I am very late in writing this report on the Tobacco Road Half. My excuse is it's been a very busy 2010 so far! The Tobacco Road Half was actually my first race of 2010 and last race in the "under 40" age group. I was supposed to run another race in 2010 before this one, the Myrtle Beach Half. But as luck would have it, that race was snowed out. I did manage to get out there and run about 8 miles on the morning of the cancelled race and even attended the after party where I picked up my not so well deserved medal. All in all it was still a fun weekend despite the race not happening. I was very impressed by just how many runners didn't let a little thing like the race being cancelled stop them from having fun. There was a great sense of camaraderie out there that morning, I only wish I had run the entire half marathon course because I felt like a slacker when I heard that some ran the entire full marathon course anyway.
Ok, but back to the Tobacco Road Half....
I had been training for that race by running part of the course a few times. Still I was nervous since I hadn't been putting in the miles overall and also hadn't run a race since Dec 2009. But I was excited to run a new local race like this one, especially with so many other RTR and other running friends also doing it. The kids and Keith were away for that weekend. Though the race wasn't very far away, I got up extra early so I could carpool from Tracy's house near Thomas Brooks Park, where the race starts and ends. We packed two cars full with five people in each (a tight fit in the Jeep Wrangler for sure!) and made our way to the park. It was quite crowded and the port a potty lines were very long, so long in fact that I knew I'd never make it to the front in time. So I used what little woods and remaining cover of early AM darkness to my advantage and then ran over to the starting line to get a good spot.
I decided to start near the front by the 1:40 pace group. That was the fastest one for the half and while I figured I wouldn't run with them, since I always prefer to do my own thing, I figured it would be a good place to line up. Alexis started where I did but everyone else must have lined up farther back. The mayor of Cary announced the race start and we were off running pretty quickly. I started at a pretty fast but comfortable pace. About 1 mile or so in, a crazy guy who lives on the the road the race runs along, who clearly had somewhere important to be, sped out of his driveway directly in front of the pack of runners just in front of me. He's lucky he didn't hit anyone and he didn't get a warm reception for pulling that crazy stunt. But it certainly got the adrenaline going early on!
This first leg of the race is just under 3 miles and consists of rolling hills until you get to the Tobacco Trail. This is where the half and full marathons split and the half goes right and full goes left. I was pleasantly surprised to be cheered on by a friend from RTR, Randy, at this point. It was so nice to see some familiar faces at this race. You can't get that when you are far from home. I started to feel tired and a bit intimidated the minute we hit the trail. It's just strange to race there for me. I could only see a few runners ahead of me and heard the crunching of the fine gravel/dirt trail with every step. Very different than a road race for sure.
By mile 6 or so, I ended up running next to an older gentleman who was keeping the pace pretty well. He seemed to be really enjoying the day and chatting with folks here and there. After getting to about mile 7, the front runners started to head towards us and they were staying to the right instead of following the signs that said to stay left. It was at that point that I knew the older gentleman running near me was actually one of the race founders since he began immediately to redirect the runners and volunteers (sometimes very passionately!). He even ran back to ensure things were all fixed. I commended him later on his leadership skills as I passed him going the other direction after I hit the turnaround at mile 8. Even with doubling back I later found out he didn't finish very far behind me! Also later found out he'd run Boston several times.
I was very happy to hit mile 8 and turn around but quickly realized that as cool as it was to know a lot of people in the race it was also a bit distracting to be running in the opposite direction of them and saying hi while you are starting to get tired. By mile 9 I had had enough of the trail part of the course and was looking forward to a change in scenery. Plus by that time the crowd heading North on the trail was very large and there was too little space for those now heading South. I felt I was nearly being run off the road a few times. I kept saying to myself that all would improve at mile 10 when we'd make the left (thus the need to keep left and not right) onto the road again. It was nice to see some RTR friends manning the aid stations along the way. Dan was at mile 6 and 10 and Brandy, Kristine and Heiko were at the "unofficial" aid station which I did not partake of since I was struggling enough without adding beer to the mix!
I was very relieved to finally make that left turn back onto the road. But while the change in scenery was good, the uphill climb was not so good. I was pretty tired at point after maintaining about a 7:15 pace up until then. I was running out of steam and knew the course enough to know the 3 miles that remained were going to be challenging. Just as I started my climb, an older but extremely fit woman who had been running near me on and off during the race steadily moved ahead of me. I knew I was slowing down and would just not be able to stay with her.
By mile 11 I was so ready to be done, but unfortunately had 2.1 miles to go! I knew that Mike, another RTR friend, would be at the mile 12 aid station and it felt like that was so far away. I just kept plugging along knowing that my pace had slowed a lot in those last miles. As I passed mile 12 however I felt a bit more energized at the though of having only one more to go. The best feeling was rounding the left turn onto Green Hope School Road. Somewhere at or before that a guy said to me that I'd be in the top 25 women if I could pick off 2 more. Unfortunately I knew I did not have that in me and at that point was just trying to finish for time. I knew it would not be a PR but it wasn't bad at all. Of course the second half was slower than the first so no negative splits that day. But I did give it a good sprint at the end and finished 27th overall of 1261 women in a time of 1:37:15. I was 7th of 294 women in my age group. This was the second best half marathon ever for me.
I met up with my group at then end and we went back to Tracy's place for breakfast and to clean up. It was a great race and a fun day. Several RTR friends also completed the full marathon that day. I am not sure I'd be able to do that one, the half took enough out of me. Still I was very pleased with my time. It was a good way to end my last race before entering the "masters" group.
Next stop...Boston! I found it hard to believe at the time that it was only a short month away.
Ok, but back to the Tobacco Road Half....
I had been training for that race by running part of the course a few times. Still I was nervous since I hadn't been putting in the miles overall and also hadn't run a race since Dec 2009. But I was excited to run a new local race like this one, especially with so many other RTR and other running friends also doing it. The kids and Keith were away for that weekend. Though the race wasn't very far away, I got up extra early so I could carpool from Tracy's house near Thomas Brooks Park, where the race starts and ends. We packed two cars full with five people in each (a tight fit in the Jeep Wrangler for sure!) and made our way to the park. It was quite crowded and the port a potty lines were very long, so long in fact that I knew I'd never make it to the front in time. So I used what little woods and remaining cover of early AM darkness to my advantage and then ran over to the starting line to get a good spot.
I decided to start near the front by the 1:40 pace group. That was the fastest one for the half and while I figured I wouldn't run with them, since I always prefer to do my own thing, I figured it would be a good place to line up. Alexis started where I did but everyone else must have lined up farther back. The mayor of Cary announced the race start and we were off running pretty quickly. I started at a pretty fast but comfortable pace. About 1 mile or so in, a crazy guy who lives on the the road the race runs along, who clearly had somewhere important to be, sped out of his driveway directly in front of the pack of runners just in front of me. He's lucky he didn't hit anyone and he didn't get a warm reception for pulling that crazy stunt. But it certainly got the adrenaline going early on!
This first leg of the race is just under 3 miles and consists of rolling hills until you get to the Tobacco Trail. This is where the half and full marathons split and the half goes right and full goes left. I was pleasantly surprised to be cheered on by a friend from RTR, Randy, at this point. It was so nice to see some familiar faces at this race. You can't get that when you are far from home. I started to feel tired and a bit intimidated the minute we hit the trail. It's just strange to race there for me. I could only see a few runners ahead of me and heard the crunching of the fine gravel/dirt trail with every step. Very different than a road race for sure.
By mile 6 or so, I ended up running next to an older gentleman who was keeping the pace pretty well. He seemed to be really enjoying the day and chatting with folks here and there. After getting to about mile 7, the front runners started to head towards us and they were staying to the right instead of following the signs that said to stay left. It was at that point that I knew the older gentleman running near me was actually one of the race founders since he began immediately to redirect the runners and volunteers (sometimes very passionately!). He even ran back to ensure things were all fixed. I commended him later on his leadership skills as I passed him going the other direction after I hit the turnaround at mile 8. Even with doubling back I later found out he didn't finish very far behind me! Also later found out he'd run Boston several times.
I was very happy to hit mile 8 and turn around but quickly realized that as cool as it was to know a lot of people in the race it was also a bit distracting to be running in the opposite direction of them and saying hi while you are starting to get tired. By mile 9 I had had enough of the trail part of the course and was looking forward to a change in scenery. Plus by that time the crowd heading North on the trail was very large and there was too little space for those now heading South. I felt I was nearly being run off the road a few times. I kept saying to myself that all would improve at mile 10 when we'd make the left (thus the need to keep left and not right) onto the road again. It was nice to see some RTR friends manning the aid stations along the way. Dan was at mile 6 and 10 and Brandy, Kristine and Heiko were at the "unofficial" aid station which I did not partake of since I was struggling enough without adding beer to the mix!
I was very relieved to finally make that left turn back onto the road. But while the change in scenery was good, the uphill climb was not so good. I was pretty tired at point after maintaining about a 7:15 pace up until then. I was running out of steam and knew the course enough to know the 3 miles that remained were going to be challenging. Just as I started my climb, an older but extremely fit woman who had been running near me on and off during the race steadily moved ahead of me. I knew I was slowing down and would just not be able to stay with her.
By mile 11 I was so ready to be done, but unfortunately had 2.1 miles to go! I knew that Mike, another RTR friend, would be at the mile 12 aid station and it felt like that was so far away. I just kept plugging along knowing that my pace had slowed a lot in those last miles. As I passed mile 12 however I felt a bit more energized at the though of having only one more to go. The best feeling was rounding the left turn onto Green Hope School Road. Somewhere at or before that a guy said to me that I'd be in the top 25 women if I could pick off 2 more. Unfortunately I knew I did not have that in me and at that point was just trying to finish for time. I knew it would not be a PR but it wasn't bad at all. Of course the second half was slower than the first so no negative splits that day. But I did give it a good sprint at the end and finished 27th overall of 1261 women in a time of 1:37:15. I was 7th of 294 women in my age group. This was the second best half marathon ever for me.
I met up with my group at then end and we went back to Tracy's place for breakfast and to clean up. It was a great race and a fun day. Several RTR friends also completed the full marathon that day. I am not sure I'd be able to do that one, the half took enough out of me. Still I was very pleased with my time. It was a good way to end my last race before entering the "masters" group.
Next stop...Boston! I found it hard to believe at the time that it was only a short month away.
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