Race Report: GHS "Swamp Rabbit" Half Marathon

Pre-Race:

8 weeks of 5K training + 12 weeks of half marathon training got me here! Friday evening, I checked the weather forecast and then tried to figure out what to wear for a 2½ hour run (temperature range was 33° - 48°). I decided to wear capris, a long-sleeve tee under a short-sleeve tee, a pullover, gloves and hat. I also had two carb boom gels (apple cinnamon flavor). I set my alarm for 5 am and went to bed at 9:30 pm but I didn't really sleep much, I tossed and turned all night long. I left my house at 5:40 am and arrived at the race start (Gateway Park in Traveler's Rest) at 6:30 am. I got my bib number then sit in my car to stay warm until 7:10 am where I got in line for the porta potty then headed to the start line. I found a spot near the back knowing that I was going to be using run 5 minutes / walk 1 minute intervals. Plus I didn't care what my time would be as it would be an instant PR since this was my first half marathon so there was no point in slowing down those actually there to "race".

 

The Race:

At 7:31 am, we were off. I quickly settled into a very easy pace knowing the first 2 miles would be my warm up. The first 4 walk breaks were hard, simply because I really didn't want to take them, but I knew they would pay off later on and sure enough they did! The first two miles were done and over with before I even realized it and to my surprise I was actually able to keep a sub 11 min/mile pace for almost 8 miles. It didn't even feel like I was running that fast but it had to be the most enjoyable 8 miles I have ever run!

Then during mile 9 everything changed. My right calf just cramped up unexpectedly. It hurt like hell and if you ever had a charlie horse you know how bad they hurt. It stops you dead in your tracks until you can stretch and massage it out and that's exactly what I had to do. I stopped on the side of the trail and stretched it out as best as I could. It sort of made me angry because I was doing way better than I had ever dreamed of and was feeling so great up until then.

[caption id="attachment_1890" align="alignright" width="224"] Finishing the GHS Half Marathon with a smile on my face![/caption]

Miles 10, 11 and 12 were brutal and it was all I could do to maintain run 2 minutes / walk 1 minute intervals. I was in so much pain but at the same time I was determined to finish and wasn't going to let a leg cramp prevent me from doing just that. Once I got to the top of the hill near the baseball stadium and headed down Markley St, I got a surge of adrenaline...maybe I was excited that I was so close with a little over a mile remaining or maybe it was the fact I wasn't the only one hurting. I could tell the girls and the one guy around me was hurting too. So I ignored the pain and just ran. I didn't care how slow I was going, I just wanted to keep running to take advantage of this slight downhill knowing there was one final hill left and I was pretty sure I would have to walk up it.

Once I turned the corner onto McBee Ave and actually could see the finish line, I couldn't help but smile. When I did, it was like the pain just disappeared and I just gave it everything I had left (which wasn't much) and crossed the finishing line at 2:32:00. My husband was there waiting for me at the finish and he was able to capture a few pics.

[caption id="attachment_1891" align="alignnone" width="300"] Finished the GHS Half Marathon![/caption]

Final Thoughts about the Race

Would I do this race again? Maybe but only if I get the same DealChicken.com (similar to Groupon) deal. To me, it just wasn't worth $70 and I'm so glad I only paid $35. Here are my reasons:

1. They ran out of water at 3 of the 6 water stations but luckily there was water at the two I needed the most...around mile 5 and 10 (right after I had consumed a gel). But I'm used to running up to an hour without water so it didn't really affect me all that much.


2. There were no technical t-shirts left by the time I finished (you got them at the finish, not during packet picket on race morning). Nor did they have any smalls left in the remaining cotton tees so I just got an XL for my husband. He can wear it mowing grass or whatever.


3. Where was the food? I was wanting a banana or some sort of fruit but all I saw were cheez-its and chips. Really? Maybe I missed the food table but my calf was hurting and I sure as heck didn't feel like walking around looking for the food table.

I did confirm one thing though. I find sprint triathlons way more fun than half marathons and probably won't be doing another half marathon anytime soon. I love local charity 5Ks and 10Ks so I'll keep doing those between triathlons but running for 2+ hours just isn't my thing. Still I'm happy I was finally able to finish one and it's one more thing I can't mark off my bucket list.