Run to Read Half Marathon 2009

The first race of the new year! After last year's pleasant experience, we decided to run the Run to Read half marathon in West Virginia once again. At least, for me it was again, but for Steffi and fellow runner Ken is was the first time. Steffi's running had steadily improved over the last months, so she was looking for a good PR. Ken had had a knee injury that prevented him from running Boston last year, and this was his first race since then. I didn't have a clear-cut goal for myself: I didn't feel like repeating my 1:28 from last September was in the cards in the second week of training, so I was hoping for something in the order of 1:30.

The weather forecast for West Virginia was rain, which meant that at least the race wouldn't be cancelled because of snow. During the drive to the race from Pittsburgh the weather did look good enough: cloudy, temperature just above freezing, little wind, perfect weather for running. Just before we arrived, the first drops of rain started to fall, and it unfortunately didn't stop raining after that. We picked up our bibs, hats and gloves, and huddled together in the warm building near the start, pondering what the right set of clothes to wear was (jacket or not?). 

Ten minutes before the start we ventured outside for a little warmup run. No one was there at the start line yet, quite unusual. But after a short warmup everyone was there, and without much ceremony (no singing of the national anthem in the rain) the start honk was given and we were off! 

The first part of the course was a 4.5 mile out-and-back loop, with a tunnel shortly before the turnaround point. In the first couple of miles the running felt good, and my pace was around 6:40, slightly faster than the 6:51 necessary for a 1:30 finish. In retrospect this was probably too fast, but it felt good at the time. Just before the two mile point we came into the tunnel, and I nearly slipped on a treacherous icy patch just at the entrance. Due to the steady rain my glasses had fogged up, so I took them off and put them in my pocket. Only hazy images for the rest of the race... Shortly after the tunnel came the turnaround point. This interruption in the flow had me gasping for air for a moment, a sign that I still have to build my stamina back up. Back towards the tunnel I met Ken and Steffi, they seemed to be doing fine (which they did). I get back on pace again, but it feels strenuous, too early in the race. It also didn't help that I am running all by myself at this point, so I need to motivate myself to keep going. After the return to the start the course went down to the river, for the second and longer out and back along the river trail. Shortly before the river I am overtaken my a small girl (who turned out to be last year's winner), and then by two other girls! These last two girls slowed down a little after overtaking me, so I managed to latch on to them. At this point they ran an approximate 6:55 pace, which was good enough for me because I had to slow down a bit to manage the final 8.5 miles. I was glad to run in a group again, because I am afraid I would otherwise have let the pace slip even more. And so we went on for mile after mile. Fortunately, I started feeling a little bit better again at this more moderate pace, even though it was a bit slower than my goal.

The river trail was nice and level, but also long and, in the rain and with my glasses in my pocket, rather boring. So, it became the old game of counting down the miles. Little changed in the order in the race, although our little group managed to overtake a few people on the stretch back, including the girl who won last year. Finally the last miles dropped away, and the welcome sight of the finish was ahead. The two girls ahead of me pulled out a sprint, I also accelerated a little bit, and it was done! My time was 1:30:03, so my goal was achieved, but it hadn't come easy... I was 19th overall, and third in my age group, so I received a nice little trophy. 

Now I had to wait for Ken and Steffi, and soon became very cold, because the rain kept pouring, and Ken had the car keys! Ken came in about 15 minutes later (second in his age group), and I was happy to hear that he had a good race, and that his knee had behaved well. Quickly we went to the car for a change of clothes (heavenly!), and then back to the finish to wait for Steffi. 

Steffi came in at 2:06:15, quite an improvement over her previous half marathon in Groningen. She had a bad side-stitch in the final 200 meters, but otherwise a good race.

Now it was time for the post-race feast! One of the great things about the Run to Read is that they have warm chilly, fruit, and home-made cookies after the race, along with hot chocolate and coffee. Only when we were thoroughly fed and warmed up did we resume the drive back to Pittsburgh.