Detroit Half Marathon

Well here it is The Race Report.

Today I can truly say I had fun...other than a few hiccups in the race it turned out great for me.

The morning;

Woke up early 4:30am after not getting to bed until 11:45. Ran a tub and ate a piece of bread with peanut butter and sipped on sports drink. By the time I knew it was 5:15 and we were rushing out the door to meet up with Becca's sister and a couple of her friends from work. Becca and her Sister were walking the half and her co-workers were running the 5km.

This is about the latest I've left the house for this run (that is my fault cause I am getting older and couldn't remember what time I have left years before) and by the time we got to the border it was pretty jammed up in the tunnel. No matter-we got through and found parking right away with no problems.

The Start;

Due to some construction at the Bridge this year the start was a bit fuddled up.

They started the Marathon 5 minutes early therefore the Half Marathon people took off when the walkers were spilling out into the street. Most people stayed to the right like the race official asked but some people are just oblivious to the thousands of other people out there.

We all parted ways and made our way to the corrals. I met up with Dawn and Allison just before the race started. The start was crazy it seemed that as soon as I got to the corral the race started. We were off running about a 7:19 pace. Soon into the race some guy came up and said hey did one of you have a blue Ipod? If you did it fell off a bit back there.

It ended up being Dawn's-it fell off her belt clip. Someone got real lucky finding that.

Since I didn't have time to hit the porta potties before the race I needed to find one early in the race . I spotted one and said goodbye to Dawn and Allison. It was a quick stop so I tried to catch back up to them. I passed the 3 mile marker at about 22 minutes so I was close to them just never re-connected.

The Bridge;

This is the only place the race really sucked. 18,000 people were corralled into a lane that was no bigger than a trail. For quite a ways it slowed down to a walk. Instead of getting angry I just let it go. I was weaving in and out of people at first but it was wasting a lot of energy. So I did what any non competitive social runner should do. I enjoyed the view

Windsor Side;

Finally we arrived in Windsor. It was nice to be on solid-flat ground. Coming down Huron Church there were a tonne of spectator's including Kona Shelley in her running gear. As we made our way around to Riverside drive Jake and Grandma were there cheering us on. Figuring I

already lost enough time I stopped to chat. Then I was on my way again and saw a guy I work with so I stopped to chat with him. Funny enough while I was talking with him Corinne Gibb ran by, she lives in my neighbourhood and I have run with her a couple of times in her training to do the full Marathon. So I caught up with her and ran with her for the next 6 miles. She was on a great pace to finish the Marathon with a great PR last year her time was 5:23:43 This year 4:28:18. I know how it feels to run by yourself and how comforting it is to have someone you know run with you so I stayed with her until mile 12.

The Tunnel;

I really like running through the tunnel although it is a killer to runners. Apparently not to walkers cause they are cooler and stuff. By this time the pack was thinning out and we had some room to run.

Back in Detroit;

I still felt great other than a bit of soreness in my thighs from the tunnel. We stopped at the next water station and had a drink and a GEL. It was smooth sailing from there, once we shook out the legs after the tunnel. Mile 11 came up and I felt like a Golden lab, bouncy and ready to go. But I held back and waited til mile 12. I said goodbye and good luck to Corinne and basically sprinted in the last mile. I must have passed 30 people and still had more in the tank-I always feel weird sprinting at the end when I was being competitive all the way through.

Becca and her clan;

When I met up with Becca and Leslie near the end of the 1/2 they still had that determined look on their faces. They were chewing up and spitting out the miles on the course. Plus a little bit of skipping along the way...I guess there is not much you can't do in non-competitive walking. They had grand stories of their victories and the fun they had through out the walk.

I jumped on the course with them to the finish and had to jog every 20 steps or so to keep up.

If everyone had as much fun as they had it would be a grand event!

The 1st time 5kmers

Jessica and Jennifer it sounds like had a great time also. I heard a tale that Jenn was so crazy at the end she was racing another person sprinting to the end and knocking down pillions.

Overall feeling of the race;

I still felt as thought I could have run another 13 and could have left more of myself out on the course. I am very pleased with my time and know that if there was any day I could have PR'd it would have been today. Just knowing that is good enough for me.

Next Race;

My next race is going to be competitive. I have a few people that think they can beat me in a 5km run so the challenge is on and will be happening at the Jingle Bell run in Essex Sunday, November 16th 10:00 am. So I have about a month to speed train and get competitive race ready for this one.

My prediction is sub 20min!