Surftown Half Marathon
Surftown Half Marathon, Misquamicut, RI Sept 10, 2017
So this recap reads more like a “Dear Diary” than it reads like a race review. I knew going in that it wasn't going to be my best race- this has been a very tough year for me on multiple levels- the stress from work has been more than I ever thought it would be, I've battle with insomnia, had to change my work schedule(which has turned out for the better, because its let me run outside more), my body has change in shape, which hasn't helped my confidence one bit.
That's just the short of it, but to say that its impacted my running is an understatement. While I haven't skipped workouts, I've seen my average pace get slower and slower and slower, despite it becoming more and more of a struggle. My goal for Surftown had been for this to be a nice tune-up race for Hartford, with the thought being that after a summer of speedwork, and strength and endurance workouts, that I would be ready to have a speedier half than I had seen in a while, and I could get a better feeling for what could be a realistic goal for Hartford for myself.
So I went into this race knowing that what little speedwork I had attempted had resulted in me getting a few 400m workouts that almost made it to a 7:30 pace, as opposed to last summer, when those repeats were at 6:40, and long runs were supposed to be 8:40, and I was most often faster than that. Fast forward to this summer, doing a strength workout at 7:30 was a thing of dreams, I could barely hit miles at 8:15, and marathon tempo workouts were most often happening at 8:45, and those were pretty painful. And more mornings than not, breaking 9 min miles was significant effort. I know that still seems fast, but I wish I could relay how utterly exhausting it all was.
So anyway, race morning: its actually a great day for racing- there's a breeze, sun isn't too terribly bright, which is great, because I didn't realize until I got down there that the case I thought had my racing(vented) sunglasses had a pair of everyday(not vented) sunglasses in them, so I was visor or bust, and I often still use sunglasses even with a visor. It was upper 50's which is nice for racing. Got there with not as much time as I like, because they were only letting cars in through one entry into the parking lot, so quite a line, and I only made it a few minutes before packet pickup was supposed to end, but I got there. Got my bib, my spiffy tshirt, and then a quick potty stop before time to line up. Since I was being generally unreasonable and not willing to acknowledge just how out of shape I was, I decided to line up with the 1:40 pacers. Usual pre-race festivities, and then we were off!
Course heads out Atlantic Ave, which is nice and flat, so I could almost pretend I was keeping up with the pace group, but as we headed into the first lollipop, they started pulling away, and that was the last I saw of them. The breeze was nice along the ocean, and actually kept up through the neighborhood, and looking at all the construction on the houses was interesting, and kept my brain away from the fact that my legs already hurt, and I was already thirsty.
Coming back in along Atlantic Ave, I tried to grab two cups at the stops to hlpe with the thirsty feeling, but it only just too the edge off. This section here is the toughest part of the race- we run back along the parking lot and the start line, and my now my food was rubbing, I was getting shooting pains up the calf that had both the achilles tendonitis and the calf problem a couple years ago, so much so that I thought about DNF-ing. But I am a stupid stubborn mule, and I should have taken a picture of the blisters and swelling that resulted from me not stopping.
But now we are past there, and no going back now. We wind out through some other neighborhoods, and out to Rt 1A to connect with Watch Hill Rd for our little jaunt into Watch Hill. This is the hillier part of the course, although what I have always perceived as the big hill didn't seem as big this year. Down so more hills, and then onto the last straightaway before the windies that will bring us back Atlantic Ave, and the finish line. Its tough through here, my foot hurts so terribly much, and I'm trying not to cry, and I'm really hating that I'm having such a terrible time at a race I love so much, and I'm really angry that the things I hate most in my life are the things affecting the things I love most, and how terribly unfair that all is. So basically, this was 13.1 miles of pity party.
Finally, the last couple turns, and I'm on the straightaway to the finish. I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a finish line, like, ever. I finished, grabbed my medal, a bottle of water, and headed back to my car and left. No pictures, just a whole lot of sad, and a whole lot of effort to keep it all together. This race had made me realize just how much I need to find a different balance in my life, because this isn't working. I either need to lower my running expectations for myself, or I need to find a way to make some other things work for me. So hopefully at some point, I'm writing something a little happier.
Final status:
1:46:19
163/1067 overall, 61/680 women, 14/95 F35-39