Back of the Pack: My Half Marathon

I am not a jock. However, for the last four years I have pushed myself to complete the 3M Half Marathon (that's 13.1 miles). If you are going to attempt a half marathon, this is a good one to do because the weather in January is nice and cool and the course is generally downhill.

If I were a jock, I would train for this year-round (and would probably lose about 35 more pounds). As it is, I usually start getting ready for the race in November when soccer season ends. I have a nice window of 2 1/2 months when I don't have to take kids to soccer practice and don't have to referee games, so it leaves more time to train. This year I got the flu in November, so I didn't start training until Thanksgiving weekend. However, I was able to get six good weeks of running in. My routine was to do a two mile segment of the course and back every Saturday, a longer run in the gym on Sunday and 30 minutes before work on Tuesday and Thursday. When I started, I was huffing and puffing just to do 30 minutes. However, after a while I could feel my running legs coming back, not quite enough as it turns out later.

I also tried a new type of running shoes. There is a movement in running toward shoes which are more flexible and allow your feet to move more naturally. I picked up a pair of Nike Free's for Christmas and found that they were pretty easy to get used to--almost, more on that later.

The two Thursdays before the race, my trainer Brandon, gave my legs a tune-up using muscle activation technique. This is a system which identifies muscles that are not working properly and turns them on by palpating the muscle endings (which in some cases means mashing the muscle endings, but usually does not involve great pain).

The day before race day, I managed to avoid last year's mistake of refereeing games in a soccer tournament. I did two middle school games, but still had plenty of time to rest and drink water the day before. We have developed a pre-race ritual. Every year we go and eat pasta and then spend the night at the Embassy Suites in North Austin. From there, I can walk out the door of the hotel and be at the start of the race. My crew, Valeska and Stephanie, then check out of the hotel and meet me at the finish line.

The race was scheduled to start Sunday morning at 6:45. I got onto the elevator, which was filled with runners, and made my way down to the lobby, which was filled with hundreds of runners. It seems like a lot of other people had the idea to spend the night.

When I left the hotel, it was dark and windy, so windy in fact, that the barriers which kept cars away from the runners kept blowing away. The start of the race was delayed for nearly an hour until the City of Austin said it was okay to begin. By that time, the sun was up and the crowd was restless.

As I passed the starting line, my iPod played "Do Your Feet Hurt" by MxPx. It was great running music because it had a great beat. However, it was a portent of things to come. The first few miles felt very comfortable, even though there was a lot of uphill. The race course starts on Stonelake Parkway south of the Gateway Shopping Center, winds its way up to Braker Lane, crosses under Research and then follows the acess road south. From there it goes down Jollyville Road to Mesa and then to Spicewood Springs.

One thing I noticed right away was that there were a lot of people of size at the back of the pack with me. Some of them made me look svelte in comparison. I felt inspired that so many non-traditional runners like myself were taking up the challenge. There was one woman in black sweatpants who I encountered throughout the day who was, how should I say it, wide. She turned out to be my inspiration since I spent a lot of the day looking at her from behind.

Having run this race several times, there are several constants that I have noticed. There are always cute young kids along Mesa who hold out their hands to you to tag as you run by. There are always jugglers at the corner of Mesa and Spicewood Springs. There is always a bagpiper at Spicewood Springs and MoPac. This is very reassuring.

After passing Anderson High on Mesa and then onto Spicewood Springs, the course had its first nice downhill stretch. I was feeling pretty good. However, around mile 4, I could feel some discomfort in the instep of my right foot. I paced myself to go take the MoPac overpass (which is a big arch) without burning myself out. Just before mile 6, my iPod chose to play "Is Anyone Thirsty" by Undercover as I approached a water stop. This day I would take advantage of every water stop.

I was still feeling good and ahead of my goal pace of 12 minutes per mile as I passed the halfway point. When I turned onto Burnet Road, my iPod was playing Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid." Somehow that was appropriate for spending Sunday morning running across town.

There is a nice mostly downhill stretch on Burnet covering miles 7 and 8. However, the turn onto North Loop marked the hardest part of the course. By this point, I was pretty tired. North Loop consists of a small hill, a longer hill, a drop and then a nice climb as it turns into 53rd street. As I turned onto North Loop, I felt good. The wind was at my back. One thing I noticed about the Nike Frees is that they are really good for climbing hills. The shoe's flexibility allows you to push up with the ball of your foot.

However, the good feelings were not to last. I was still ahead of pace at mile 9. However, my guts began to churn and I started to feel fatigued. As I passed by Lamar and Guadalupe, I knew that I needed to get to a bathroom. I had meant to take some Pepto-Bismal before the race to slow my intestinal tract down, but forgot. The Epoch Coffee Shop is located on North Loop right before the start of the last hill. I ran in and felt much relieved. After turning from 53rd to Duval, I passed mile 10. At this point, I was exactly even on my goal pace. I was starting the major downhill portion of the course. I had just run this section last Saturday.

Everything looked good except for one thing. At two hours in, I completely ran out of gas. By the time I got to the easiest part of the course, it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other. I could see UT in the distance and knew that the finish line was not far beyond that. However, it was all I could do to trudge on. I felt like a character in Stephen King's the Long Walk. I kept expecting someone to shoot me if I dropped below 4 miles per hour. I limped along down Duval. The woman in the black sweat pants passed me with her slow but steady pace. I passed mile 11 on Duval. I crossed into UT and passed mile 12. At this point I was just 1.1 miles from the end. I was counting down the blocks. However, my legs were on fire and I was doing all that I could to just keep moving.

At some point after I cleared UT, my trudge turned into a slow jog. I could see the finish line. My legs burned. My feet were blistered. It was all I could do to push myself to the end. I crossed the finish line exhausted. Val and Stephanie were waiting for me. I felt relief that it was over. I ran into Stu Phillips, a lawyer I know from the Attorney General's Office. She seemed very relaxed, as if she had been out for a light morning stroll. However, I was soon to encounter the final blow: no Rudy's breakfast tacos. I had to satisfy myself with a banana and an orange as I limped toward the car.

My time was 2 hours 39 minutes 52 seconds. In my age group (men 45-49), I finished at 216 out of 225. Overall, I was 3515 out of 3939 who finished. My time was better than last year's meltdown, but 5 minutes slower than my personal best. Still, not a bad day. Next year I will really get my self together.