The Crystal Coast Half Marathon is my favorite race in my home county.  I've ran the race every year and finished second, fourth, second, fourth, and first in the previous five years.  The course makes a 3 mile loop around the Morehead City waterfront before heading over the bridge and down Fort Macon Road and back.  This race has had bad luck with weather and this year was no exception.  The forecast predicted heavy rain, 25 mph winds, and severe thunderstorms.  The forecast still wasn't as bad as the inaugural race in 2008.  A quote from the Carteret News-Times about the 2008 race, "Saturday morning in Morehead City was hardly the best of conditions to walk outside and get the morning paper, much less run a half marathon. With near hurricane-force wind gusts, a steady, and at times torrential, downpour of rain and the threat of thunder off in the distance, Saturday morning was rough weatherwise".  The headwind going over the bridge in 2008 was unreal and it was so strong a your back coming back across the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge that it felt like it was going to throw you off the top of the bridge.  

I felt good going into the race this year on February 23rd.  I wasn't training for Boston like the previous two years so I was a little fresher for the race this year.  My goal was to repeat as winner and break 1:20.  I've ran seven half marathons and four of those were under 1:21 but not under 1:20.  I even ran 1:20:16 at this half in 2010 and followed it up with a 1:20:17, just one second slower, in 2011. 

I arrived at the Morehead City waterfront around 7:00 AM.  The temperature was 60 degrees with a steady rain falling.  The wind wasn't bad actually.  The thunderstorms were off the coast so the weather wasn't as bad as predicted.  I ate a powerbar and sat in the car with my dad, in order to stay dry until it was time to start my warm-up.  After doing my dynamic stretching routine I did a warm-up easy 1.5 miles on the watefront.  After that I drink a G Series Prime and met up with Melanie.  We made our way to the starting line and awaited the start.  I lined up on the front row with the 2011 winner and course record holder, Thomas Kunish.  Thomas ran 1:13:32 in 2011 but said he had been battling achillies injuries and wasn't sure how he would do today.  

The race started at 8:04 AM and I was out fast.  I kept my sunglasses and rainproof North Face hat on.  I run in sunglasses in the rain because I wear contacts and I've had contacts almost come out on runs in the rain before.  Thomas and another guy started pulling away from me after the first quarter mile.  For a guy that was battling achillies injuries, Thomas started out fast.  I thought my Timex Run Trainer pace was off because it had me at sub 6:00 min/mile pace and it didn't feel like I was running that fast.  I ran the first mile in 6:03 and felt good. 

The wind wasn't bad on the waterfront because it protected by houses on both sides.  The rain was staying steady and got heavier at times.  As we ran through the start/finish area at three miles I tossed my hat to my dad.  He told me the leaders were about one minute and thirty seconds ahead of me.  I knew I had to stay focused and hope they would come back to me.  My overall average pace was staying just over 6:00 min/mile as I started up the bridge at 4.6 miles.  The bridge is a little over 400m straight up before it levels off and drops.  It is 0.75 miles one way across the bridge or 1.5 miles over and back on the bridge.  I love running the Atlantic Beach bridge.  I could barely see the leaders and the lead police car with it's flashing light ahead of me because the rain was so heavy.  

I came off the bridge and was now in Atlantic Beach.  I still felt good and picked up my pace on the flat roads.  I ran mile six in 5:53.  Water was standing on Fort Macon Road and it was hard to avoid all the puddles so I just ran through them.  The leaders were staying a consistent distance ahead of me.  I decided to take a gel at 7.5 miles.  I've never taken a gel in a half before but decided might as well try it today.  The chocolate raspberry GU Roctane is delicious and I hoped the caffeine would give me a kick.  I chased it with some water at the next aid station just before the turn around on Fort Macon Road. 

The headwind started getting strong after rounding the turn around.  I knew I had no one one to worry about catching me because it was minutes before I saw fourth place.  The leaders were still running side by side more than a minute ahead of me.  I started looking for Melanie.  I saw her and she was the second place female.  I encouraged her and she encouraged me as we passed each other going opposite directions.  

The headwind was getting stronger but I passed through 10 miles in 1:00:31.  I made the right turn off of Fort Macon road and headed back towards the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge.  This was when the wind was at its toughest.  I tried picking the pace up but the wind was unrelenting.  As I neared the top of the bridge I could see Thomas walking.  As I passed him I said "I hope you're ok" and he said he was.  I felt bad for him, he had over 2 miles to get back to the finish and his achillies had to be bothering him if he was walking.  It took way too much effort to run mile 11 in under 7 minutes but I was now in second place.  

I knew I wasn't going to catch the leader unless he greatly slowed down so I focused on chasing the clock and a PR.  I came off the bridge and made the right turn onto Arendell Street at 11.5 miles.  I ran mile 12 in 5:31, my fastest of the race.  With 1.1 miles to go I had a shot at a PR but unfortunately I didn't have another gear in me.  I finished in second place overall in 1:20:20, just four seconds slower than my PR.  So close to a PR even in the wind and rain.  I seem to run well in bad weather conditions.  I just don't let the weather ruin my focus and I attack it. 

The winner was Quinn Woodruff in 1:17:51.  He ran a great race.  Quinn is training for the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.  I am not running Boston this year.  I re-qualified in the brutal heat last year but chose to skip it this year.  I'll be back to Boston though in the future.  Melanie was the 2nd female to finish in 1:34:52, 20 minutes faster than she ran the race last year.  I got Melanie, a UNC fan, to take a picture with me after race and she actually made body contact with a legitimate Duke shirt.  Go DUKE!

I was disappointed in my time but I still ran a good race and I felt strong.  I wish we didn't have to battle the strong headwind from 8-11.5 miles.  I want a sub 1:20.  I will keep doing this half because it is a great race.  They race directors, volunteers, staff, and timing company do a wonderful job with this race.  Everyone is very nice and I highly recommend doing this race.  Numbers were down from last year but that was due to the weather.  Mother Nature just doesn't like the last Saturday in February for some reason.

The Cocoa 5K on February 2nd was a first year race that was part of the Carolina Chocolate Festival.  I decided to do the race just for fun.  The course was a flat out and back starting from CMAST building on Bogue Sound in Morehead City and ran down Evans Street.

I arrived at the race around 7:15am.  After doing some dynamic stretching I ran the race course for an easy warm-up.  I tend to do better on my tempo runs when I do a 3 mile warm-up instead of a 2 miles so I took this race as a tempo.  It was 28 degrees but the wind was calm.  My goals for the race were to win, of course, and to run faster than my last 5K; the Resolution Run 5K on December 29th.

I know you're not supposed to do anything new on race day, much less wear shoes you have never ran in before but I did just that.  I ran in the Brooks Green Silence that I bought at the Marshall University Marathon expo.  I thought a 5K would be a good way to break them in.  It was a decent crowd for a first year race.  About 130 runners lined up for the the 8:00 AM start.  I kept my tights on since the temperature was still below freezing.  I also wore a long sleeve blue Under Armour cold gear shirt and my black Capital RunWalk singlet over it.  I had not ran a race in tights before but I also had not ran a race with temperatures below freezing.

The gun went off and I was out leading.  The start was a little tricky because there was a speed bump 5 feet after the staring line and a couple others we had to cross in the parking lot before making it to the main road. I was leading but could hear someone fairly close behind me.  The golf cart leading us on the course was having a hard time staying ahead of me for some reason.  Just before turning down to Evans Street I had to pass the golf cart or run into it.

I kept pushing myself as I neared the 1 mile mark.  I ran the first mile in 5:50.  It felt comfortable so I picked it up and started pulling away from the field.  I continued on Evans Street and rounded the turn around. I was by myself still but second place was only thirty seconds or so behind.  The shoes were feeling great as I ran mile 2 in 5:45.  At this point I knew I had the race won and just had to push myself for a sub 18:00.  I kept the pace fast and neared the finish.  I won in 17:57.  Second place was over 19:00 min.

I did not post my Garmin from the race because I lost it after the race.  The last thing I remember is stretching with it after I ran another 2 miles easy after the race.  I thought I put it in my coat pocket but if I did it fell out somewhere.  I looked all over the start/finish and parking lot and did not find it.  I also looked all through my car and my parents house.  If anyone reading this found it please contact me.  It is a black Garmin Forerunner 110.  I also did not have any pictures to post because I left my camera at the house.

Even though I have only ran in the Brooks Green Silence once I love the shoe!  It is a great road racing shoe for 5K-half marathon and even the marathon for some people.  They are light but great cushioning.  The shoe is made from green materials.  My favorite part of the shoe is the wrap-over tongue.  It is made into the upper, not a separate piece.  It locks onto the top of your foot and doesn't slide like tongues do on other shoes.  I think all running shoes should make the tongue that way.

I was happy with the win but a little disappointed in my time.  The pace felt comfortable and I knew I could have held that pace for a 10K or longer.  I just did not have the extra gear to go much faster, especially without anyone to push me.  It was a good race and I liked the course.  I hope the race grows in numbers next year.