Monday, April 4, 2016

Sarasota Half Marathon



March 13, 2016
Race morning started off with an hour less of sleep. It’s not a fun day when Daylight Savings Time begins on the morning of a race. I got up around 4:30 and was out the door by 5:30. It’s a local race, but parking is an issue and I wanted to make sure I got to the lot, across the street from the race, before it filled up. I hung out in my car for a bit, before Gina showed up. We then headed over to the start area. We hung out at the Fit2Run tent, before I went to use the porta-potties, then went ahead and got into the corral. I had about a 10 minute wait, but I wanted to get in there a little ahead of time, since it was a hassle to get into the crowded corral the year before.  Soon we were off!
The first little stretch is always very congested. Even though I was pretty far forward, there were still people ahead of me that I had to dodge around because they were walking or running much slower. Just before mile one, we make a right turn, heading towards the Ringling Bridge. I see Melissa off to the side, but I’m on the far left, so I don’t get a chance to say high. Over the bridge and then out to St Armand’s Circle. Ran a loop through the circle, before heading back over the bridge. This time, I was able to catch Melissa’s attention and grab a high five from her. Made the right turn on to 41 and headed back towards the stop. It’s always fun to run past the area where all the relay people are waiting for their runner. Miles 1 through 6 – 8:13, 8:36, 8:27, 8:39, 9:10, 8:50
We had a mile or so on the main road before making a left into the neighborhood west of Tamiami Trail. This is the new part of the course. In previous years, since they moved the start from the Ringling Museum to the Van Wezel, we have run a few miles up Tamiami Trail, before turning at the Museum and coming back to the finish through the neighborhood boarding the water. This new part of the course was so much better! My right calf has been feeling tight, but just before reaching the museum, it is really hurting. I stop and stretch and then have to stretch about every mile before reaching the finish! I was actually kind of worried I would pull something. It was so painful! I worked on keeping good form and not extending my stride, which seemed to help a bit. At least it took my mind of the pain. Once we reached the main road, I tried to speed it up again. Made the turn to the Van Wezel, then pushed it hard for the last stretch before reaching the finish line. Miles 7 through 13.1 - 9:05, 9:12, 9:22, 9:11, 9:15, 9:40, 9:07, 1:12
Finish - 1:58:05

Super happy with a sub 2 hour finish. Wish I could have run a faster race though. Need to work on getting my hip, hamstring and calf better!

No comments:

Post a Comment