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Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Kiawah Island, South Carolina
United States
Kiawah Island Resort
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 19m 48s
Overall Rank = 1448/2200
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

We arrived at Kiawah about 7pm. The traffic was very heavy coming in. I will probably take Friday off and leave earlier in the day next year. We had pasta dinner in our suite with friends.
I woke up at 6AM and took a hot shower. I took some Zycam cold medicine and 800mg ibuprofen (I know I know it can result in hyponatremia). I still had a bad sore throat and serious snot rockets.

Event warmup:

I got a ride over to the expo before the race. My underarmor long sleeve top was sitting in my closet back in Augusta, aso I needed to buy a new top. It was much colder than last year and people were huddled together inside the expo building. I put on my superman ballcap and t-shirt over the tech shirt I bought and secured the number.
I had a Peanut Butter Clif Bar 1/2 hour before the race. About 15 minutes before the start I went to drop off my bag. Runnergirl, Katiefrog and the Bear were all there. It's a bit funny introducing myself as Bluejack, because it's really only my triathlon and racing name. After meeting my fellow BTer's I started to jump around and get warmed up. I felt fine temp wise, especially after I got to the starting line and was in the large group of people. I had lost all the BTer's and I couldn't find my wife or other non-BT friends that had made the trip, so I started alone. I put the I-Pod headphones in and got started.
Run
  • 2h 19m 48s
  • 13 miles
  • 10m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

My goals for this race:
1. Run the race comfortably and without major injury that would hinder my IMAZ prep.
2. Enjoy myself while running. I enjoyed my accomplishment last year, but it was a fairly agonizing race. I wanted to make sure that I watched the scenery and enjoyed being able to run and be healthy.
3. Finish in 2:30 or less because I had to play the Ocean Course at Kiawah. This is one of the 10 best golf courses in America. My best friend John was along for the trip and I had to finish in time to make our tee time. For some reason, we couldn't play on Sunday. I'll put more info on this great experience in the warm-don segment.

So, I started off alone and forgot to start my watch. I started the watch about 5 minutes into the race, so it was off the official pace by a bunch. I also got trapped at the rear of the pack with super slow runners and walkers so it took a while for the pack to split up so I could go my pace.
Once I hit mile 1, I realized I was doing 12min miles. For some reasonI have latched onto this as my IMAZ pace, and this was supposed to be my LSR for the week. I was worried that if I pushed to hard my cold would kick in and I wouldn't be able to finish. I found a couple of people to pace on and just went with the flow.
Last year the miles seemed to take forever, but my better overall conditioning and perception of how far is FAR made the race seem much shorter. When I reached mile 4 last year I was dying, but this year I felt great and I didn't need to walk at all. I saw some friends from Augusta and chatted for a sec while I walked through the mile 4 aide station. I drank a half gatorade at every aide station but no more as last year I got waterlogged. This worked much better. I also ditched the fuel belt as well and just used the aide stations.
At mile 5 I started to see people coming back the other way. I stopped concentrating on running and just people watched all the folks who were faster than I am. I had a strange cornucopia of thought. I was mad at the girl with the Yankees cap who was faster (I'm a RedSox fan) I was mad/happy when I saw old folks who were faster. I was mad when I saw a guy in a Gorilla suit who was much faster. I checked out some of the chicks who were hot as well (sorry, I am a man).
Suddenly I looked up and I realized I was passing folks. I looked at my watch and I was running a much faster pace. So after 48 minutes of 12min/mile I was running at 10min/mile pace and I felt fine. I started mouthing the words to my I-pod songs for some inspiration. I even contemplated pouring it on at the turn around to beat last years 2:13 time. I felt much more spring in my step and For the first time in a long time, I loved running again.

So I kept picking pace bootie for the rest of the race. (The quality went up as I got faster). I'd pick someone a little ahead of me and catch up, then pick another. Towards mile 10 I saw a medicine doctor from MCG who's a good dude. I paced behind him until he turned for the full Mary. I wished him luck and gave him a pat on the shoulder. he gave me the thumbs up and said "good job!" I get sorta emotional towards the end of these races and I yelled "Go Kick Some Ass!"

I had lulled at mile 10-11, but my GU had kicked in and the last two miles was pretty easy. I felt in the groove. I knew by then I couldn't beat last years's pace without a serious outpouring of energy and I had to golf later. So I kept a nice easy pace.
At the last turn I saw Katiefrog's husband and I almost passed him without figuring out who it was. I tapped him on the elbow and said, "Let's Go..." I started to run a bit faster and then did a fast run across the finish.
I felt pretty darn good all things considered. The same as last year, I realized that a marathon is in here somewhere if I want it. I had plenty left in the tank, and I had met all the pre-race goals.
My wife had run walked, so I waited for her at the finish line. She had fallen off her training schedule and she was pretty wasted at the end. I put her medal on and gave her my silver wrap. It was a great moment to share!


What would you do differently?:

Not much. If I wasn't sick and didn't have to remain upright for the round of golf, I probably could have beat my time from last year. This felt much easier overall than last year. I think my overall fitness is better and my swimming and cycling were not in the equation last year. It took me almost a week before I could do any more workouts and I'm sore, but ready to work out today (still have the cold!)
Post race
Warm down:

I played 18 holes at the Kiawah Ocean Course. I shot 62 on the front nine and 42 on the back nine! I got a birdie on the 17th hole! Woohoo! I'll put an addendum later today and describe the course, so if anyone wants to golf with me next year we can go.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

1. Sick.
2. Recovering from right shin injury.
3. Needed energy for the round of golf.
4. Left foot arch blister.

Event comments:

This is a great race for beginners. The course is very flat and the weather doesn't let you overheat. The view is great and the people I have met there are quite nice. I am making this an annual event.

I may do the M next year or concentrate on decreasing my time. We will see!




Last updated: 2006-11-04 12:00 AM
Running
02:19:48 | 13 miles | 10m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 1448/2200
Performance: Good
I HAVE NO HRM. GET ME A GARMIN FOR X-MAS SANTA! I'll describe the components of the race in the run portion.
Course: Kiwah is a flat loop. There are no major hills. More comments in the race narative.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2006-12-11 9:13 AM

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Elite
2552
20005002525
Evans, GA
Subject: Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon


2006-12-12 9:23 AM
in reply to: #620800

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The Original
7834
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Raleigh/Durham
Subject: RE: Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon
Hey Steve!  Great race!  It's so awesome that you beat your goal time and felt comfrotable during the race.  You left out the part where I saw you and yelled your name twice (before the turn around) but you didn't hear me because you were jamming to your iPOD   Glad you had a great gold game as well as a great 1/2 mary!
2006-12-12 10:46 AM
in reply to: #620800

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Elite
2552
20005002525
Evans, GA
Subject: RE: Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon
Next time I won't wear one after reading the thread about I-Pods and road races.
2006-12-12 10:23 PM
in reply to: #620800

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Veteran
225
10010025
Dothan, Alabama
Subject: RE: Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon
Congrats on your race, on picking up the pace nicely, and especially enjoying running!
2006-12-14 3:29 PM
in reply to: #620800

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Pro
3705
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Vestavia Hills
Subject: RE: Kiawah Island Marathon-Half Marathon

I wanted to make sure that I watched the scenery and enjoyed being able to run and be healthy.

Now that is something to remember and reflect upon when you count your blessing this holiday season.

Great race.  I am going to have to adopt the 'picking pace bootie' methodology of running faster

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