Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon for the second year in a row...last year this was my second half ever and I completed it in 1:55:35...my first half was the Sentara Colonial Half in Williamsburg where I finished in about 2:07:00.

I remember at last year's R'n'R USA I had such a great time that when I got the alumni email with special pricing for the next year's race I signed up right away. 

I also remember that last year there were a few things I wasn't to happy about on race day...primarily the lines to the porta potties and the bag check...last year's bag check appeared to be run by volunteers that took your bags and placed them on school buses that drove your bags to the finish line since the race began on Constitution Ave and 14th St. and ended at RFK Stadium...the problem with the bag check wasn't so much the volunteers but the way the bag check was organized...the way you placed your bag on a bus was by your last name...there are a lot more last names starting with Bs than with Zs so the lines for last names with more common starting letters where very long while other lines were very short and then at the finish line you faced the same issue except by then you were tired and sore and it was raining...Now the porta pottie lines that was more my fault because I got in the lines closest to the bag check where everyone else also went...I spent several minutes in line but then had to give up since the race was about to start...as I made my way to the start I realized there were many more porta potties with very short lines near the corrals...if I would have taken the time to read the race info carefully I would have known this....

Last year I learned to travel light to my races so no bag check and as for porta potties...most DC races begin near the Washington Monument and I now happen to work in that area and having 24/7 access to my building is a huge benefit because now I either drive or metro to my building depending on what roads are closed and just hangout in my building to use the restroom in the peace and hangout away from the cold until about 15 minutes to starting time...sadly not everyone has this perk and I don't have this advantage at races that are not near my building...so what do I do? I get there AT LEAST an hour early.

Traveling light means I only bring my car/office keys, metro card, credit card, some cash, GUs, my phone, and maybe water...I place all these things...except the water...in my fuel belt. The night before I race I evaluate what the weather is like and what I need to wear...I rather underdress as I will eventually warmup and if I overdress and overheat that means I'll probably have to shed some layers that I will most likely never get back.

For R'n'R this year I wore running shorts and a long sleeve running shirt since the temperature was in the high 40s and would warm up some. Unfortunately it was also windy so standing in my corral I was a bit cold but once I got moving I was great!

View from my corral right before the race

The race course was beautiful as always when you run a big race through DC and the crowd support was awesome...again something that you always see in DC races...people line the streets with signs and cowbells...local come out to their front yards to cheer on the runners as they pass...I love this and it's something I miss when running smaller races.

The race course bands were nice but in my opinion some of the music they played was slow paced and not very motivating....for example at mile 7 you have to run up the toughest hill of the entire race and the band right before the hill was playing some mellow jazz tune...

I finished in 1:45:21...a new Half Marathon PR!! Overall it was a great race and I'm waiting for the alumni email for next year!!

R'n'R 2014 Half Marathon Finisher Medal

2014 1st Quarter Race Schedule

2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon      2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler              1:22:05
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K    37:04
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon     1:45:21
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler

Reston 10 Miler

This past Sunday I ran the Reston 10 Miler. This was my second double digit race last year and from what I recall it was quite cold. This year the temperature was much more favorable. It was partly sunny and in the low 40s with mild humidity .

The race was located at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA with a race start of 8:00AM. Since I no longer live in the area I decided to pick up my race packet that morning instead of driving from Alexandria to Reston Town Center the Saturday before the race and then back again Sunday.

I arrived at about 6:50AM Sunday morning. Parking was ample and after picking up my packet, which only took a few minutes, I went back to the car to relax a bit before the race.

At about 7:40AM I decided I should visit the ladies' room before the race began.  I entered the high school, which was open to the racers and had two restrooms with a few stall available, the lines for these restrooms seemed eternal but lucky for me as I walked around I heard someone say that there were porta-potties outside by the track that had almost no line...so I headed there and only waited a few minutes.

The race started a little late at 8:05AM. The course was great with many rolling hills and a lovely view of the lakeside community. There were water stops at miles 3, 6, and 8.5...I heard people complain about there being no porta-potties on course but frankly I didn't have to go so I didn't really notice but I am sure I would have been peeved if I did have to go.

After Tampa my runs had been feeling much more difficult and this one was no exception...I think it may have to do with overtraining...I had been following the Nike Women's DC Half Intermediate training plan which called for much more weekly mileage than I was used to and I wasn't exactly taking it easy on the easy run days and adding CrossFit to the mix also didn't help...all my own fault for lack of good judgment. Most training plans assume that you are in optimal condition all the time and are only doing what is in the training plan...they don't account for stressful days at work or at home, illness, lack of sleep, other fitness activities you may do, your individual level of fitness, etc...so be careful when deciding to follow one of these...listen to your body and track your progress if you're becoming slower and are always tired and sore then maybe you need to modify your plan.

 I finished in 1:22:05 about 5 minutes slower than my best 10 milers (Perfect 10 Ten Miler last September). I felt that I could have probably pushed a bit harder but was afraid of getting injured especially with the many other races I have coming up this spring.

Overall this was a great race with a challenging but not overly challenging course and I will be doing it again next year. The medal this year was much larger and heavier than last year but overall the same design.

Reston 10 Miler finisher medals 2013 (left) and 2014 (right)

As for my training I'm going back to following my own training plan from last fall...3 weekday (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)  runs between 4-6 miles (one day of speed work a week), 3 days of CrossFit (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) a week, and one weekend long run/race....I'm also adding yoga twice a week to help with flexibility...I'm hoping that by sticking with this plan I  can improve my future times.


2014 1st Quarter Race Schedule

2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon      2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler              1:22:05
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler

Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon

On Sunday February 23 I ran the Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon with my good friend and Florida local Adam. This was Adam's first half marathon and my first time running a race out of state so we were both very excited.

I flew in that Saturday afternoon at which time Adam picked me up from the airport and we headed straight to the race expo to pick up our race packets. The first thing I noticed when getting out of the airport was the humidity...having just arrived from Washington DC where we had been having a very cold and dry winter this humidity was quite uncomfortable for me and I was already having doubts of how well I would perform in the half.

The race expo was located at the Tampa Convention Center and despite being much smaller than other expos I had been to back home it still had a decent amount of vendors. Adam and I had a great time trying out the different free samples and looking at the different merchandise. We didn't stay too long as we needed to check into our hotel and get lunch.

When we checked in at the Westshore Embassy Suites the concierge informed us that there would be a manager's reception that evening with free alcoholic beverages for all the guests. My first thought was we probably shouldn't drink but after lunch and a while of relaxing at the pool we decided that one drink wouldn't hurt ....about three hours and several drinks later we decided to call it a night since we knew we had definitely overdone it especially with a 4:30AM wakeup call and 6:00AM half marathon awaiting us the next day. We chugged as much water as possible and went to bed around 9:00PM. The next day we awoke both feeling like we'd been hit by a train but we did not let our painful state stop us from heading to the race.



The first beer that started it all

We arrived at the convention center around 5:00AM and proceeded to drink more water, use the bathroom, and attempt to throw up while we waited to head to the race start located a little ways away from the convention center. I definitely knew I was not going to perform well but I would try.

We located the 1:45:00 pacer....this was my goal time prior to considering the humidity and drinking the night before.... Both Adam and I were excited and nervous. The temperature that morning was somewhere around 70 degrees with about  90% humidity...much different from what I had been training in back home.  Once the race began I felt pretty strong for the first 3 miles and Adam was doing great. Then my stomach and muscles began to cramp and as my body temperature rose my pace started to steadily decline. Each step harder than the next I could now really feel the humidity. As I continued to slow and fall back I could see Adam and the 1:45:00 pace group get farther and farther away from  me.

The course was very flat, no hills like what I was used to back home and once we neared the water it began to smell like a backed up sewage drain which did not help my already queasy state. There seemed to be water stops and porta-potties at about every mile or two which was wonderful for me. I'm pretty sure I stopped at everyone of them to douse myself with water and drink water in a desperate attempt to cool down. I also threw up yellow stomach bile a few times....

I finished in 2:00:18, way slower than I had hoped but hey at least I finished. Adam did a wonderful job finishing in 1:46:12! He said at mile 10 he stopped for some water and once he tried to get moving again to catch back up to the pace group his legs had a tough time getting going again.

Overall this was a great race with a flat course, lots of race support, and a really cool medal. I would definitely do it again but next time I would definitely not drink the night before and hydrate a lot more in anticipation of the humidity.

 

Awesome pirate finisher medal

 

Adam and I spent the rest of the day recovering and catching up on sleep. The next day I flew back home where I continued to recover. Tuesday morning I got up at my usual 4:40AM and had a nice 5 mile run in 30 degree low humidity temperatures...I will no longer complain about it being cold and dry...just about it being icy and snowy ;)

 

 



 

2014 1st Quarter Race Schedule

2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon 2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler