Kiawah Half Marathon: Round 3

Oh, Kiawah Half.

 

We used to have a great relationship. I loved you a lot but I've got to say... the last two years have been kind of rough. Not the entire 13.1 miles but you know... a good portion of them.

 

The beginning of the race is always great and always nothing but smiles and waves and thumbs up.

 

 

Mile 1 - 10:08/mile

It was 35 degrees at the start of the race and I was so pumped. Cold weather. Clear skies. I was well hydrated and well rested and well trained. I was ready! The first mile went by exceptionally fast and by the time we reached the awesome drummers at mile one, we were starting to settle into a good pace.

 

Mile 2 - 9:46/mile

Highlight of this mile? I started to feel my fingers thaw out a tiny bit and there was a guy dressed in a t-rex costume dancing on the corner of Kiawah Parkway and Governor's Drive. And then he road by on the bike path on a bike! Anyone who can wear one of those goofy t-rex costumes AND ride a bike gets major points in my book.
 

Mile 3 - 9:48/mile

Three miles? How did we get to three miles so fast? Only 3/4-ish left of the race to run!

 

Mile 4 - 9:36/mile

Cruuuuuising along, y'all, cruising along. I had finally gotten in front of the 2:15 pace group and had settled in right with the 2:10 pacers. I was feeling really good - not tired, not thirsty, not anything remotely bad. I was beginning to think that there might be a half marathon PR in my not too distant future.
 

Mile 5 - 9:30/mile

Still cruising! The guy dressed as a T-Rex was back at the corner of Governor's Drive and Flyway which made us all laugh. When the half marathon route turned right onto Flyway, the marathoners kept straight and headed out towards the Ocean Course. The roads got way less crowded and there was a little more running room for everyone.
 

Mile 6 - 9:43/mile

For every other mile, there was a half marathon mile marker and a time. In mile 6, we encountered a 13 mile marker and time {for the marathoners}. I passed by that marker at 1:05:01 and crossed over the timing mat. They measured out the courses well and the halfway point of both the half and the full marathon were right at the same place. That meant that at mile 6.5, I was right on track for finishing between 2:10 and 2:15 YES! People were also stopping here to take selfies with the mile 13 sign and the time because it looked like they had run 13 miles in just over an hour.

Mile 7 - 10:05/mile

Uh oh. Slowing down. Legs, what's the deal? You're a lot fresher on this portion of the course than you have been before {because it used to be mile 11} and hey, new scenery. We like new scenery. Get your act together.
 

Mile 8 - 10:40/mile

Ok, ok, I hear you hips/knees/calves/toes. You're not happy. I'll slow down. Just keep moving forward.
 

Mile 9 - 11:00/mile

I think it's safe to say that this is the mile where the wheels officially fell off. I had no clue what was going on but my legs did NOT want to run. At all. I started making deals with myself to run to a certain point and then walk for a second and then repeat.
 

Mile 10 - 11:59/mile

Eugenia Avenue! This is a street I know! Plus, my cheering crowd was there waiting for me. Granted, they were all drinking Bloody Marys and had no water for me...
 

"Hey! Water! Y'all got some water, right?! What do you mean NO WATER?!"
 

Unfortunately, no water, but at least there was some water about 50 yards past them at the next aid station.
 

Mile 11 - 12:40/mile

Whatever, Mile 11, whatever. As much as I loved the course change and running on new roads on the east side of the island... I did not love you.
 

Mile 12 - 13:50/mile

Ugh.
 

Not even going there. The wheels were totally off at this point.
 

Mile 13

Hey! I didn't stop to walk at all in this 0.1 mile portion of the race :)
 

There's always a great face at the end of the half marathon each year. There was the "I just want my mommy!" face of 2014. Then there was the "I hate my life right now" face of 2015. Want to know what I call this one?
 

The "Hey, P! I just ran my last half marathon ever because I am NEVER doing this again!" face.
 

That's all I could think about for the final two miles of the race. I enjoyed the first 9-10 miles of the race a lot. I love that distance. Give me all the 5Ks {that I set and broke plenty of PRs in this year} and the 6-10 mile distances {the distances where I had great training runs}. Skip the 13.1 miles.
 

Skip them all.
 

It's baffling to me that I have only gotten slower over the last couple of races compared to my first one in 2014. My training has all been faster and the conditions were oh so perfect for this year. I really, really thought I was going to be somewhere closer to 2:10.
 

Not, um, 2:25:41.
 

I hate even typing that out. I missed all of my goals by such a long shot. Every single one of them. It's so frustrating to have a bad race after you have a bunch of great training runs and when you have absolutely ideal and perfect running conditions on race day. This one is going to take awhile to let go.
 

Highlights after the race: we got to see this super cute {newly!} engaged couple! Courtney ran the half, too.
 

And Cameron and I totally survived. We made it the 13.1 miles.
 

 

But the best part might have been the Chicken Bog that Patrick and my dad cooked for us after the race. Or the shirt that I finally got in the right size. Or that medal. Because I really liked the medals and t-shirts this year.
 

So what's next?
 

A 5K this Saturday to boost my running ego a little bit. Plus, I've found a few 10K and 15K races in Columbia later this winter/early next spring that I'd really like to run since that seems to be the best distance for me at the moment.
 

As for the half marathon?
 

I've learned to never say never but right now, I'm not feeling it.