Race #153
Half Marathon #51
South Carolina Half Marathon #38
2018 Race #14
2018 Half Marathon #7
Run Hard Lexington Half Marathon #1
Back in March, I registered for this race after seeing information of additional medals offered because I ran the Run Hard Columbia half. Although it turned out that I would have had to pay an additional $15 for the medal (a bit ridiculous in my opinion), I still enjoyed the run.
Since I registered so far in advance I had no idea of other things that would all converge on this weekend. Not only did closing fall on Friday with final cleaning scheduled for this morning but the Youth in Government trip comes tomorrow. Ironically, I headed down to the Columbia area Friday night and back this morning only to turn around and head back down to Columbia tomorrow afternoon for YIG.
Despite all the logistical hurdles, everything went smoothly today. Since I did not know the area, I did not complete the 10 minute warm up before the race. I briefly contemplated completing the cool down time and the warm up time on the treadmill back at the hotel before we drove back to Greenville but by the time the race ended and we made it back to the hotel (the trip back took longer thanks to several road closures due to the race), enough time remained but it would have been close.
Before we left Greenville, Mom mentioned that the weather was forecast to be chilly. Thanks to that warning I was able to grab my headband that goes around my ears (there has got to be a simpler name for that) and gloves to wear in addition to my oiselle singlet and shorts.
Once we arrived at the baseball stadium Saturday morning, I picked up my big and things and waited in the car with Mom until the start of the race. We heard the national anthem sung around 7:15 even though the race officially started at 7:30 so Mom and I left the car then. I wore my jacket around my arms until about 5 minutes before the start.
All ready to start!
As usual, I lined up near the front knowing that I would be passed by faster runners behind me but not bothered by that since I would avoid the congestion.
Right around 7:30, the race started and we headed out. I forgot to look at my training plan to see what goal Matt had written for this race. I remembered only that I should run this race a little faster than Spinx. Since the Columbia area has a lot fewer hills than Greenville, I did not think that would end up becoming a problem. After the race, I saw that my goal was 1:55-:156.
Since I did not recall my exact finishing time, I did not bother calculating expected pace. In the first few miles I glanced down a few times at my watch but did not bother doing any mental math to figure out if I was on pace or not.
The first few miles consisted of some gradual inclines, nothing significant but definitely noticeable when it lasts for a few miles.
Around mile 3, I took my gloves off, already feeling warm, and knew that I would shortly need to take off the headband. I also felt the urge to make a pit stop and even though I knew I could hold it, I also knew that a short stop would not add that much time and would help me feel a lot better for the rest of the race.
When the course started to circle Lexington High School, I noticed a couple porto-potties by the course and took advantage of the opportunity. Although I’m sure I took longer than Shalane, the pit stop helped tremendously. At that point, I also took off the headband and tucked both behind my flipbelt where they remained securely throughout the remainder of the race.
Mile 1: 8:34
Mile 2: 8:35
Mile 3: 8:51
Mile 4: 9:29 (pit stop)
The early part of the course meandered through neighborhoods and after circling the high school consisted mainly of larger roads around the area.
I still felt pretty good, although a bit frustrated at my shorts that kept riding up. I walked a few steps a handful of times to pull down the shorts but after mile 4, I decided to leave them be. That ended up in some light chafing, nothing too serious, but enough to make me wish to find some shorts that are tight but not so tight that my large thighs cause them to rid eup all the time.
I settled into a fairly good pace, one that felt strong and steady, and continued to tick off the miles. At times I wondered how much longer I had to run or what my pace was but I kept the watch on the second screen which did not show those two things.
Mile 5: 8:37
Mile 6: 8:43
Mile 7: 8:35
Around mile 7 I needed something to count down some of the miles so I decided to count the songs that came on. I think the struggle, which was not significant, that I had at that point consisted a bit of monotony. Lexington is a nice area but rather generic. I decided to see how close I could get by the time the 12th song finished. (Yes, I have just a slight, mild obsession with the number 12.) At some point in this section we headed down the apparently infamous 378 hill which the course description pointed out we got to run down rather than up. I expected much more of a significant elevation change from the description but I did appreciate that this long, gradual descent formed part of the course as a descent rather than an ascent. By the time the 12th song finished, I had approached the 10th mile.
Mile 8: 8:33
Mile 9: 8:40
Mile 10: 8:40
With only a 5k to go, I still felt strong and decided to stay strong even though part of me started bargaining for walk time. It was just the idea of walking, no pressing need. I kept baiting myself and giving a slightly further goal. I felt strongest during this 5k and finished strong although, I think a little more course marking in the section to get onto the warning track of the baseball stadium would have helped immensely.
Just before the final turn to the ball park.
When we made the final turn towards the ballpark, I passed one guy but could hear another right on my heels and tried to hold him off. When that did not work and he passed me, I tried mightily to keep up with him but he had more juice left in the tank than I did. I did not slack off on pace though and sprinted in to the end.
I had a moment of “No way!” go through my head when I saw the clock at the finish line say 1:40:xx and then realized that was not my clock. It’s the clock for the 10k which started 15 minute after the half.
Mile 11: 8:51
Mile 12: 8:51
Mile 13: 8:09 (apparently the stronger effort did not come until the final full mile)
.1 7:17 (avg)
Overall time: 1:54:23
Finish line through the netting
I finished feeling really good and proud of my 1:54:23 time. I know that I have faster half marathons in me and really want to keep up this progression. I love the fact that I felt strong throughout the entire run at a pace that sometimes my mind tells me is too fast. For this race, other than a few times in the first few miles, I did not look at my watch to see my pace and figure out how fast I needed to be going or how much slower I need to go. This way I do not obsess over whether or not I will be able to maintain the pace. When I look back at my splits, I am amazed that so many of them are so close in a race where I did not look at my watch when the mile recorded and displayed my pace.
I love having strong races. It wets the appetite for so much more.