When the orthopedist told me on Friday there was no reason not to run the Rock and Roll half, I immediately got excited. Even though my arm was cleared to run, my legs felt stiff from never really getting the lactic acid out from my 8k the previous weekend. It had had a week to sit there and fester so although my arm was okay my calves were sore. By sore I mean running a 9 minute mile the day before felt the way a 6:30 mile should.
It’s no secret my two awesome friends Laura and Heather came down to race Rock and Roll as well. We all piled into the car at 5:00 along with dad headed to the race start. We quickly found parking and made it to the start an hour early.
While lining up in carrol 1 I was a bit more cautious since I didn’t want to bump into anyone. The doctor had said due to the location of the fracture the only way I could shatter or hurt the bone more was fall on the exact same spot with the exact same force. I still did not want to bump into anyone just because I’m overly cautious (and have pretty bad luck). My GPS didn’t synch correctly so I don’t have mile splits but I’m 100% okay with that.
The first few miles I ran with Mike a local that I often run races with. It’s always nice to be able to find someone to run and be about the same pace. The 5kers actually started at the exact same time as we did which was somewhat weird with a 15,000 person race. The first three miles were a pretty big blur and we were all packed in like little sardines.
At the 2.5 mile mark I noticed the 5k shoot began, I couldn’t help but think to myself that having a 5k shoot of .6 long was a touch too much.
After we clicked off three miles I had already sweat through my top. I’m not the biggest sweater and by the time I got water (which was incredibly difficult when you can’t grab things with your right hand) my tank was soaken through. I knew my body had already begun to overheat. At that point I decided it was wise to grab Gatorade and water at every stop.
Miles 4-6 were pretty uneventful. Although I didn’t feel great I did begin to pass people. This part of the course was straight, flat and on a main road of the area. It made sense because it’s such a big field of people but it was pretty hard on the legs and boring on the mind. My most memorable moment of this point was saying go “Team Hoyt” and one of the ladies said…Hey I read your blog! Team Hoyt never ceases to amaze me. (They push disabled children in strollers while running a lot of races.) Each and every person that is apart of this is truly amazing.
Around mile 6 we turned and went into a nice side street. It had shade. I actually made some small talk with a few of the racers around me. The relay hand offs were around mile 7 which was a bit motivating because there were more people cheering. I was actually running (unknowingly) with the first relay team and he did his hand off and left). When we turned into the base around mile 8 it was instaheatbox again.
I hate you straight flat pavement. Just kidding lets wave to Ally again.
It made a huge u shape around the base so you were able to see people about a mile in front of you wishing you were a mile closer to the finish. My only thought during mile 9 was oh my stars I need more water.
I felt a sudden burst of excitement around mile 10 because I realized I only had a 5k to the finish. I attempted to pick up the pace but that was not happening because it was so hot and I was tired.
Mile 11 we went back over the only hill on course (ie: a bridge). My legs were shot and I was just dying and saying I think I can I think I can. The humidity was getting the worst of me and honestly I was pretty miserable. I want to use proper blogging and running technique about how I negative split this race but I didn’t. It was completely dying and the last 3 miles were some of the hardest I’ve run in a while.
All aboard the pain train and down the bridge.
When we u turned onto the boardwalk I could see the finish line. The finish line that was still .75 away. I thought it might never come and I think those five minutes or so are contenders for the longest 5 minutes of my life. I wanted to try and kick to the end…but didn’t have the energy. So I just ran cursing every four letting word under my breath and hoping it killed time.
I finally crossed the finish line in 1:28.49 which I was very happy with.
Afterwords we relaxed on the beach and also ran into Kristy who had a great race herself.
Done forever.
Overall thoughts of the race:
I had absolutely no idea where this race would go. I know I say that a lot but after my previous week of training my calves were still sore. A lot of people said the rest would do me well, which of course my body was recovering but the lactic acid was still festering in my legs from the previous week. The heat and humidity (around 75-80 and 94% humidity) was certainly a huge factor of this race as well. In fact, they had 13 people taken to the hospital and one death.
All of that negativity aside I did have a great race. Was it a PR? No. Did I have a great time with great friends before I move tomorrow? Yes.
Questions for you:
Have you ever run a Rock and Roll race?
