Race #201
Half Marathon #73
2022 Race #9
2022 Half Marathon #4
South Carolina Half Marathon #53
Alliance HHI Half #1

I had a range of goals going into this race that changed based on a few factors. My first goal was a race close to my PR or at the least a 1:45. As the time for the race approached, I decided that I wanted to focus more on the marathon so I pulled the goal back to 1:50. Then the south, the whole East Coast really, decided to bring summer back. (Not that anyone asked for it to do so.) Since I don’t perform well in the heat, I pulled the goal back again to 1:55.

I really enjoyed staying in a hotel so close to the start of the race. That closeness made me consider changing up my wardrobe once we had walked across the street to the start. The air already felt warm. My dilemma as someone who both sweats a lot and gets warm quickly is wearing my pack to bring hydration and staying cool. Basically, if I want to avoid chafing from the pack, I have to wear a shirt.

After using the restroom, we waited a while before actually starting the race two or three minutes after the scheduled time of 8am. I expected a bit of congestion at the start of the race but nothing on the level that we actually experienced with the quick entry onto the comparatively narrow trail. Talk about frustrating. Thankfully, after about half a mile we turned off the trail and onto the familiar Avocet and then Dune Lane, the street running parallel to North Forest Beach. Even though the road itself is not wide, it has more room to spread out. From that point forward I had no issues with congestion.

During the first couple miles, after the congestion let up, I focused on getting my pace to my goal of 8:30, a difficult task to manage with my Garmin’s satellite acquisition issues. Once out of the congestion I wanted to run a lot faster than I should and thus focused on pulling back so I could make it through the race without bonking.

Mile 1 – 8:44
Mile 2 – 8:24

A little before the 2 mile mark, we made the first turn around, reentering the bike path. Using the path at this point did not prove a problem since the runners had had a chance to spread out. I also knew that on the second loop we would have even less difficulty since a large portion of the runners participated in the quarter marathon and would not join us on the second loop.

About 10-20 seconds after the turn, I waved to Mom who at that point was not far behind me. This out and back portion provided the best opportunity for that since, as I would discover, the South Forest Beach turn around formed a wider loop.

Even though we had not run much of the race, I began to feel the toll that I knew the heat and humidity would take. Thus, as we made our way back through the park (the course ended up forming a skinny figure 8) I scoped out possible places to ditch my pack and shirt, planning to do so the second time I came through North Forest Beach. I figured that by that point I would have consumed most, if not all, of my hydration.

Mile 3 – 8:36

After getting back onto the trail on the South Forest Beach side of the park, something shifted in how my effort felt. I could still hold the pace but did not know for how long. I told myself to make it through at least the first loop before pulling back. One of the few things I would change would be to walk when I took in fuel at the 3 mile mark rather than try to see if I could manage it while running. (Chewing becomes remarkably difficult while running.) I managed it at mile 3 but at what cost?

Shortly before the next mile marker, I noticed that someone ran directly behind me. At first I expected them to pass me soon after I noticed but that did not happen. Every few steps, I glanced back to see how close the person was and try to discern whether they planned to pass any time soon. It felt so disconcerting to have them hanging out directly behind me. After the 3rd or 4th time, the guy told me, “you’re good” as if I looked back to see if I was in the way. Um. Nope. I said something, admittedly in a rather exasperated tone, about it being disconcerting to have him running so close directly behind me. I don’t know if he heard me or not but I assume that he did because he started to back off. After the water stop that came soon after this point, I never noticed the guy again. FYI, if you find yourself running the same pace as someone, run slightly to the left or the right. It makes a big difference.

Mile 4 – 8:39

Throughout this section, I felt like I could maintain the pace but I could feel a burning lactic acid type sensation (hard to describe) in my lower legs which in hindsight I attribute primarily to the hot and humid conditions. I had an inkling that I would likely end up slowly significantly in the second half and made my goal to mitigate as much as that possible.

Mile 5 – 8:55
Mile 6 – 8:57

This time I did slow to a walk to take in my fuel. Shortly before this walk break I noticed that my heart rate was close to 180 BPM and knew that planned, periodic walk breaks would help keep that heart rate down as much as possible.

After the walk brea, we had about half a mile left before heading back through the park and onto the second loop of the course. Although we did not pass directly by the finish line, I don’t think I would have minded if we did. I was in it for the long haul.

This loop had much less congestion, as I knew it would which made this section fairly easy. I did wish that I had dropped the pack and shirt back when we went through the park at the halfway point but I still needed the hydration I had remaining in the bottle. Thus, I shifted my focus to looking to see how far behind Mom was knowing that I could still potentially miss her on the portion of the course that diverged from the trail. In fact, after making the turn around I thought I may have seen her shoes at a point when some trees blocked the view between the bike path and the road. As the path approached the point that the course emerged from that parallel road, I saw Mom. I got in a wave and realized that she now was over a mile behind me.

Mile 7 – 9:25 (fuel)
Mile 8 – 8:58
Mile 9 – 9:03

The walk break at mile 9 came shortly before we crossed over the main dividing road on the island near the park. This time as we approached the park, I found the finish line much. more tempting. Rather than dwell on that, I focused on picking out a spot to leave my pack and shirt, deciding on one close to the water stop. I stopped for a few seconds, less than 15, to take the pack and shirt off before continuing on. After doing so and starting back up reading, I could feel a lot of relief both actual and placebo. A little over a 5k remained. I could do this.

Mile 10 – 9:58 (includes 2 breaks – fuel and ditching the pack and shirt – and still under 10!)

By the time I got to the last 5k, I could feel how much energy the heat and humidity had drained from me. Seriously, I sweat so much that if my shorts fit less well the weight of the sweat-soaked fabric might have pulled them down a little too far. I planned to take at least 2 cups of water at the last water stop.

Mile 11 – 9:07

I remember little from this section aside from just trying to make it to the finish line.

Mile 12 – 9:49

This mile included the aforementioned water stop where I contemplated walking at each mile but ended up pushing through. The course markers ended up coming sooner than my Garmin indicated which I did not mind. This meant that I had only a small bit to go before reaching the finish.

Mile 13 – 9:03
Overall – 1:57:55

It felt really good to stop and even better that I had managed a time so close to my adjusted goal when faced with the weather we had.

Once I finished, I retrieved my pack and shirt from where I had left them, grabbed a cold cola and headed back to beside the front of the finish line to wait for Mom. While it took a little longer than I expected – the heat and humidity really took a toll on her – she still finished strong.