Jacksonville Bank Half 2010

Last race of my thirties...

Well, my very first half was the Jacksonville Bank Half in 2007. I hated everything about it. It was hot and steamy (pouring down rain about an hour before), it was boring, etc. Now, with the benefit of time and experience, I can say that I was a bit too harsh.

Here's what really happened-- I had been relying on my Nike+ system for my times. According to my Nike+, I was blazing fast! The speed shown on my iPod usually was within a few seconds on my 5k times, so I decided I didn't need to calibrate it (as if I was going to find a track here!)

A few days before the half, I decided I was a bigshot runner now, and I needed a Garmin. I proudly marched outside ready to record my super speedy training runs (even at a relaxed pace, I was clocking 8:00 minute miles on my Nike+). I quickly learned that the Garmin, with it's constant communication with three satellites, was totally wrong! Or perhaps, my $25.00 Nike+ plug in thing wasn't entirely accurate. And by not entirely accurate, I mean it was off my pace by about 2-3 minutes per mile. (It's still a mystery why it was correct when I was running in races). Yeah, my little world was shattered.

I went into the Jacksonville Bank Half fully convinced that my Garmin was wrong. After a totally sleepless night, I took off from the start at 8:00 minute miles- cause I was capable of that pace... Bad idea. Sure I was capable of 8:00 minute miles, but only for about 3 miles. The other 10 proved to be a problem. Somewhere around the turn around at mile 7, I started walking. Waves of people passed me. It was beyond dreadful. I dragged in, but I was not happy.(And that's when I learned you should always be signed up for another race in the future so that you can get past the gut reaction of "I will never, ever run again!") Did I mention that my horrible PF first made itself known around mile 7?! No exaggeration, it took me almost 20 minutes to walk into the hotel from the bus stop. I was so naive, I just assumed that I should hurt after running (sort of) 13.1 miles. That ultimately led to the pain and suffering for 26.2 miles during the Goofy, but that's a whole other story.

So I pretty much told everyone who would listen (mostly my running friend, Becky) that I hated the Jacksonville Half.

Now of course, I know that was horribly unfair.

Skip to 2010. This was my third race in three months, and would qualify me to join the Half Fanatics group.

I got up early the morning of the race and drove down to Jacksonville (while listening to a talk radio show where the guest was describing his past life as a horse). Packet pickup was easy. I parked in one of the neighborhoods, but noted the directions on my iPhone. It was yet another cold day. I went with black shorts, a long sleeve bright red shirt, an old jacket, and a Santa Hat (over my running hat). I'm getting dangerously close to the category of "costumed runners"- this frightens me (and my 11 year old).

The starting area is nice- over by the Bolles School. Lots of real bathrooms, which ranks high on my list of good things. Cute shirt too- bonus! I unfortunately listened to a couple of runners in the bathroom line who decided to wear jackets. I knew it was right on the line, but decided to keep mine- until I started getting really hot around mile 3. I left my favorite jacket (truth be told, it should have been retired long ago) and never saw it again...

You run on some busy streets (lane blocked off) and then in and out of neighborhoods. I recognized some spots from my first race, which I thought was funny because I can never remember the route. "Oh look, there's where I started the death walk..."

I kind of think of this race as an insanely long 5k. It was mostly flat or even a little downhill- that was nice. It's a little boring, but good for a fast race. I ended up finishing in 1:54:xx (chip time was in the 1:53s). The medal was much better than in 2007, and the shirt really is cute. I made it back in my car and home by 11:00 a.m.

If I try to run a full next year, this would be a good choice, but only if I spend a lot of time on my playlist...

(I learned how to change the posted dates on these entries- this is more than a little late!)

Reindeer Run

And the annual Reindeer Run is upon us...

I didn't really want to run the 5k because the Jacksonville Bank Half was the next weekend. But, Harry wanted to do the one mile and the shirts are usually cute (although you have to wear them quickly because the reindeer feels silly after December). At least four people asked me if I was going to be running the race in the week leading up to it. I found that highly entertaining.

Harry and I arrived pretty early- it was cold and sort of wet. In four years of running, i've only run in the rain once (and after the initial novelty wore off, it just annoyed me, especially when the water kicked off the back of my shoe onto my leg). Lucky for us, the rain slowed to just a bit of a drizzle. I still worried that with Harry's history of falling, he was doomed to go down...

We lined up at the track with a few kids and some walkers. The race director got the kids to do a few stretches and jumps. Funny stuff. So the race started- I knew we were in trouble within one lap. Harry was whining up a storm. We had to keep passing a gazebo area where the 5k runners were waiting. Harry started jumping in puddles. I yelled at him to get out of the puddles, but then the audience of bored 5k runners started laughing and cheering, and there was no stopping the puddle jumping. So on we went, round and round, with Harry playing it up for his public each lap. By lap three, I was encouraging Harry to jump in the puddles- anything to maintain our forward momentum. We chatted a bit about Universal Studios purely as a distraction technique. A lifetime later, we finished. Someone's got to finish last, right? Harry got a water bottle for his prize. I was concerned he'd freak out over the lack of medals, but he took it well. Maybe he was just grateful to be done too.

We decided we'd use my new camera and take pictures of the 5k. We took a few pictures of Santa Moi (lead bike, in full Tri Santa suit) and then drove over to the hospital. I parked and rolled down my window for the pictures. That whole not getting out of the car thing might explain why some of my pictures were blurred, but it's not like I was being paid! Harry hung out the window and yelled things like "I think you can do it!" Inspirational, no?! I felt a little silly, but it was fun. Not surprisingly, the back of the packers looked like they were having the most fun.

We waited until we saw the police car go behind the last runner. Harry recognized the cop driving- he was excited that he knew him. I realized later that this was the first time Harry didn't fall down in a race- nice! But based on his general attitude during the race, Mr. Harry may be on a bit of a hiatus for awhile... I'm sure his public will be disappointed.