I had been waiting for this race for
quite a while. Having registered in March, the Richmond Marathon
seemed so far in the future. I actually registered for this half
marathon prior to running my first one in April. After the
Charlottesville half marathon, I backed off my weekend long runs
through the summer. I wanted to be able to spend more time with the
family on the weekends and I didn’t have any long distance races in
the near future. I told myself that I would start back with my longer
runs when the Richmond race got close. Well sometimes life gets in
the way. Between the Virginia 10 Miler in September and the Richmond
race, I managed to only get one 8 mile or longer run completed. Even
though I was still putting in 20 to 25 miles a week, I didn’t feel
like I was as prepared for my second half marathon as I was for my
first.
To make matters even more complicated,
after reading “Born to Run”, I decided that I needed to tweak my
running form. I wanted to stop being such a “heel striker” and
run more on my forefoot. I haven’t really discussed this change
with anyone. It has been something I have been slowly doing on my
daily runs. I first started running with my “new” form for the
first 10 minutes of my runs. Once the soreness in my calves wore off,
I made myself go add a few more minutes of my changed running style.
I built up the ability to run on the balls of my feet for my entire 4
mile treadmill runs. My legs didn’t agree with my new running
style, but the soreness finally went away and my legs have never felt
stronger. Just a couple weeks ago, I ran a 8 mile run in Bedford
while exclusively using my new form. Even though I was able to do
the 8 miles, I knew my legs were not going to be able to handle the
new form for 13.1 miles. So I didn’t know exactly “how” I was
going to mix my two running styles in order to make the full half
marathon in Richmond.
With these two issues weighing heavy
on my mind, the family and I set off to Richmond for the weekend.
Since I knew we had to travel and pick up my race packet on Friday, I
went ahead and took a day of vacation to give us plenty of time. Our
friend Haley was nice enough to let us crash at her house in Richmond
for the weekend. This allowed us to save a lot of money on our travel
plans. So after sleeping for a couple hours on an air mattress and a
few more hours on a couch, my alarm went off at 6:00 AM on Saturday
morning. I jumped right out of bed, got dressed, and ate my normal
pre-run breakfast of a banana and Nutella on a slice of wheat bread.
Haley was also nice enough to wake up early and drop me off near the
race’s starting line.
By 7:15, I had made my way to my
starting group “C”. I still had 19 minutes until my wave started
the race, but I knew I wanted to go ahead and get a spot before it
got really crowded. The next 19 minutes seemed to take forever. The
combination of nerves, cold temperatures, and anticipation didn’t
make the time go by any faster. Finally at 7:30, the first wave of
half marathoners was released and we started walking closer to the
start line. From this point on, my nerves seemed to calm down and I
was able to start enjoying the experience. At 7:34, I was off!
The first few miles were straightest,
flattest miles I have ever run. I was excited about this race because
of the lack of elevation change, but this was starting out more flat
than I could ever have imagined. The downside to the flat route was
the fact that I wanted to run faster than I should have been running.
After a quick check of my pace on my watch, I had to make myself back
down a little. I was running in the low 7 minute per mile pace and I
knew that was way too fast at this point. Even though I made myself
slow down my first mile was covered in 7 minutes and 53 seconds.
Seeing this time, I made myself slow down even more. I ignored the
other runners’ around me and started to enjoy the surrounds.
Running down Broad Street, there were plenty of things to see and
this helped me get through the next few miles.
After settling in on a good pace in
the 8 minute per mile range, the next few miles seemed to go by very
fast. Before I knew it, we were heading into Bryan Park. Somewhere in
the park would be the halfway mark and this gave me a really good
feeling. Around 55 minutes into my run, I started to eat the Gu gel
pack that I had in the pocket of my shorts. Thanks to my friend
Lindsey for providing me with a couple gel packs at the packet
pick-up area on Friday! I slowly finished off the gel pack over the
next mile of running. I don’t really like eating the gel packets,
but I knew it would help me finish the last few miles strong.
Through the entire course of the race,
I passed a number of special needs people being pushed in large
strollers. There were teams of 4-5 people taking turns pushing these
individuals through the entire half marathon course. The names of the
riders were written on poster board and hung on the side of their
rides. The combination of the bravery these individuals showed by
taking part in the race and the determination of the team of runners
helping these people was very inspiring. It was very hard for me to
feel sorry for myself 8 miles into a race when possessed the physical
ability to run. I made sure to encourage each of the riders by name
and also say a few words of encouragement to all the running teams.
Seeing these groups of people working together to bring someone else
so much enjoyment was very moving. It was truly one of the most
inspiring parts of the entire race.
The extraordinary people were not only
limited to the runners and riders taking part in the race. There were
countless numbers of bystanders that were very encouraging. There
were many shouts and cheers that helped keep my feet moving. There
were also many creative signs with various phrases and messages. Of
course I cannot remember most of them now! I do remember one lady
holding up a sign that read, “Hit here for extra energy”. I
definitely switched sides of the road just to hit her sign. It didn’t
work, but at least it took my mind off running for a few seconds.
Around mile 10, I hit a wall! I knew
it was coming. I had set a very fast pace for myself and it had
finally caught up with me. I didn’t have any pains anywhere, I was
just fatigued. I was having a hard time keeping my feet turning over
like they were for the first 10 miles. I knew if I wanted to post the
time I was shooting for, I needed to keep my pace the same as it had
been all race. I knew the last half mile of the race was downhill to
Brown’s Island, so I just kept telling myself that there was only a
little bit left. Rounding one of the final turns, there was a gospel
band going to town on a stage just off the course. This was very
uplifting and their Godly words of encouragement were just what I
needed.
Before I knew it, I was heading
downhill! The end was near and I tried to finish strong. The downhill
section was more difficult that I had imagined though. My top half
wanted to go faster than my bottom half could muster. So I had this
feeling that I was going to fall on my face! I finally found a
comfortable speed to maintain as the finish line came into sight. I
had done it! I come across the line in 1 hour 49 minutes and 33
seconds. My time was just under the 1:50, which was my goal. I was
very excited about reaching the goal I had set for myself even though
I didn’t put in the training I had wanted to do. I was able to run
about 75% of the race with my new running form. I had to revert to
some bad running form a few times because my calf muscles were
beginning to get very tight.
After making it to Brown’s Island, I
quickly found the food. I must eat right away after long runs or I
will get light headed very quickly. I was able to get a banana and a
slice of Papa John’s pizza in my system. I had not seen Anna and
the boys at the finish line. So I was trying to keep an eye out for
them. After about 15 minutes, I was starting to get pretty cold from
my wet clothes. I decided to make my way to the bag pick-up area and
get my dry clothes and cell phone. I was finally able to call Anna
and they ended up being less than a block away. We went back to
Brown’s Island and enjoyed some more food and music.
The Richmond
Marathon has been coined as “America's Friendliest Marathon”.
After my experience this past weekend, I believe that is a valid
description. Whether it was the volunteers, the bystanders, or the
other runners, everyone was very hospitable and encouraging.
Hopefully I will be able to take part in this race weekend again in
the future. Now it is on to the next race for me. I just have to
figure out what that race is going to be.
