Run to the Rock Half Marathon
Sep. 11th, 2011 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tehutiYesterday, Aimee and I ran our second timed half marathon. The Run to the Rock is a benefit run for the Plymouth Boys and Girls Club. They offer a 5k, 10k and half marathon. I already posted our run times to Facebook via Runkeeper, so if you want to see the nitty-gritty details, go check it there if you haven't already. My thoughts, broken into Good Stuff and Bad Stuff:
Good stuff:
Not last!
Almost a personal record despite a much harder course than the Providence Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.
Finished in under three hours, which was the theoretical course cut-off.
Body in much better physical condition after the race, both immediately and the next day.
Last five miles of the course were quite pretty.
Great weather. Sunny, warm but not too warm, and a nice breeze, especially near the water.
Pretty good volunteer support.
The last aid station with Gatorade let me fill one entire bottle of my fuel belt from their supply.
Tried the Power Bar runners goo. They were handing it out at one of the aid stations. It's more watery than Gu, but the flavor was yummy.
Bad stuff:
No pre-race speech or anything. Someone called for the racers attention, and a few seconds later a horn sounded.
The roads weren't closed, and we were so far behind the pack we lacked any protection from traffic.
Said traffic seemed very annoyed that we were there. More than one car zoomed around us at alarming speeds.
No sidewalks until the last two-ish miles to avoid said traffic.
Only saw one porta potty on the race route.
After race party was meh. Only one vendor. Food was also meh. Lots of bananas, though, which is always a good thing.
Aimee ran into some physical troubles near the end of the race. I was a bit worried she was going to have to stop with less than one mile to go. But we made it!
My computer chip in my bib didn't work right. I crossed the line with Aimee, but my chip said I came in a minute after her. No big deal, as I recorded it correctly myself.
All told, I think next year I'll skip this one and try the Hartford Marathon Foundation's race at Missquamicut Beach, in South County, Rhode Island. It's more expensive, but will definitely be a better experience overall.
Good stuff:
Not last!
Almost a personal record despite a much harder course than the Providence Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.
Finished in under three hours, which was the theoretical course cut-off.
Body in much better physical condition after the race, both immediately and the next day.
Last five miles of the course were quite pretty.
Great weather. Sunny, warm but not too warm, and a nice breeze, especially near the water.
Pretty good volunteer support.
The last aid station with Gatorade let me fill one entire bottle of my fuel belt from their supply.
Tried the Power Bar runners goo. They were handing it out at one of the aid stations. It's more watery than Gu, but the flavor was yummy.
Bad stuff:
No pre-race speech or anything. Someone called for the racers attention, and a few seconds later a horn sounded.
The roads weren't closed, and we were so far behind the pack we lacked any protection from traffic.
Said traffic seemed very annoyed that we were there. More than one car zoomed around us at alarming speeds.
No sidewalks until the last two-ish miles to avoid said traffic.
Only saw one porta potty on the race route.
After race party was meh. Only one vendor. Food was also meh. Lots of bananas, though, which is always a good thing.
Aimee ran into some physical troubles near the end of the race. I was a bit worried she was going to have to stop with less than one mile to go. But we made it!
My computer chip in my bib didn't work right. I crossed the line with Aimee, but my chip said I came in a minute after her. No big deal, as I recorded it correctly myself.
All told, I think next year I'll skip this one and try the Hartford Marathon Foundation's race at Missquamicut Beach, in South County, Rhode Island. It's more expensive, but will definitely be a better experience overall.
