The first thing we did was run down to Cannonville (the end of the race) to pick up my packet. Then back to Cori's grandma's house for some relaxation. We didn't know what to have for dinner, so we all settled on pepperoni pizza. Note to self (and anyone reading this): Never eat pepperoni pizza the night before a half marathon, or any distance, race! Not a very good idea.
The next morning my alarm was set for 4:30, but I was so good, I woke up at 3:30, and couldn't get back to sleep. Take that alarm! I don't need you!! I woke up, ate some toast and drank a bunch of water, got dressed and headed to the shuttle pick-up. When we got to the starting line, I saw the most porta-potties I have ever seen assembled in one place. There were so many I didn't have to once wait for one to open. Very well done, BCHM! They also had several bonfires going, even though it really wasn't too cold.
Finally the race began and we started to
This was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone (Samsung? Anything yet?) This picture doesn't do it justice, though. This view was awesome. Another thing I like about the BCHM (this was my 5th, yes, 5th time running it) is the mile markers. They are pretty cool and I haven't seen these in any of my other races.
Every mileage marker is the silhouette of a runner with the mileage number in it. They are pretty cool.
At this point I was doing ok. I felt good, strong, and prepared. We lucked out because there wasn't a sign of rain during the race and the weather and temperature were about as perfect as you can ask for.
I did have a bit of an experience taking these pictures. As I stopped to take this picture, I saw a group of 4-5 high-school looking kids running by. As I was snapping this picture, I heard one of them say, "Instagram: mile 2". Ok, so I was already a little hesitant to stop and take pictures during the race (not only do I not take very good pictures and kind of feel like a dork, but I am extremely competitive and don't like stopping to take the pictures), and this little high-school kids weren't helping. They took off laughing and I didn't see them again-UNTIL I PASSED ALL OF THEM BETWEEN MILES 10-12!!!! HAHAHA! Take that, punks!
Ok, I'm back and not heated up anymore. So I was running along and actually making pretty good time. Here is another-the only other-picture I took on the way down.
This was actually a pretty good view, too. During the race, we actually run through Tropic, and, consequently, right by Cori's grandma's house, which is where my family stayed. I knew I would see them here, at about mile 7.5. I also knew this would give me some extra motivation. I had been taking Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run approach by walking 1 minute at every single aid station. I felt this would keep me strong for the ending of the race so my time wouldn't drop as I neared the finish. Spoiler Alert: it worked, but I'll touch on that a little later.
Here is the elevation map that was taken from my GPS watch. You can plainly see how fun this race is.
My wife managed to get a couple good shots of me here. Let me explain something here. When I run, my perception of what I look like is MUCH different from what I actually look like. In my mind, I resemble Dean Karnazes as I shred up the asphalt on my way to a personal record, shattering my old time like glass; however, when I usually see pictures of myself running, it seems I actually resemble someone like Lurch, or Bob from Monsters Vs. Aliens. Yes, I am a fat blob of jelly slowing inching my way down the road. My wife actually got a good shot of me that makes it look like I am really running. This is on the road in Tropic.
Not exactly Dean Karnazes, but not exactly a fat blog, inching down the road, either. (Of course, I am still closer to the fat blog.) When you get through Tropic, the course has several rolling hills until the finish. I actually enjoy this. After 7 miles of downhill, your quads will thank you, even if you are starting to run uphill more. My run-walk-run strategy was paying off: I felt great still. At around mile 9 I started to notice a hotspot right under my big toe. Sure enough, at mile 10 I knew it was a full blown blister. I have never had a blister while running, so this was new to me. And guess what, I didn't like it at all! I gutted my way through the rest of the course and finished.
The BCHM offers beautiful views and plenty of porta-potties and aid stations along the way. It is an extremely well-run race that anybody can finish. Even though this was my 5th half marathon, I ran this one for my first one 5 years ago. I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about running their 1st or 15th half marathon.
I had two main goals coming into this race: Break 1:50:00 and finish in the top 200. This is where my preparation met good luck. My finishing time, according to my chip time, was 1:49:44. I knew I broke 1:50:00 because my Garmin GPS watch said so. I was a little nervous to see what my overall place was, but I studied that last few years of results from this race and had a feeling if I broke 1:50:00, I would also break into the top 200 finishers. This year was one of the largest races, with 929 runners finishing. My final place: 197!! Holy crap I was cutting it close, but I accomplished my two main goals.
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| My mile times. |
Here are a couple more pictures from the end of the race.
Now that this race is over, I can finally concentrate on my next goal: The St. George Marathon. Here we go...
Jimmy Buffet has the best quote I have heard that tailors perfectly to the BCHM:
"Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see."
