4/26/2015 - Flower City Half Marathon

1 ran twice: 1.2 and Flower City Half Marathon (13.2 miles), 37F, 87% RH, 3 mph WSW wind, mostly overcast.

I was awake a bit before my alarm went off at 5AM. It was still dark. I did the few dishes from the previous day. It did help that we had gone out to dinner the night before at Famous Dave's. I got my darling wife, Christine, up and together we got ready. We were out the door at 5:58AM and parked down at the Blue Cross Arena at 6:08AM. Nice!

The weather conditions were 37F, calm and mostly overcast ... perfect conditions for a spring half marathon. I had dressed in the usual: CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, short sleeve tech, Brooks beanie, heavy gloves, Darn Tough socks and my New Balance 860 running shoes. It's been there, done that for me with regards to running when it's in the mid 30s. Plus it was been there, done that for this race since this was my sixth time running this course. I knew what to expect ... I thought.

Ron Heerkens Jr captured this candid picture as I was walking up to get my race bib

Christine had tinnitus in her ears and was unable to leave the Equinox. So I made the Equinox my base of operations. I went into the Blue Cross Arena to find pins for my race bib. The arena floor was open and I soon found them. I said "Hi" to running buddies that I met. I went back to the Equinox and geared up for a 1.2 mile warmup run at 8:23 pace up and down Exchange Blvd, link here. I kissed Christine for luck and headed to the start after a quick stop to the bathroom in the Blue Cross Arena.

The pace leaders

I made my way to the start in the middle of the bridge on Broad Street. I saw Jim McLaughlin who was the 1:45 pace leader and gave him a fist bump. I wanted to finish around 1:45 but run in front of him and his group as much as possible. So I lined up slightly in front of him but behind Matt Kellman, the 1:40 pace leader.

And ... we're off!

Just after the start - a bit behind the 1:45 pace leader, Jim McLaughlin

A long line of runners - from Facebook

And ... we were off! I carefully got up to speed and tried to hold my pace back. Still ... I heard Pete call off a 7:36 first mile. I ran through the Susan B Anthony House neighborhood with their nice "Failure is Impossible" signs. Then past Frontier Field just before mile 2, down State St, left onto Main St and right onto East Ave. I was running well and just clicking off the miles. Right onto Brunswick St and right onto Park Ave. I saw John Muoio playing the bass fiddle with "The Lonely Ones" (Facebook page and YouTube page).

John Muoio (on the bass fiddle) with his band, The Lonely Ones

Left onto South Goodman St. Then ... I made a mistake. I wanted to have a HammerGel just before the aid station around mile 5.5. I had trouble opening it so I stopped to take off one of my gloves and stood when I tried to empty it into my mouth and then lick my fingers because I got goop on them. Jim McLaughlin and his 1:45 pace group passed me. I must have stood there for one minute(!) before I got going again. I picked up my pace but it was uphill to Highland Park. I should have continued walking or slowly trotted while struggling with my HammerGel and taking a drink of water. Mistake made ... lesson learned. Maybe I should practice this ... you think? Christine has told me this more than once.

Anyway, I got back up to speed and set off in pursuit of Jim. I couldn't see him but I did anyway. I was running well ... up and down in Highland Park, past the drums and then into the Mt Hope Cemetery with its solitary bagpiper at mile 8. Then ... thigh pain struck. Not a "I can't run" kind of thigh pain but a "nagging I don't want to run" kind of thigh pain. It brought me to a tiny walk every mile or so for the rest of the way. The initial hills in Mt Hope Cemetery nagged me to a tiny walk or two also. I did catch a glimpse of Jim on one of the turns. He was about 200 yards ahead. I was happy to get out of the cemetery at mile 10.

Only 3.1 miles to go. Just a 5K. Onto the UofR Genesee River trail. Mile 11 ... onward. I knew the Ford St bridge was ahead ... onward. Mile 12 ... onward ... run up onto the Ford St Bridge. I allowed myself one last tiny walk ... onward.

Mile 12 ... - from Facebook (I think)

Runners running down Exchange St about 1/2 to the finish - from Facebook

Exchange St - just past the Ford Street Bridge with about 0.8 miles to go - courtesy of Ron Heerkens Jr

Exchange St - Grimace mode ... ON!

Down Exchange St ... I willed myself to a strong run ... saw the 20KM sign, only 0.7 mile to go ... just a bit faster ... I could see the Freddie-Sue Bridge and the I-490 overpass .. just a bit faster ... I could see the parking lot where the Equinox was .. just a bit faster ... I could see the finish arch with the finish line about 100 yards farther ... OK, get it done ... grimace ... in the chute ... full sprint past a few runners ... done! Frank Quattrone handed me my finishers medal ... done in 1:46:08, 8:02 pace!

The finish line ...

In the chute ...

Crossing the finish line ...

Done!

 I downed a pint of water quickly then made my way into the Blue Cross Arena to get the next piece of my Fleet Feet Four Season Challenge medal. I got a banana and a couple pieces of pizza for my post race meal.

Then I talked with a New Balance rep. I found out that the 860 running shoes have been updated from v4 to v5 and that my thigh pain could be due to the high mileage on my shoes (I told him it was 450 when it was actually 550 miles). That could be. I do tend to put miles on my shoes before I retire them. I think it all has something to do with running shoes costing about $130 and wanting to get my money's worth out of it before kicking them to the curb. Duh! But another lesson learned ... use a relatively "fresh" running shoe when running a half marathon.

Flower City Half swag

A selfie in the Equinox. I wore the FCHM tech shirt and medals the rest of the day.

I went out to the Equinox and met up with Christine. It was only 10 AM! I told her about my race. Then we went out to the East Ridge Diner and Steakhouse for breakfast. Their 2x3 (2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 pieces of bacon) along with coffee really hit the spot. Other Flower City Half and 5K runners were there too. Soon we were home and the usual ensued: coffee, feet up on the couch and checking out email and Facebook. Eventually I took a shower. I must have had salt on my forehead because it really tasted icky when it drained down into my mouth.

Here are my stats. I was 313th out of 2276, link here. I was 9th out of 73 in my M55-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:39, 7:46, 7:54, 7:52, 8:51, 8:16, 8:21, 7:55, 7:59, 7:59, 8:22, 7:58 and 6:53 over the last 0.2 mile. My sprint into the chute was 5:56. There were 976 finishers in the Wegmans Family 5K, link here. A news link here and pic link here.

Now I could beat myself up about what I did wrong during this race but I won't. It was a half marathon with pretty of chances to run better or run bad. I did my best. I had fun. I love running races ... so I do.

P.S. I checked the thousands of pictures that Game Fame Meda put up, here. But ... I wasn't in any of them.