VA Beach Rock 'n Roll 13 miler 1/2 Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

well... I don't really know what to say about this race except I kind of bonked I guess. I can't explain my performance or lack of performance. The weather was beautiful; breezy, no humidity, not too hot. I wasn't in terrible shape, granted I didn't follow my training plan as well as I should have but I have run better on less training. I got plenty of sleep and didn't over indulge on Yeungling, I had a gel every 40 minutes or so, I drank plenty of fluids on the course, I had no stomach distress, it just wasn't in me on this day. My feet just felt like bricks. It didn't feel like a physical thing was holding me back, it was more mental. There was no inner voice telling me to go faster and push harder. My inner voice was just gone. My running really seemed to improve this time last year and I thought it would just keep getting better but I've totally slid backwards. I don't know what to do. This is my 5th half marathon in 1 year and the 3rd time I have done that event. Maybe I'm bored with this distance or that course. Or just burnt out. Maybe it's something else. Last summer I was in a really bad place. Running was what I did to relieve all the stress I was under. I had just left my job of 3 years and wasn't working, my sister and I were fighting, I had lost some of my closest friends, my marriage was on shakey ground. I was the saddest I had ever been in my life. Now my marriage is much better, My sister and I have made amends, I have a different job,I have rebuilt old friendships and made new ones. I guess I need a new motivation now that I'm not sad.
I should also mention that earlier in the week, my lower back started acting up again and I went to see my dr. He thinks my piriformis pain might not be that at all, it could be bursitis in my hip, or even disc related. I even had some xrays done and I'm going to see an othopedist in a couple of weeks. I took mild muscle relaxers throughout the week to loosen up my back before the long drive to VA Beach. Maybe that was the problem. Of course I didn't take them the day before, or the day of the race, and my pain was gone by the time the race started so I don't think that was the problem, but maybe it was.

I have no idea, any suggestions?

playing in the waves and laying out on the beach.


no motivation? boredom? not enough training?


The only 2 things about this race that I can complain about is 1.the shuttle that picks up at the KOA doesn't pick up until after the UPS trucks have left the race start so we had to drive to the start and 2. the food was crappy after the race. They handed you a bag with a plain bagel, a soyjoy, and an orange in it. Maybe I have been spoiled by the post race food at The Country Music 1/2, ING in Atl, and even Kiawah, but I was disappointed.