Carteret County News Times Photo Unlike last year where I ran a race in all twelve months I had no intentions of repeating that this year. I still plan on racing and hopefully doing more 10ks than last year. I also plan on a fall or winter marathon and right now my early favorites are Richmond and Houston. For my first race of this year I did the Crystal Coast Half Marathon on March 7th. I’ve ran the race every year it’s been held. It was the first half marathon in the area and is still the one with the best course. This was the eighth year of the race and I haven’t finished lower than fourth overall and won the race in 2012. Last year I ran my current PR of 1:19:33 there. The weather for this race has typically been windy and rainy but it was sunny last year but we did have wind. Wind is expected as this race is held at the beach and goes over the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge.
I didn’t have a time goal for this year’s race. I was satisfied with my 1:19:33 from last year and knew I wasn’t in PR shape this year. My PR last year came during training for the Boston marathon which was a lot more than I had been training this year. My one goal was to win this race for the second time. I arrived at the race around 8:15am for the 9:10 AM start for the half. The 10K started first at 9:00am and the 5K was starting after the half. The weather was cold with temps in the mid 30s but it was sunny and the wind wasn’t as bad as previous years. This marked the second year in a row it wasn’t raining. Jamie brought Justus and Bud with her to cheer me on. With the temperatures in the 30s I opted to race in my Adidas Supernova Compression shorts, Capital RunWalk white and blue singlet since it was game day for Duke vs UNC, my Duke blue Asics arm warmers, Nathan Bronco gloves, 2XU Performance Run Socks, and my Adidas Adizero Boston 5 Boost shoes. It was my first time racing in the Boston Boost that I’ve had since purchasing them at the Boston Marathon expo last year. I did one long tempo run in them and they were awesome and they are going to be my half and full marathon race shoe.
I didn’t have a time goal for this year’s race. I was satisfied with my 1:19:33 from last year and knew I wasn’t in PR shape this year. My PR last year came during training for the Boston marathon which was a lot more than I had been training this year. My one goal was to win this race for the second time. I arrived at the race around 8:15am for the 9:10 AM start for the half. The 10K started first at 9:00am and the 5K was starting after the half. The weather was cold with temps in the mid 30s but it was sunny and the wind wasn’t as bad as previous years. This marked the second year in a row it wasn’t raining. Jamie brought Justus and Bud with her to cheer me on. With the temperatures in the 30s I opted to race in my Adidas Supernova Compression shorts, Capital RunWalk white and blue singlet since it was game day for Duke vs UNC, my Duke blue Asics arm warmers, Nathan Bronco gloves, 2XU Performance Run Socks, and my Adidas Adizero Boston 5 Boost shoes. It was my first time racing in the Boston Boost that I’ve had since purchasing them at the Boston Marathon expo last year. I did one long tempo run in them and they were awesome and they are going to be my half and full marathon race shoe.
Start of the 8th Crystal Coast Half Marathon After doing my dynamic warm-up and an easy 1.5 miles I lined up for the start of the half. The field was smaller looking than last year but you never know who will show up that is fast and competitive. Heidi and I talked while waiting for the start. Our friend Katherine was running the 10K. The race started I went right to the lead with a guy side by side with me for the first half mile. After that I pulled away from the field. I just had the lead police vehicle and Butch, the race director, on his bicycle ahead of me.
I ran the first three miles in 6:05, 6:08, and 5:53 and felt good. As I completed the first 3 miles loop on Evans and Arendell I knew I had a good lead but wasn’t sure how much. Jamie cheered me on and said “Where is your competition?” I smiled and kept my focus. I ran mile four in 6:09, before starting up the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge. Mile 5 was on the bridge but I missed it so didn’t worry about it. I met a lot of the 10K runners coming back from their turnaround but missed Katherine and the leaders. Several 10K runners cheered me on and gave me plenty of room going up the bridge. I made the left turn onto Fort Macon and then the left turn onto Bogue Sound Drive to do a loop in a neighborhood. I ran miles five and six in 12:11; 6:05 average pace.
I ran the first three miles in 6:05, 6:08, and 5:53 and felt good. As I completed the first 3 miles loop on Evans and Arendell I knew I had a good lead but wasn’t sure how much. Jamie cheered me on and said “Where is your competition?” I smiled and kept my focus. I ran mile four in 6:09, before starting up the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge. Mile 5 was on the bridge but I missed it so didn’t worry about it. I met a lot of the 10K runners coming back from their turnaround but missed Katherine and the leaders. Several 10K runners cheered me on and gave me plenty of room going up the bridge. I made the left turn onto Fort Macon and then the left turn onto Bogue Sound Drive to do a loop in a neighborhood. I ran miles five and six in 12:11; 6:05 average pace.
On Fort Macon RD, Photo by Sally Kelly I was still cruising and leading but I was able to keep my pace consistent and even pick it up some once I came out of the neighborhood and turned left again on Fort Macon Road and headed for the turnaround. I felt good but was starting to regret wearing the arm warmers. It was still chilly with the wind but the bright sun was warming things up fast. The general rule is to dress as if it’s 10-15 degrees warmer than what it actually is because you will warm-up a good amount while running. I ran mile seven in 6:03 and then rounded the turnaround and started back down Fort Macon Road. I didn’t see any competition for awhile and when I finally did they didn’t look like they were going to be a threat. Heidi was leading the women’s race but had a woman not too far behind her. I knew I couldn’t let up and get comfortable with the lead I did have. I didn’t want to get run down like last year and end up second after I led the first 11.5 miles.
With that in mind I ran miles eight and nine in 6:03 and 6:05. I was starting to feel more of the wind now and knew it was going to be windy going back over the high rise bridge. I slowed on mile ten and ran a 6:22. The wind was directly in my face now as I ran down the AB Causeway towards the Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge. The wind was stronger than I expected. I kept pushing it into the wind but running solo for so long was also becoming harder to push it when I knew I had a big lead. I ran miles eleven and twelve in 13:05 which were directly into the headwind and up an over the bridge. It’s 0.75 miles one way on the bridge and a total of 1.5 miles over and back.
With that in mind I ran miles eight and nine in 6:03 and 6:05. I was starting to feel more of the wind now and knew it was going to be windy going back over the high rise bridge. I slowed on mile ten and ran a 6:22. The wind was directly in my face now as I ran down the AB Causeway towards the Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge. The wind was stronger than I expected. I kept pushing it into the wind but running solo for so long was also becoming harder to push it when I knew I had a big lead. I ran miles eleven and twelve in 13:05 which were directly into the headwind and up an over the bridge. It’s 0.75 miles one way on the bridge and a total of 1.5 miles over and back.
Winning the 2015 Crystal Coast Half Marathon I came off the bridge and made the right turn onto Arendell Street and headed for the waterfront and the finish. I was still cruising along when I saw Katherine on the sidewalk. She cheered and I asked her “how far back” referring to second place and she said she didn’t see anyone at all. I cruised the last 1.1 miles in 7:31 to finish 1st Overall with a time of 1:21:47. It was my second time winning the race. Second place finished in 1:26:41. Heidi won the women’s race for her third time in 1:27:24 and placed third overall out of 123 in the half marathon. Katherine won the women’s 10K in 38:59.
I was happy with the win and I was glad my friends won their races as well. I was disappointed in the turnout though. I think some of it was because the race has had bad weather in the past but no one can predict the weather a year out when race date needs to be set. Another reason is the addition of the Emerald Isle Half and Full Marathon at the end of the month. The EI race should have respected our already established race date and had theirs in the fall. The race director for the EI race hasn’t planned it well in my opinion. Their course is mostly out and back on the bike path which will be hard for faster runners coming back into slower runners still going out. They are only planning three Gatorade stations for the marathon; miles 9, 14, and 22 and only 2 gel stations at miles 16 and 21. That’s not enough Gatorade and not enough gel stations for a marathon.
I was happy with the win and I was glad my friends won their races as well. I was disappointed in the turnout though. I think some of it was because the race has had bad weather in the past but no one can predict the weather a year out when race date needs to be set. Another reason is the addition of the Emerald Isle Half and Full Marathon at the end of the month. The EI race should have respected our already established race date and had theirs in the fall. The race director for the EI race hasn’t planned it well in my opinion. Their course is mostly out and back on the bike path which will be hard for faster runners coming back into slower runners still going out. They are only planning three Gatorade stations for the marathon; miles 9, 14, and 22 and only 2 gel stations at miles 16 and 21. That’s not enough Gatorade and not enough gel stations for a marathon.
Jamie, Me, Justus, and Bud post race I hope people support the Crystal Coast Half Marathon better in the future and the numbers increase. We have a much better course than the one in Emerald Isle and our organization is great. The police working the race did a great job of blocking off lanes and keeping traffic off the course. It’s always great to start the year off with a win!
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