[Race Report] Bridgestreet Half Marathon (Huntsville, AL)

Race information

• What? Bridgestreet Half Marathon
• When? April 9, 2017
• How far? 13.1 miles
• Where? Huntsville, AL
• Website: Http://bridgestreethalfmarathon.com

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	< 4 hours	Yes
B	< 3 hours	Yes

Pictures

• Me along the race. Bib 1061.

Splits

Mile	Time
1	12:46
2	12:16
3	12:16
4	12:18
5	12:05
6	12:09
7	12:09
8	12:53
9	10:51
10	12:23
11	12:23
12	11:13
13	12:14
14	11:19

Training

I've only been running since November. Started with the treadmill. Added a 5k that week. And set a short term goal to do a 10k with my gf following the Higdon Novice 1 10k plan. She had other plans and ended the relationship. So I up the goal to do a local half marathon. Mostly because fuck her, but partly to set a different goal from one we shared. So I switched to the Higdon Novice 1 Half Marathon plan at the week with equivalent mileage of the 10k plan we were on. Week 4 if I recall right. I stuck to it strictly, only adjusting the day of the long weekend run to better accommodate my schedule as needed.

This race has a 4 hour limit, which equates to little over 18min/mi. I was deathly afraid the entire training regimen of not being able to finish it in time just due to being new to running. So first goal was set: Just finish the race. Get the medal.

Second goal was a stretch goal. I thought it strange to be training for a 13mi run, but the program never prescribed more than 10mi in a run. So I ran the 13.1mi distance the last 2 long runs as test runs. They all ended in beautiful failures approaching 4 hours. I'd make it to 10 or 11 miles, then my calves would start screaming and I'd walk the rest. I guessed if I could run the whole thing, then I could do it in 3hrs.

Pre-race

There was over a thousand people. Temperatures were a comfortable 45 degrees with no wind and clear skies. Breakfast was a protein bar, 2 cups of coffee, and salt/caffeine pill about 2hrs before the race started.

Race Strategy

I thought the best way to ensure finishing the race in time was to join the 15min/mi pace group for as long as I could, and fall back if needed. That was the slowest pace group for the 2016 run.

The week of the race they announced the slowest pace group would be for 13.45min/mi. Upside: I'd make second goal if I could stick with it. Downside: over 1min/mi faster than I had thought. So I adjusted my planning to do this group instead.

No food/gu was taken on the course. I was nervous about adding them since I hadn't trained with the previously. I took another salt/caffeine pill at miles 5 and 10.

Race

Everyone clusters at the starting line. I find the 3hr group. The gun fires. And we're off! Walking. I decide I wasn't going to walk the whole distance and move up to the 245hr pace group that was moving at a very comfortable speed.

Everything felt really good at that pace:. Legs stayed concersationally comfortable and heart never got out of hand. In fact, we talked the entire race.

About mile 8, I made a bio stop. Waited a few minutes, but was able to catch back up afterwards.

At mile 11, I was still feeling good so I left the group and pushed forward by myself. It was the longest 2mi I've ever run! But I did it. Watch time: 2:41:04.

Post-race

I crossed the finish line and there was an awkward handoff with the medal that forced me to come to an abrupt stop. My knees almost gave out. A lady watching rush to help stand me up and gave me a coupon for a free pair of shoes for the effort!

The post race celebration was nice. Pizza, cookies, ice cream, bananas, beer, breakfast sandwiches were everywhere. I avoided it all to find my favorite carbonated drink: Cherry Coke Zero.

Took 2 cans back to the car and sat for awhile. Partly reflecting what I had just accomplished. Partly because my legs still weren't coordinated well enough to drive.

I spent the rest of the day smoking victory cigars from the comfort of my garage enjoying the nice weather (and not moving).

In hindsight, I probably could have pushed myself up in the 230hr group. But am very glad to have left the 245hr group when I did and pushed forward by myself. I left everything I had in the last 2mi.

What's next?

I'm taking a week from running to appreciate sleeping in a bit longer. After that: I'm not really sure.

My next scheduled race is a 10k in the summer. So I need to keep conditioning up for that distance, plus the added Alabama heat. I'm going to keep running, but not really sure which direction to go with it without a dedicated training plan. I found the training plan to be incredibly useful for telling you when to run, and more importantly, when not to.

All that said: I'm extremely proud of myself for accomplishing this run. A year ago I wouldn't have thought it possible. It just shows the value of smaller (and slower) steps building up to bigger things.

This post was generated using the new race reportr, a tool built by /u/BBQLays for making organized, easy-to-read, and beautiful race reports.