The Longest Mile

I came into Saturday's race with very high expectations, yet I was expecting nothing. I had five goals in place, but I know this is a very tough course, so these goals were set just to have goals, because as you know, you have to have goals.

I am a creature of habits, I have routines and I deviate little from them. Especially on race days.

Woke up at 4:01 am. This is also a habit. Spent some quiet, alone time while getting dressed, just to start processing the upcoming half marathon.

Along with my wife Monica, who was also running this race, we were off at 4:41am. It would be about a two hour drive. We arrived at 6:48.

The Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, TN in my estimate, is one of the toughest half marathons around, it boasts, again in my opinion, the longest mile of any race in our neck of the woods. This would be my fourth year. Apparently I have very short pain memory. Last year my time was 2:01:26. My first goal this year would be to beat this time.

I have not kept count of how many half marathons I've ran. Too many to remember. A sub-2 hour finish time has been achieved only a handful of times; twice, maybe three times. My second goal was to run sub-2. On this course, it would be a stretch.

I'm in the 60-64 age group. This race draws its lion's share of fast old guys. Last year I came in 9th out of 20. Middle of the pack, average for me. Goal number three was to improve in this.

I would go in holding a personal best, a PR if you will, of 1:57:51. Goal number four would be the biggest one of all. A new PR.

Each of the last three years, regardless of how much "hill" training I had done, I found myself walking up some of "whiskey hill". Goal five would be the toughest, I thought. To make it all the way without walking. This one worried me the most.

The day was a bit chilly but sunny. Perfect running weather. A field of 1293 (finishers) stepped up to the line and at gun time, the temperature had just reached 50ºF. There was no wind. There were no clouds.

I staged myself at the back side of the 9:00/mile group. Not sure why, but that's where I landed. As it turned out, it was perfect, well... almost. The first couple of miles I found myself weaving through the crowd. My pace was faster than I wanted it to be, but since I warmed up before the race, I knew I would be okay. Once we approached mile 3, this is where the field began to thin out. This is where the road begins to rise, en-route to mile 4 and the infamous "Whiskey Hill".

At the top of the hill I remember thinking how grateful and blessed I am for having a strong heart, or rather how I was glad it didn't fail me half way up. It didn't take long for my heart rate to get back to a normal (because 180 is not normal) and for me to re-find my happy pace.

The rest of the race was smooth. I kept a very constant pace, something I have been working on very diligently lately. It paid off big time.

Goal No. 1 ~ Finish Time: 1:54:24 is 7:02 faster than last year. Check.
Goal No. 2 ~ Finish sub-2 hrs. Check.
Goal No. 3 ~ 6th out of 29 in Age Group. Two place improvement in a field 30% larger. Check.
Goal No. 4 ~ Finish time equals new PR. Check
Goal No. 5 ~ Conquered "Whiskey Hill" (no walking). Check.

Next on my schedule is the ADPi triathlon. It is a short distance, sprint triathlon. It will be my first tri in over 18 months. The expectation builds. After that I have a date with Ragnar Tennessee and the the Hillbilly Half Marathon (formerly The Franklin Half). There are a couple of other races on my radar, but nothing has been cemented yet. Well, except of course The Marine Corps Marathon.

Biggest challenge facing me going forward is to remain true to my training. I cannot allow progress to be hindered by wide eyes and unnecessary pushing.

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About This Year's Race Plan

I am a person of meticulous planning.  Yes, I have to have my goals well documented in order to execute them properly.  My race schedule is no different.  It is with this in mind, that all of the "big" races for 2013 have already been selected.

Starting off, early in the year, on January 12 & 13 I will travel to Walt Disney World to do Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge.  For those that are not familiar with this race, it's a Half Marathon (WDWHalf) on Saturday and a Full Marathon (WDWFull) on Sunday.  It's a repeat for me, I was here in 2010.  My wife Monica will be joining me for the Half on Saturday, My brother Hernando will be there for both races.

On March 16th, we (both, my wife and I) will be traveling to our Nation's Capital to run the Rock 'N Roll USA Nation's Capital Half Marathon.

April 16th brings me to Lynchburg, TN to run the Oak Barrel 13.1, one of the most popular Half Marathons in Middle TN.  My daughter Juliana will be running this one as well.  I'm thinking the popularity of the sponsor has something to do with this... maybe?!

The first triathlon of the year takes me to the Rev3 Knoxville on May 5th.  This one is a bit special for me because my oldest daughter, Juliana will be racing this one.  This will be her first triathlon. Ever.  She's a runner and has decided to follow mom and dad into the world of triathlons.  We're so proud of her.   I'm in for the Half Iron Distance, she's in for the Olympic Distance.

August 5th brings us... and I say "us" because it looks like in this one, my wife, daughter and myself will be racing the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Benton Harbor, MI.  It has not been determined yet if the wife and daughter will be collaborating in the "relay" or if they're venturing into the 70.3 arena.  My bet is on both doing the whole thing solo.

And last but not least, I will finish the year with the New York City Marathon.  I was scheduled to run it in 2012 but because of Sandy and the eventual cancellation, I deferred my entry and took the automatic option for 2013.

There may be a race added here and there, mostly short distance races 5k, 10k's or Sprint Tri's.  Decisions on these will be left probably to the last minute.

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