Ups and Downs

I ran the Maryland Half Marathon yesterday.  It was my third time running this distance but my first time running this particular event.  The race was held right here in Howard County and it was full of hills.  Much like the course, my performance had its fair share of ups and downs.  Here's a recap for you.

• Pre-race.  I arrive at the start and find that there are pace runners.  The job of the pace runner is to pick a predetermined finish time (2 hours, for example) and then set a pace throughout the race that will hit that goal time.  Anyone who wants to hit that goal time just needs to stay with the pace runner.  I've never followed a pace runner before but I decide to try and stick with the 1:40 guy.  My two previous half marathons, I'd done 1:45:00 and 1:40:55 so I thought it was worth a try.
• Mile 1.  The pace runner sets off.  It doesn't take me long to decide he's going a little too quickly for me so I let him go.  Typically, I like to start off a bit slow and then pick things up throughout the run.  I really hate to get passed by people at the end of a race (it's demoralizing) and I also like to conserve my energy.
• Mile 2.  I can still see the pace runner but he's about 25 yards ahead of me.  Mile 2 is almost all downhill and, with my short legs, I'm getting passed by people.  At the mile 2 marker, my watch says 14:48 and I worry that that's a lot faster than I intended to run.  So, I try to slow down just a bit.
• Mile 3.  Two of my friends from the street, Paul and Mark, are also running the race.  They started off ahead of me so I'm now in last place in our unofficial competition.  I pass Paul during this mile but Mark is still up ahead and out of sight.  I start having to go to the bathroom.  I wonder if I can hold out for 10 more miles.  The pace runner is now out of sight but the roads are pretty twisty so I'm not sure how far ahead he is.
• Mile 4.  Boy, I really have to go to the bathroom.  We're running along country roads but there are houses every so often.  I'm wondering if I can just pull off into someone's driveway and step behind a tree but the last thing I want is for the homeowner to come out and start yelling at me.  I realize I can't make it to the end of the race and start obsessing with going to the bathroom.
• Mile 5.  This is one long uphill mile.  I start passing all the people who passed me on the downhills.  Then I see him -- it's the pace runner.  I catch up to him.  I can do this, I think.  I decide to try to stick with the pace runner, after all.
• Mile 6.  All that running uphill took my mind off my bladder - until we pass a small group of Howard County's finest citizens hanging out in their driveway drinking beer while they watch us run.  Keep in mind that it's about 8:45AM.  Who knows what they're thinking.  I'm still cruising along and can see Mark about 25 yards ahead of me now.  The pace runner is just behind me now, offering encouragement to those still struggling from the hill on mile 5.
• Mile 7.  Look!  It's a Port-A-Potty.  I decide to stop.  As I'm standing in the Port-A-Potty, I start counting off the seconds to see how much time I'm wasting.  I count almost to 60 and then burst back out of the Port-A-Potty door.  The first thing I see is Paul's back.  He's literally 5 yards ahead of me.  While I was in there taking care of business, I've fallen back into last place in the Big Branch Drive division.  Oh, well, I think.  I caught him once, I'll catch him again.
• Mile 8.  Now that my bladder's empty, I feel much better.  I pick up the pace so that I can get back to the pace runner.  I'm also starting to look for Kim since she told me she'd try to hang out around Miles 8 - 10 to cheer for me.  No matter how hard I try, I can't catch Paul.  He's now 10 yards ahead of me which seems like an eternity.
• Mile 9.  The bad news is that I'm starting to get some mild cramps.  The good news is that I can now see both Mark and the pace runner.  I also get some encouragement from Kim who shouts for me to catch Paul and Mark.  I yell back that I was ahead of Paul until I stopped to go to the bathroom.
• Mile 10.  Up ahead, Paul passes Mark.  Mark is now about 25 yards ahead of me, running with the pace runner.  I'm struggling to hang on to both of them.  At least the cramps are gone.  Kim reappears one more time to cheer for me.
• Mile 11.  After running along country roads and through some small neighborhoods, we're now running alongside empty office parks.  For the first time, I start to think about taking a quick break to walk.  I tried that in the one marathon I ran and that was a big mistake.  I stopped at mile 23 and could never get back to running, walking the final 3 miles.
• Mile 12.  The pace runner, God bless him, drops back to run with me for about 30 seconds.  He tells me that we're right on 1:40 pace and tells me to ball my hands into fists to help with efficiency.  Who knew?  I tell him I don't think I can keep up with him and he tells me to do my best and moves ahead.  We're on a big sweeping downhill section and I can see Paul really pulling away.  Mark, too, is now at least 100 yards ahead of me.  I resign myself to the bronze medal in the Big Branch Drive division.
• Mile 13.  I am really struggling now.  I keep checking my watch and see that I ran the last mile in around 8:30 so I know my shot at 1:40 is gone.  At least we're back into a neighborhood so there are some people watching and cheering.  The last thing I want to do is stop running while someone's watching so I keep going.
• The finish.  Believe it or not, very few people pass me in the last mile, despite the troubles I'm having.  I've got nothing left for a finishing kick, though, so I just plod towards the finish line.  The clock comes into view and it's in the 1:41 range already.  I tell myself that I have to finish before it crosses to 1:42 and manage to come across in 1:41:49.

So, now that I look back on the race, I think I learned a few things.  First, even though the lines are long, use the Port-A-Potty before the race.  Second, run your own race.  Don't worry about friends and pace runners.  Finally, if you subtract the time I spent during the race going to the bathroom from my finish time, I set a personal record.  Hooray for me!