Things of Fall II

Or things I learned the hard way...*

I'd call this a race report, but I don't use the half (two weeks out from a marathon) as a race, but more a marathon practice run. So, I'll just give you a few of my observations about the event and my practice run.

To begin, a few things I of note. What I like about the race is that the elevation somewhat resembles that of a rather well known marathon held out East.

Note the down first half, up second half, and down (mostly) from there.

The web page said the start time was 8:00am. As I was getting ready, they made an announcement that the half starts at 8:15. Soooooo, pause the warm-up and try to keep the Redhead warm.** Now, pausing your warm-up sucks, but it is even worse when the pre-race music is seriously the soundtrack to the worst wedding ever. The dance floor was empty if you run with the comparison. I was waiting for them to play the Chicken Dance or the Hokey Pokey.

But bad pre-race music is nothing compared to a race with about 4,000 people and about 25 porta-potties. I was honestly going to go 'bear' in the woods. I mean, I went deep into the nearby woods to try and get some privacy. I was mentally preparing myself to break new ground in my running career when I saw a deer. No joke, a deer. He paused, looked up at me, and said: "Really? How would you feel if I walked into your living room and dropped a duese?" Good point. I walked out defeated and stepped into the long long line.

This resulted in barely getting to the starting line before the 8:15am start. See me sneaking in? Look for the red arrow below.


Once the race began, I used the downhill miles to build up a little time, as the uphill miles awaited. After mile ten, I dropped the hammer to bring in a strong finish.

Yeah, I passed my fellow Boston Marathoner. I close like a cheetah.

Ah, but what did I learn the hard way? I learned that failure to apply Body Glide before a half is a huge mistake. I mean, how do you forget something as basic as Body Glide?

* If I am being honest I should also include this information, stashed away under the category of "Mistakes You Should Only Make Once." The proper order is Icy Hot, wash hands, use restroom and not Icy Hot, restroom, wash hands. Failure to follow the aforementioned instructions will lead to very terrible results.

**The Redhead was kind enough to wake up uber early and come along to cheer me on; plus take a few action shots. Her support, as always, was greatly appreciated.