The Resolution Run is part of the Crystal Coast Countdown; which is a weekend full of a variety of events to celebrate the end of one year and the start of a new year.  It culminates in the dropping of the crab pot at midnight on December 31st.

I had not done any speed intervals or tempo training since before the Marshall University Marathon on November 11th.  After taking a week off following the marathon I gradually starting building my weekly mileage back up to over 40 miles per week.  I did not run the Resolution Run last year when the weather was perfect and the race had 176 participants.

The weather forecast for this years race looked bad all week so I waited until Friday night to decide if I would do it.  I awoke Saturday morning to steady rain.  I looked at the radar and knew it wasn't going to let up until around noon and it would actually get heavier during the race.  I decided to go ahead and head to Front Street in Beaufort for the race to see if they were even still going to have the race.  Since I was up and already there I went ahead and registered.  The rain was still coming down steadily and water was starting to stand on the race course.  I was hoping Anne would do the race with me but she overslept and I was thinking how nice it would be to be back in bed on this rainy and cold morning.

I met Melanie Ng under the awning across the street from the start and talked to her as we did some dynamic stretching to warm-up.  Her goal was to break 19:00.  I started coaching and training her in the spring of this year and she went from a 23:28 5K to low 19s and even ran PRs in the half marathon and 10 miler.  I didn't think this was going to be the day to break 19 but at least she still came out and ran when many people did not.  After jogging an easy mile I made my way over to the start line.  The Resolution Run 5K course is the same as the Historic Beaufort Road Race course.

About 30 runners lined up for the start in the steady rain and 50 degrees weather.  It was a very small race and the officials were fast to start the race.  I wasn't ready for the start but the officials said "Runners set, Go!"  The police car that was leading us on the course wasn't even ready for the start.  He was still driving to us on the staring line when we had started and almost ran into his car.  He did a fast 180 and pulled ahead of us.

I went out fast with three other runners with me.  I wore an old, worn out pair of road flats because of the nasty weather.  Just before half a mile, two runners that I did not know blew by me and started pulling away.  I stayed in fourth place and kept running down Front Street.  I ran the first mile in 5:49.  I felt good but I knew I wasn't going to win unless the two guys slowed down a lot.  They were still pulling away from me as we hit the 180 degree turnaround.  Melanie wasn't too far behind me, maybe 15 seconds or so.  I knew then she was going to run sub 19 unless she blew up.

I was trying to run the tangents on the gentle curves but there was over ankle deep water and I was trying to keep my feet dry.  The leaders were running in the middle of the road or wherever the water wasn't as deep. After running trough a deep puddle and getting my shoes and socks soaked I didn't care anymore about trying to avoid the standing water.  I caught third place shortly after the turnaround and stayed with him until the 2 mile mark.  I ran mile 2 in 5:54.  After 2 miles I started to pull away from him.  I wasn't going to catch the leaders so I had to hold onto third place.

I tried to stay consistent and keep the pace I ran the first 2 miles in.  Considering I was not in race shape the pace didn't feel bad even in the bad weather conditions.  I thought I even had a shot at a sub 18 until the last half mile.  I ran mile 3 in 5:51 and the final 0.10 miles in 44 seconds.  I finished 3rd Overall in 18:16.  Melanie wasn't far behind me.  She finished first for the women and 5th Overall in a new personal record of 18:32!  She shattered sub 19 on a day where she thought she would just break 20.  I was very proud of her.

Overall it was a good race and I had fun even though I was shivering until I got home and had a hot shower.  I did find out that my North Face Running Hat is 100% waterproof and great for runs in the rain.  The Brooks Nightlife jacket that I had on before and after the race was also waterproof and it kept me warm and helped me warm back up.  The awards were nice.  The prize pack was a Columbia gift bag with gloves, rain hat, and neck warmer.  Each participate also got a Resolution Run water-bottle.  The entry fee was only $15; even day of the race.  It was my final race of 2012 and my first since turning 30 years old.

Favorite Race

My favorite race of 2012 was my first race of the year, the Crystal Coast Half Marathon on February 25th.  I've ran the Crystal Coast Half marathon every year and finished second, fourth, second, and fourth in the previous four years before 2012.  The race was on week 11 of my 18 week Pfitzinger plan for the 116th Boston Marathon.  The weather was great minus the wind.  I'm used to doing long runs, tempos, bridge intervals, easy runs, and race in my hometown in windy conditions so it didn't bother me as much as the other runners.  I actually used the wind to my advantage.  I took the lead for good after six miles and pulled away from the field.  I finally won the Crystal Coast Half Marathon in 1:21:09!  My friend and fellow local, Heidi Tucker, won the women's race.  The race set record numbers with a total of 628 runners; 396 finished the half marathon and 232 finished the 5K.

Toughest Race

The 116th Boston Marathon was the toughest race I ran this year and the toughest of my life.  It was harder than last year's epic USATF 10K trail championship race that felt more like mountain navigating than a race.  I say Boston was harder because of the record heat.  There is no shade on the course and "a breeze felt like a blast from a hair dryer".  The weather was such a concern that the Boston Athletic Association even offered a deferment option.  If you didn't want to race in the heat you didn't have to and you would have guaranteed entry into the 2013 Boston Marathon.  I considered the deferment option but chose to run and to run it as best as I could.  My goal in better conditions was to break my 2:54:26 PR that I set at Boston in 2011.  I felt like I was in 2:50-2:52 shape.  The BAA did a great job of having plenty of water and Gatorade on course along with misting stations, fire hoses, and big tents that sprayed water from the top down onto you.  Those felt amazing!  The crowd support in the heat was amazing as usual.   Nothing beats the crowd support Boston has for the entire 26.2 miles course.  Even though I drank more water and Gatorade during the race than I ever have on any other run in my life I still had to stop and walk some aid stations and drink full cups of each because I stopped sweating around 22 miles.  I ended up finishing in 3:04:09, 703 overall out of 21,554 and 661 out of males, and 515 out of males 18-34 years old.   It was 90 degrees when I finished with a road temperature of 102 degrees.  It was my the slowest marathon I've ever ran but I still beat the 3:05:00 qualifying time even in the intense heat.  Upon arriving back in North Carolina I ended up in the emergency room and needed three IVs.

First Time Races

I ran five first time races in 2012 that I had not previously done before.  The first was the Habitat Home Run 10K on March 17th.  The race was on week 14 of my 18 week training plan for Boston.  The weather conditions were not ideal for a fast time.  It was 100% humidity and thick fog at the start of the race.  The course was flat but had a lot of turns.  After running the first mile in 6:00 I picked up the pace to 5:49 and 5:53 for the next two miles.  I started pulling away from the field once I sped up.  I kept the faster pace for the remaining of the race and won the race in a new personal record of 36:41.  Marathon training does wonderful things for my times in shorter races.  I usually pr in shorter races while in marathon training even when I'm not rested or tapered for those races.  It was my second race of 2012 and my second win.

The second first time race of the year was the Run2Give 5K Road Race on August 25th.  It came on week 1 of a 12 week marathon plan for the Marshall University Marathon on November 11.  I ran the race with my good friend Katherine Stephenson.  It was her wedding day and she wanted to run before her wedding that evening.  I chose to pace her.  It was a good race organized by a high school runner at West Carteret.  We only had one problem during the race.  The fireman blocked us from staying on Front Street and sent us up Live Oak Street where we ended up on Hwy 70 in live traffic.  Big mistake on his part!  Katherine and I made the decision to go down Gordon Street to get back on Front Street.  Since we added on half a mile we also decided to turn around where my Garmin said was 1.55 miles and run back the same way we came.  Even with the confusion of running the wrong course, I ended up pacing Katherine to a 19:12.  She won the women's race and we tied for 2nd overall.  The race had 102 runners finish the 5K and it still raised money for Martha's Mission Cupboard, the local emergency food pantry.

The third first time race was the City of Oaks Marathon Relay on November 4th.  I was asked to be on the Capital RunWalk relay team.  I debated doing it because it was only a week before my marathon.  I chose to do it because I knew it would be fun and I could use it as a final tempo before the marathon.  Each leg was a different lengths.  Tim Brock ran leg 1, Greg Dame ran leg 2 which was the longest leg and he got us the lead on his leg, Pat Price ran leg 3 which was the second longest leg, and I ran the final leg which was a 10K.  It was hard for me to hold back even though we had a comfortable lead.  I ran my leg at 6:03 min/mile pace with the final three miles under 6:00.  Our team won the relay division in 2:34:22, 3:30 ahead of the second place team!  My girlfriend, Jamie, ran her first 10K; which was the first 6.2 miles of the marathon.  The 10K was the Old Reliable 10K and she had a tough uphill finish.  Running the relay did not have any negative effects on my marathon performance a week a later.  I had a lot of fun running on the relay team for Capital RunWalk and it was nice to do something different.

My fourth first time race of 2012 was the Marshall University Marathon on November 11th in Huntington, West Va.  I did the race with my training partner Jarrod Quinlivan.  It was my first fall marathon and first year I ran two marathons.  I felt really good going into it even though I originally wasn't confident of the 12 week plan.  I usually do 16 or 18 week plans.  The 12 week plan worked well though.  Jarrod and I ran the first half together and then I started to pull away some.  My goal was to nail the final 10K.  I felt great until 22 miles when my stomach went into distress.  I had to back off my pace the final four miles.  I still finished 10th Overall in 2:54:29, just three seconds slower than my PR.  If my stomach had not acted up I think I would have ran 1-3 minutes faster.  The race was also my first double loop course.  It was nice knowing what was ahead of me the second half of the race.  Jarrod finished 11th Overall in 2:55:09, a new PR for him by exactly 1:00.

Finally, my fifth first time race of 2012 was the Resolution Run 5K on Front Street in Beaufort on December 29th.  I had not done any speed-work or tempos since before the Marshall University Marathon.  In the weeks since the marathon I was gradually building my weekly mileage back to up to over 40 miles a week.  The forecast all week was calling for heavy rain for the race.  Once I arrived at the race I decide to go ahead and do it.  It was a steady, heavy rain and the air temperature was in the low 50s.  It was a very small race because of the bad weather.  I went out a little too fast but settled in and stayed consistent on my splits.  I finished third overall in 18:16.  There were 2 guys way ahead of me and I think they went sub 17 minutes.  It was my first race since turning 30 years old.

Beach Run Series

The 2012 Beach Run Series had an all time record participate in the series this year.  The third race of the series had 307 participants, the first time a Beach Run has ever topped 300.  The series had over 200 runners in each of the first five races and averaged 253 runners for all seven races.  A big reason for the increase in numbers was due to Billy Stanley, the Carteret County Parks and Recreation Athletics Programs Supervisor.  Sadly, Billy passed away on June 30, 2012 from a heart attack.  He was a fun man to be around and I'll miss talking to him at the future races.  He truly cared about everyone he met and always had fun and a smile on his face.  Honoring Billy Stanley was the top sports story of 2012 in the Carteret County News-Times.

The Beach Runs are a points system and you have to do 4 of the first 6 races to qualify for overall and age group awards.  If you do all six then your best four count.  The seventh race is a fun run or tiebreaker if needed.  They are from April through August.  Races start at 6:30pm on a falling or low tide so the sand is usually packed in pretty well for running.  I've done the 10K the last seven years and won the overall championship in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

I broke 40 minutes in all but one of the four 10Ks that I ran this season.  The fast rising tide and wind prevent me from breaking 40 minutes in the second race of the series this year.  After easily winning the first two races I had tougher competition for the remaining races.  Nicholas Pugh, a senior at Croatan High School, pushed me in the final two 10K races I ran.  Nic pushed me to a personal best of 38:10 10K in the fourth beach run even with a headwind the final 3.1 miles.  I held him off and won both races against him,  giving me four wins which clinched the 2012 10K Championship.  The third race of the series was known for runners in the 1 mile running too far because the turn-around sign was in the wrong place.  Either it was moved after being correctly placed or was never correctly placed.  Those running the 1 mile that day ended up running 1.4 miles instead.

My girlfriend Jamie participated in the Beach Run Series for the second consecutive year.  She did the mile this year after she did the 5K last year.  She did great in the mile and ran some personal records in the sand.  She ended up winning the Overall Mile Championship.

The Final Beach Run of the year was to honor Billy Stanley.  His wife and kids were there and were presented with signed cards, banners, and shirts from all those that knew Billy.  It was a great turnout.  Anne, Heidi, and I all ran the 5K since there was only a 1 mile and 5K available   It had been awhile since the three of us had done the same race.

2012 Totals

• 2,534.9 miles run
• Total Running Time: 315:57:30 or 13 days and 3 hours
• Ran 12 Races
• Won 6 races:  Crystal Coast Half Marathon, Habitat Home Run 10K, and 4 Beach Run 10Ks
• 2 New Personal Records:  36:41 10K at the Habitat Home Run and 29:04 8K at the Twin Bridges 8K Road Race on October 6, 2012