Platte River Half Recap

I got up at 6:40 and had half a bagel with pb and a glass of water while I checked the weather report. Predicted was an overcast day with a high of 41* during the race. Too cold for a tank top and shorts.

I got to the race site an hour early with enough time to tape my feet, mount my bib number and chip, check my shoes and running fuel. As an added precautionary measure I also wore smartwool cushioned socks to protect my feet from the pounding. I followed that up with a short warm up of no more then a 10 min jog around and some drills. By this time the sun started to shine as well, the temps were debatable warm enough to go with selves and shorts but I decided to keep the wind pants and Under Armour on. Id rather be hot than cold on a run.



The race stared promptly at 9am and I had good position in the middle of wave 1 (of 3 waves), standing next to a few familiar faces including some of my other Runners Roost teammates (of whom I knew were going to smoke me in this race). My race plan was as follows:

Go out no faster then 7:25 first mile
Hit 8 miles under an hour
22 min final 5k

Drink water at mile 4
water, Gel, and Powerade at mile 6
water mile 8
Powerade mile 10



I didn't deviate from that plan all that much, but like in any race, there are always factors out of your control that you can not plan for. I went out out at 7:14 pace the first mile, really smooth and controlled. So most of that pace must have been due to the amount of downhill inclination. At about 800m in I had a twinge in my left hip flexor and feared that I had pulled it due to my limited warm up but I was able to take a few leaps on the fly and stretch it out enough that the pain went away. In mile 2 not much changed, we traded windy streets for the windy Platte River Path again @7:17 pace. Waiting at the conclusion of this mile was the first water station which was run by Runners Roost volunteers, where I did take a small sip to wet my mouth/lips and tried to slap some high fives without getting too excited. After all I had a lot of race left to run at this point.

With no major problems I settled into a 7:25 pace and marched on. I tried to tuck behind people when I could and stay out of the strong headwind. I stuck to the plan alternating water and Powerade at each stop (however they were not at every 2 mile mark so at some points I was getting a bit dehydrated). At 2 of the stops I actually walked a few steps in order to take in more fluids without making myself choke, it truly is the best method as long as you can get yourself moving back at pace afterwords.

I passed through the 8 mile mark under an hour and I knew I was going to be able to finish, I was on pace for a strong half marathon debut of 1:36. However, my legs grew tired at @9 miles, neck got stiff and my feet hurt but a lot less then they had during my longer training runs. Mile 9 has a mental barrier associated with it (which I was successful in overcoming in training runs), its the mile marker where I stopped and withdrew from the race in the Syracuse 70.3 (click here to read why.)
At @10.5 miles I really started to fall apart, I slowed as my legs grew heavy and each stride was a fight against the wind and foot pain. My training buddy Chris had finally caught up to me, we conversed a little and I just couldn't hang on with him. I swear as the miles increased, so did the wind! My bare minimum half marathon SLR training just didn't take into account the extra energy needed for this added factor.

Mile 12 was a great sight but it brought the only uphill portion of the downhill race, a 1000m overpass. I barely had enough left in the tank to take this hill, and I probably could have walked faster then I was running. I overcame the last obstacle and just like my finish at the Virginia Beach 8k I made the last turn, opened up my stride and finished like a champ.



Other then the wind I think it was a great course. I was surprised to see so many fans out there on the path and the volunteers did a great job at the water stations, esp. the Roost Volunteers! I was happy that I didn't have any stomach issues, I didn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, I didn't feel light headed and my foot blisters weren't nearly as bad as I thought they were going to be. I could still walk. Just a year ago my longest run was around 3-4 miles and now I'm a half marathon finisher. Its a long race, and great personal accomplishment but I'm not sure that this distance is ideal for me. Only time will tell though as I progress into a hardened endurance athlete and continue my switch over from pole vaulter.




The day after my knees/ankles were really sore and my quads had a dull soreness. Weak legs, I wouldn't even think of taking a run/jog but I did get into the pool.

Two days after my quads were even more sore, my knees were fine but my systems were a bit shaken up. Just like a few days after my 70.3 I found that my bladder had no capacity at all. At least I'm hydrated.



Coming up: Its time to start tri training, I have 7 Weeks till my first sprint Tri. Next race is 5/1 the Cherry Creek Sneak 5 miler.

Mile Splits:

1. 7:14
2. 14:28
3. 21:46
4.
5.
6. 44:25
7.
8. 58:18
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
13.1= 1:41:43
Over All Pace= 7:46

AG 43/137
Sex 176/893
OA 234/2235