I ran the DC Half last weekend, finishing in a time of 1:44:48, which was good enough to win my age group (women's 50-59).
It's been a few years since I've run the DC Half, and in that time it has grown into a major event with nearly 10,000 runners in the half-marathon, a multiday race expo, a live edition of the podcast "Nobody Asked Us," and a huge cheering presence on the course. The organizers have put a lot of work into developing this race, and it shows.
The expo was in an "event space" (I guess that's short for a place to hold events that is smaller than a convention center but is not a restaurant) on Capitol Hill, conveniently Metro accessible. When I showed up on Saturday morning to grab my bib, the line extended for a full block outside the building but moved very quickly. I was pleasantly surprised to be leaving with my bib only 20 minutes after taking my place at the end of the line.
I scheduled this race as a tune-up for the Chicago Marathon (October 11) and also as a rustbuster. I hadn't raced since the Olomouc Women's Grand Prix in early July, and it had been even longer since I had raced on the roads (the Boston 10K back in mid-June). In that time, I feel like I've gotten significantly fitter, and so I hoped this race would give me a read on that fitness.
Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. On race morning the temperature was in the low 70s, with very humid conditions. Supposedly the dewpoint was in the high 60s, but it felt worse than that. It was one of those mornings where it wants to rain but just hasn't gotten its act together. At least it was overcast with a breeze, but those factors only helped a little.
So, this wasn't going to be the fitness check that I had hoped for. At the same time, I was still getting to race, and I desperately needed the rustbuster/tune-up. Additionally, I've always found that half-marathons raced all out do great things for my fitness, independent of what "raced all out" translates to on the clock.
***
When I registered for this race, there had been a check box for "athletes with disabilities." I don't consider myself disabled, but I guess classified para-athletes technically fall into that category, so I checked the box and noted that I didn't need any assistance or special accommodations.
I knew that they didn't have a para division for this race, so I assumed that they were just trying to track how many adaptive/para-athletes were participating, and that by checking the box I was adding to their count. I was thus surprised when I picked up my bib and realized that I had been placed in the front corral. I knew that I didn't want to start there if I didn't have to, so I decided that I'd try to find the 1:40 and 1:45 pace groups in the wave and start somewhere between them.
***
The race started at 7:00 am, which meant warming up in the dark, just as the sun was rising. I always struggle to run in poor visibility, and this morning was no different. I jogged around for about 3 miles but just couldn't get my legs moving in the dark. At least it was a long race - using the first mile to warm-up wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
With my not-quite-a-warm-up done, I tried to enter the corral near the 1:40 pacer. Only to realize that there were no gaps between the gates of the metal corral fencing. It appeared that the only way to enter the corral was at the very front or the very back, both of which were very far from where I wanted to be.
But... there was a small gap under the metal fencing, and I'm a small person. I decided to try shimmying under the fencing, and somehow managed to squeeze through. I scraped my race bib in the process, but the number was still visible and the chip was unscathed, and I hadn't pulled any muscles, so I called it good.
***
I was far enough back that it took about 2 minutes to walk/jog up to the start line after the gun went off. This was fine with me, as it was a chance to loosen up legs that had gone rigid from 10 minutes of standing in the corral.
Even after crossing the start, I was still stuck at a jog - the race course was packed and my gait was really stiff. This didn't concern me much - my race plan was to start carefully, then hold a conservative effort (think: slightly harder than marathon effort) until the turnaround point in Rock Creek Park, before hammering home.
[Like always, I was pacing my race by feel and perceived effort. I took manual splits on my watch at the mile markers but didn't look at them until after the race].
In my experience, going for a big negative split is always the best strategy when it's hot and humid - essentially stay cool (figuratively and literally) for the majority of the course, and then redline it for the last few miles. Going out at "goal pace" just means that you overheat well before the finish line. As we rounded the turn at the bottom of Hains Point, I noted that some people around me were already walking. This reinforced my commitment to staying conservative for the first 2/3rds of the course.
From the bottom of Hains Point, the DC Half course follows a winding path north all the way to the bottom of the Calvert Street hill in Rock Creek Park. I wasn't running the tangents very well, and neither was anyone else. This was partially because the course was too crowded to run the tangents. Additionally, I was doing a lot of weaving to avoid slowing runners and uneven pavement - I find it hard to run fast over metal plates or areas with broken up pavement, and so swinging wide was often the best path for me, even if it meant running a slightly longer distance.
I felt in control all the way up to the Calvert Street turnaround - the humidity was heavy but I was handling it very well. My plan was to pick it up after the turn (a bit after the 8 mile marker). However, when I rounded the turn my instinct was to hold current effort for another mile or two and pick it up closer to the finish. I decided that my instinct was too conservative because I was not used to race effort after such a long break from racing. So, I gritted my teeth and picked up the pace anyway.
Around mile 11, I started to struggle. I held it together for another mile and then started to fade. I gutted it out with an ugly last mile, crossing the finish line right behind the 1:45 pacers. Not exactly how I wanted my race to go, but at least I had gotten my rustbuster out of the way. And I had gotten a good reminder of the importance of trusting my instincts on pacing, rather than forcing something.
I took manual splits during the race, but when reviewing my Garmin later it became apparent that the mile markers were often not accurate, with different miles being short or long. So, I'm going to post my Strava splits here instead:
Mile 1: 8:34
Mile 2: 8:06
Mile 3: 7:58
Mile 4: 8:00
Mile 5: 8:03
Mile 6: 7:56
Mile 7: 7:58
Mile 8: 7:58
Mile 9: 7:51
Mile 10: 7:39
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 7:39
Mile 13: 7:51
Last ".2" - 7:04 pace (and no, the course was not long - Garmin error plus me not running the tangents well).
My chip time was 1:44:48 - essentially, I raced a half-marathon at the same pace I hope to hold for the full marathon distance at Chicago in a few weeks. This would normally be very concerning. However, based on a review of times it seems like many were several minutes off of the times they would normally run for a half - running this half at the same pace they would normally hold for a full marathon in good weather.
I guess there's only one way to find out what I can expect to run for a marathon, and that will happen on October 11.
I also felt better once I checked the results and realized that I had won the women's 50-59 age group. Honestly, it's always nice to win my age group - it feels really good to still be competitive in non-para-athletic competition. It also added to the impression that this was just a tough day all around, and my time wasn't necessarily reflective of my fitness.
Other notes:
- The race started at 7 am, and so I parked just north of the National Mall at around 5:45 am. This was just barely enough time to warm-up and get everything else done (bag check, portajohn) without feeling rushed. I think next year I'll try to get there slightly earlier.
- I timed my morning as: Rytary dose at 2:00 am (and back to sleep), wake up at 4 am to eat breakfast, mobilize, etc, and then another Rytary dose at 6:00 am right before I started warming up. This worked well.
- I carried a handheld water bottle during this race and really appreciated it. An added benefit is that when I carry the handheld in my left hand, it reminds me to swing my left shoulder (I tend to forget to swing both shoulders, but the left is the worse of the two).
- In this race, I wore a new pair of the same shoes I hope to wear for the marathon - the Hoka Rocket X3. This new pair is a half size larger than what I've previously worn, and so I wore medium thick socks with this pair, instead of the thin socks I wear with the smaller size.
While the shoes felt OK when walking or jogging before the race, I did feel slightly unsteady on my feet during the half - a tell that the shoes were ever so slightly too loose. (I am very perfectionist about the fit of my running shoes these days - mostly because I've found that a shoe that is either slightly too loose or too tight can really exacerbate my Parkinsons gait issues). So, I need to test wearing a slightly thicker pair of socks in these shoes to see how that feels. - Another bit of useful feedback from this race was that I over-tapered slightly. The last few days before the race, I had insomnia and (TMI) a lot of constipation/digestive issues. Both of these are things that crop up when I'm not sufficiently physically active (yes, this is a Parkinsons thing).
I really felt the lack of sleep on race morning, and I'm fairly sure I would have run better with better quality sleep this week. So...I need to taper a little less for Chicago - good quality sleep in the last few nights before the race will outweigh any cost from running a few more miles that week.
