Race #161
Half Marathon ##53
2019 Race #5
South Carolina Half Marathon #40
2019 Half Marathon #2
GHS/Prisma Health Half Marathon #6
After a rough end of week emotionally and psychologically due to work issues, I looked forward to this run as a chance to get out there on the trail and just run. I really enjoy this race and one day might make it a goal race. Thankfully, I did not make any goals for this race.
I knew that it might be chilly with a bit of rain, the rain that does not seem to ever go away this week, but the rain held off as we started the race.
Mom dropped me off, lots of vehicle congestion, and then drove downtown to park and get her own run in before catching me at the finish.
This half seems to get it right, over a thousand people registered whereas spinx can barely manage several hundred
This year we started in Gateway Park instead of on the frontage road right by the trail. I figured that they adjusted the start because we were not finishing on the TD Stage downtown, rather at a location nearby. I still have no idea why the start and finish locations were adjusted.
Because we started in Gateway Park, we faced a quite congested start but soon enough everyone spread out and we had plenty of room to maneuver.
I felt really good as I started and hoped that this good feeling would continue. I had no thoughts of stopping to walk at four mile intervals as I did at the Clinton Half and Green Valley. I felt strong and I knew the course. I knew the slight inclines we had to face, none of which came close to matching the hills of those previous two races.
A little before the first mile, I heard a woman behind me complaining, good-naturedly about the cold. As she passed me, she started talking to me and gave me a huge compliment. She said that she ran behind me for a good while at Green Valley and said that I had a strong, steady pace. That was so nice of her to say! I have mentioned before that one of the things I try to work on is maintaining an even pace. I guess it has paid off.
Then, a little after the first mile, another woman came up on my left and started talking to me, and her friend who ran a few paces in front of me. She said she has run several races near me and also complimented me on running steady and always finishing strong. Talk about an ego boost! I definitely thanked her for those kind words.
By mile 4, we got onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Mile 1: 8:49
Mile 2: 8:50
Mile 3: 8:33
Mile 4: 8:45
I still felt good and knew that most of the hills up ahead would not prove to be a challenge.
Every so often as I ran, someone would say something positive about my playlist and how they were just going to run with me because they liked my music. I’ll take that.
These next four miles passed incredibly quickly and I still felt strong. The idea of walking felt anathema so I didn’t.
Mile 5: 8:33
Mile 6: 8:38
Mile 7: 8:30
Mile 8: 8:43
Throughout mile 8 I felt some tell tale drops. Even though the weather app did not forecast occasional rain to begin until 11:15, this is Greenville after all. The weather does what it wants to do.
Just after mile 8 the sky opened up and dumped water on us. Okay then. At least I had only 5 miles left to run. I definitely planned to run until the end of the race, if only to get out of the rain sooner.
The miles kept ticking by faster than I felt that they should. Of course, each mile did not change in length, only my mental expectations for them. I would look ahead to see a mile marker and find myself surprised every time. For the most part, I did not consult my watch. I did not look at the time until the very end of the race.
Around mile 10, I pulled up next to the friend of the second lady who had given me a compliment about running steady and finishing strong. She heard my music, turned her head a little and said something about me catching up, not surprised at all. (My brain does not remember her exact words.) I smiled and kept pushing.
My legs were starting to get tired but I still felt strong. The rain tapered off after a couple miles so we did not have to run the whole way in the rain, just get thoroughly soaked.
By the time I got just past mile 11, my legs were really feeling it and hoping for the end. Despite that, I still felt like I could maintain my current pace and push it to the finish. Rather than having people pass me like they had been for most of the race (I have no idea why since my pace did not vary all that much), I started passing people. I started to look ahead to pick people off.
As we entered the final mile, we passed the Swamp Rabbit Crossfit building where we got to run past several loud and enthusiastic spectators. I looked across the creek that runs alongside the trail and saw the finish line. Okay, so that’s where we finished.
I do not know where I found it but I dug deep and found a little bit more speed to finish the portion on the trail, make the two left turns ahead head towards the finish.
I could see the finish line arch off a little to the left and assumed that the pavement continued that direction. Actually, I did not even make a conscious assumption. Only when I saw that they directed us onto the mud puddles, I mean grass, with less than a tenth of a mile to go to the finish, did I realize I had made that assumption. With all the soaking rain and flash flood warnings Greenville has had over the past week, I would have thought that the race organizers would realize that the ground immediately on the side of a large creek/quite small river would become thoroughly saturated and almost impossible to run through.
I have never had a complaint about this race before. However, that might have been one of the worst finish line situations I have ever found myself in. Instead of being able to push strong towards the finish, I had to slow down a little so I did not face plant in the watery mud/grass that was the finish line area.
Thankfully, Mom got pictures of me on the pavement area just before the muddy finish.
Mile 9: 8:32
Mile 10: 8:42
MIle 11: 8:40
Mile 12: 8:33
Mile 13: 8:31
.1 nubbin: 7:40
Overall Time: 1:53:07
I grabbed my medal and immediately faced the challenge of how to return to the road to meet up with Mom while avoiding the exceptionally muddy areas of the finish line area. The entire finish line tent was set up in the grassy area. Seriously? It took quite a bit of time and a circuitous route for me to find my way out to the pavement. Once I got there, I had to deal with a cop telling me and several other people to get out of the way for the bus. I stood right on the edge of the pavement, right in front of a giant muddy puddle. The cop kept telling us to move. Um, where exactly? Face first into the mud?
Overall though, aside from the ridiculous finish line area, I loved the race and my experience. I loved how strong I felt throughout the race and the fact that I kept up a steady, 8:30-8:43 pace throughout the entire race without specific speed training.
Half marathons definitely are my favorite race.