Space Coast Half Marathon - Run


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Cocoa Beach, Florida
United States
Space Coast Runners
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 50m 18s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 12/26
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5:00 am (1/2 hour early) Took an outdoor shower - Florida IS nice this time of year! Cup of Joe (even tho 1/2 the pot ended up on the counter since i didn't put the cover on correctly - sorry Denise!) Bowl of Kashi and a Banana. Cliff Bar 15 minutes b4 the start.
Event warmup:

Well my sister, the local, had us walk a 1/2 mile to where she thought the start was. Even took a training run here the week before. We never saw anybody. Odd I thought. These Floridians really are laid back. Finally realized she had it wrong so we backtracked and found our way. Well, it turned out to be a nice warm up anyway! Got our timing chips, went back to the car and headed to the start.
Run
  • 1h 50m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

This run was dedicated to my sister, Denise, who suffered a stroke back in March. Just having her next to me was inspirational. My other sister, Donna, (a daily walker) was taking on the challenge in addition to Denise's friend and training partner, Andrea.

Not crowded at all at the start.

Originally I plannned to run a good portion w/ Denise but right out of the gate she and I were ahead of Donna and Andrea. At the first mile marker Denise said she felt fine and I should go at my own pace. I felt kind of guilty, but knew she had Andrea and Donna behind her. My deisre to break 2 hours and test myslef outwieghed the guilt so, off I went. I hit my pace pretty quickly and must admit it as FUN passing a lot of people. I moved out to the right and passed large numbers. Once settled in I zoned in on people in front of me and did what I could to pass some. It felt good to push like that and my legs were cooperating. It was rather warm for this northerner so I made sure to slow down at all water stations and drink some water. took to pouring a cup over my head too. I felt great passing the turn around. Then, I saw Denise (quick high five) who was with Andrea. Donna wasn't far behind them. Loved the fact that I got to see them here (kinda eased the guilt). they all looked strong. At about the 8 mile mark I started to ache. My legs were tightening so i tried to just enjoy the moment, focus on my form and have fun (ahh, Chi Running). It didn't last that long. at the 10 mile marker my right hamstring really began to tighten. That was disheartening because I'm known to have cramps of epic proportions. I talking the kind that make you scream in agony and seriously debilatate you. Thoughts of writhing in pain on the side of the road popped into my head. A scary moment as the mental game began. A glance at my watch tho and I saw I was at 1 hour 25 minutes. So I knew even three 10 minute miles and I'd break 2 hours. I slowed down and just took it one mile at a time. I paced a women just ahead of me and that seemed to distract the pain. I passed her, then she passed me at a water station w/ 1 1/2 miles to go. At that point I felt I wasn't going to cramp so I decided to push on. I passed her back. Finally the park entrance was in sight. I had one more person I thought I could catch. I did, right before the entrance to the park and that felt good! The last 2/10's was 3 hard left turns around the center of the park. I decided to sprint. Bad idea! Or too early anyway. I saw my Mom and my other sister and wanted to hold it together (altho I did mutter to my sister "I'm dying here") My niece proved to be my savior. She ran along side me and pushed me to the end. Actually I couldn't keep up (she's only 10!!!). But a look up the shoot and I saw 1:50! WOW I was pumped. I did it - I broke 2 hours!

I grabbed a Gatorade and immediately headed out to meet Denise. I waited at the 1 1/2 marker and than ran in with her and Andrea. I pushed them kind of hard. I figured if I made myself miserable I'd share the pain. Andrea wasn't happy during it but thanked me later. Andrea saw Denise through her rehab so I "let" them finish together (truth is I couldn't actually keep up at that point!). As soon as they were done we walked back another mile to meet Donna. She was joginng at a nice pace then needed a little break so we walked toghether a bit. When we reached the park I again pushed her to finish strong. She summoned all of her energy and the three of us crossed the line together!
What would you do differently?:

Maybe not do a 5 mile Turkey Trot at an 8 min mile pace 3 days before. I think that led to the tightness I felt.

The good news is by walking back 1.5 miles to meet Denise then 1 mile to meet Donna means I actually completed 18 miles! Maybe i can do a marathon :)!!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Free Beer! I like Florida! Plenty of pictures. My mom seemed as happy as us. Seeing three of her kids complete an event together made her proud as a peacock. The fact that it was her oldest (Donna), her youngest (Me) and one coming all the way back from a stroke made it even better.

Event comments:

Sapce Coast Runners put on a very nice event. We may make it an annual family get together. And Free Beer!

Though I get a different sense of exhiliration from completing tri's this will be hard to top. Doing it w/ family made it really special. The fact that I trained w/o injury, broke two hours, finished top 50% of my age group and pushed myself to limits previously unknown made it all the better. But even better than the personal achievements, I am immensely proud of my two sisters. What a great experience! Thank you Denise & Donna (you too Andrea!)




Last updated: 2005-11-30 12:00 AM
Running
01:50:18 | 13.1 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 40/26
Overall: 12/
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back along the shore. relatively flat. Beautiful views. Really nice course.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4