked but seemed to work.
Good ole' number 2124
Got up at 5:45 and ate breakfast. I had prepped all of my clothes and everything the night before so getting ready didn't take long at all and then I drove the 4 miles over to the race site. When I got there, I went through warm-ups and stretches and just tried to pass the time until it started.
Once the race started, I just went at my normal comfortable pace and was feeling good. I was worried about going too fast and not being able to finish strong but this didn't up being the case. I was passed by hundreds of people even though I didn't start near the front but I knew that it was a long race. Starting around mile 6-7 my legs and feet started to noticeably hurt but I expected that too. It certainly wasn't unbearable but definitely uncomfortable. I never had any problem with my lungs, just with my legs but had to power through it. The race course went north from shopping center, came back by it and then turned toward downtown Raleigh on Western Blvd. where you ran all the way over towards southeast Raleigh and came back. For the most part, it was pretty flat. Eventually, I felt like I was picking up my pace (about mile 10) and started passing a lot of people. The biggest hill of the whole event was in the final mile and I was able pass a bunch of people there as well and even pick up my speed even more as a saw the finish line. So I was able to run the whole way and felt pretty okay afterwards as well.
Results
Time: 2:04:08
Time/mile: 9:29/mile
Place: 390 out of 909 overall finishers (42%)
227 out of 361 men
37 out of 52 25-29 year old men
Overall Results
And............MEDALIST!!!!!!!!!
It was exactly like getting a participation trophy for playing sports when you were a kid; except now you knew why you got it. It will have a special place to sit next to my 2004 City of Raleigh Dodgeball Championship Trophy.
So, I didn't finish so great but I did run the whole way and beat my goal going in. There are a lot of people that are in pretty good shape around the area. Overall I was really proud of myself and completing in the event and I'm now looking forward to my next challenge for once soccer season is over. Maybe a true triathlon; will just have to work on my swimming.
Here's some pictures from the finish line:
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