My Experience - 2.5/5
The half
marathon was just one week after Patrick Henry so I was in high spirits, thanks
to my good run in Patrick Henry, and with its flat course, boardwalk finish and
beach after-party, I was sold. It was to be my first high profile race which
had ten thousands participants, and the organizers Rock'n Roll (Competitor
Group) did not leave any stone unturned to make it grand. Participants were
given entries to the whole day concert at the beach a day before, a huge expo
was planned, website and mailers were really high quality. And I knew that
there going to be many from my training team for the race, as this race is
'Unofficially' treated as midterm, so some skipped PH to run this and others
like me registered for both. So overall I was looking forward so much that I
postponed going to US open for another year.
The not-so-good
thing about going for a running a big race, on a long weekend, on popular beach
at end of summer, your accommodation gets bigger than race fees. Good for the
Virginia Beach economy, but not necessarily for me. So I opted for a hotel away
from the beach.
It is just 2 hours
drive from Richmond and once you have sight of the ocean the route has amazing
view. I reached the expo just after noon. The afternoon sun shining in clean
blue sky, making outside hot and humid. I picked my bib 15174, and then moved
to different aisle to pick my other stuff. The expo was huge, with lot of
vendors, I roamed around for a bit, but I was more interested in going to the
beach. I let my car remain parked at expo, took out my bike and went to the
beach. I biked a few miles, lied down in the beach and then went for the
concert. The only problem was with all the fun I was having, the race was
totally out of my mind. And by the time I realized, I was tired and 2 beers
down, and it was already evening, and by the time I reached hotel after dinner
it was night.
Next day morning I
reached very early, parked short walk from start line at convention center. The
sun was not yet up but weather was good. I met many folks from training team. I
was in wave 15 which was far back, so it took some time for my wave to reach
start line.
I started HOT,
really HOT, and much faster than my normal pace. There were so many runners;
support was huge, loud music. Till mile 3 going through the intersecting
streets were pretty good. Flat with good pace and fun. After that came the
first 'hill', well just a flyover taking us towards Virginia aquarium.
It was just mile
5, I started to feel tired. It was getting hotter and humidity was high, and
with my exploits a day before, I was tired before the turn around in mile 7. My
run walk started, which was not part of today's strategy.
Mile 9 we entered
an area which looked more like an army base. The area was open with wide road
and no trees, and with the sun coming up it was getting hotter. Most of the
people around me were walking. It was so hot that residents were giving out ice
water and ice cubes. and that was a relief. Guess they knew this happens every
year. The 2.5 miles in the camp area was not good. I just kept walking.
As we came out of
the camp area the cheering squad welcomed us. That was a relief. I continued my
run walk for another 2 miles. The other side of road was already open for
traffic. The route took us back to the flyover (the hill), and from there I
could hear the music from the finish line.
The finish line
was just a mile away, so I started running. The next turn took me to the board
walk, where there were lots of people cheering, beach was on left side and
after party was already in progress. I was already much beyond my expected
time, so there was nothing to worry anymore. I kept my pace and finished the
race.
I had mixed
feelings after the race. Probably I could have done better, if not of my antics
a day before, or is it just the weather. But this race was a great learning, as
they say "You learn more from a bad race than a good one". I
knew what I did wrong - not resting a day before and pacing at the initial few
miles were just wrong, and i need to reduce my gear too.
With another half
marathon in pocket and learnings along the way, I was ready to take in longer
miles and get ready for my first marathon.
