Race Bib

State #7

I know, I know.  I’m very late in publishing a recap of the Pensacola event.  I got a little twisted up with other events and just never made time to write the recap.  Needless to say, this year hasn’t exactly gone to plan, but hopefully it’ll end on a high note.  I’m one December race away from completing one new years goal which was to run in at least one 5K event in every month of the year.  So who cares if some of my other goals didn’t really pan out the way I was hoping.

Mural

After a chilly trip to Nashville and an unexpected freezing run through Uptown New Orleans, I really needed a warm retreat.  And even though it took until the last minute on Sunday, Florida didn’t disappoint.  It had started off pretty chilly during the leadup to this particular weekend.  It wasn’t bitter cold but it had been in the 50s for highs.  When I got to Florida, it was still only about 60 which was still chilly especially near the water.  It was also a little breezy, so I was slightly worried about it being too cold during the run on Sunday morning.

The expo in Pensacola was fairly simple; although I know I was ignored by a Bama fan volunteer because I was wearing an LSU shirt on the day that LSU and Alabama were playing each other.  Luckily, another super polite volunteer was there to assist me.  Afterwards, they pretty much force you to snake through their expo to get your shirt at the very end.  Every race is different.  Some places don’t have much of an expo at all while others were pretty large with all sorts of booths and exhibits, and free stuff.  I had family with me on this trip and they were waiting in the car so I just didn’t bother much with looking this time.  I ignore the calls to try their products; although I also don’t remember seeing many free things like food/energy drinks/snacks like I’ve seen at other expos, and I finished up by getting my shirt and testing my tag to make sure it worked properly.  Then it was off to Pensacola Beach to the hotel, beaches and dinner.

Pensacola Bay

Luckily, the next morning it felt pretty good.  It was definitely warmer on the beach.  It was in the 50s on the beach while the city itself was in the 40s and inland towards Alabama was in the 30s.  I didn’t feel cold at all on the beach but I felt a little chilly once in the city itself.  I almost wondered if I should have worn long sleeves, but I decided to go for it without them.  I knew that it was supposed to warm up well into the 60s quick and even make it into the 70s later that afternoon.  Fortunately that ended up playing out perfectly and the chill was all but gone by the time we rounded the first corner.

5:00/2:30 Pace Group

The race itself didn’t have many thousands of runners like some, but it wasn’t small either.  You could tell most of the community was involved in this race and there was a huge military presence as well with the Air Force base being nearby.  There were several groups of servicemen running/jogging with full gear.  There were many volunteers along the roads from the area installations as well.  And everyone was so supportive, from the runners to the volunteers to the spectators.  I saw many more spectators along this urban route than I did in New Orleans, but perhaps the cold weather kept the cajuns indoors.  This race also had a drone flying over, which seems to have gotten real popular now.  The MC said that there was supposed to be a canon fire at the start, so I started to hold my ears a bit just in case, but I never heard the canon which was fine by me.

Scenic Route

The race started fairly promptly and we made a quick loop around the main highway that connects the city to the beaches.  So that was where we blocked the most traffic for the most time.  But it was all within the first mile so everyone should have been by within 20 minutes or so.  The first couple of miles run along Escambia Bay which is a lot larger than you’d imagine.  Even though it was waterfront and there was a slight breeze, it wasn’t overly breezy and it never really got cold at all.  The sun was rising behind a hazy sky and it was plenty warm enough.  At first, I got behind a man/woman team who were run/walking already, and she was a fairly large woman, but I was impressed with how she was able to run past me when she ran and I’d run past her when she walked.  So I began to think that perhaps she would be my pacer as she was obviously better trained for this than I initially gave her credit.  Unfortunately she ended up falling back pretty quickly after Mile 1.  But I give her credit, she was doing it.

Lake Charles representing

By the railroad underpass (the first real hill) before Mile 2, I had caught up to a lady from Lake Charles, LA pushing her daughter I believe in one of those racing chairs.  I didn’t talk directly with her but she was talking with people around her as they were asking questions and giving her words of encouragement.  I’m always iffy on how to approach people.  I mean, I borderline think it’s rude to just be nosy for the sake of being nosy, but if the person obliges it then you tend to learn a lot and even make new friends.  Turns out, this was her 9th marathon and either her 3rd or 5th time in Pensacola (after almost a month, I forgot exactly), so she knew all about ‘The Hill’.  I actually ended up hanging with her and the 5:00 marathon pace group all the way up until the first split around Mile 6.  That really made me feel good.

First split

Not very long after the split was the beer stop.  No water, just beer.  The crowd support for this race was really phenomenal, much better than some races I had been in.  I always wonder about crowd support for slower runners at these type of events, but I never really realized that after the split, I had jumped from two thirds back in the pack to up in the front third because the elite marathons hadn’t made it back around yet.  I saw the police cars rolling up behind me and didn’t know exactly what it was for at first.  Then I saw them get around me and help to block off intersections more.  About that time, I realized that the marathon leader must be approaching.  Not long after that, I saw the bicyclists and camera crew proceeding the runner.  There were more interested bodies and photographers around the leader in this race than were at the Jazz run in NOLA.  I only saw one press truck in NOLA with one camera and nobody else pacing the leader.  Too cold I guess.  Haha.

Leader

So after the marathon leader passes me like I’m standing still, we reach ‘The Hill’.  I didn’t realize that Pensacola had real hills, real steep hills.  I yelled this out to one spectator who promptly responded with ‘Surprise!’  I don’t know for certain but it appeared we had slowly increased in elevation from the start around 25 feet up to nearly 100 feet, and then there was this steep drop to a back bay bayou.  So all the way down to sea level and then immediately back up to where we were.  Needless to say, I didn’t see too many people in my half marathon area running for long up the hill.  It was slightly torturous.  But at the top there were more people cheering and some were handing out bananas and water.  Perfect reward for such a nasty climb.  After that point, there was only one more bridge which really wasn’t that bad and then it was slightly downhill all the way to the finish.

Elvis is in road

When we got back downtown, I was surprised at how dead it was.  It seemed like many businesses had abandoned downtown Pensacola.  And there wasn’t a huge crowd there; although they were all waiting at the finish not long after.  I also didn’t realize that there was actually another marathon split here.  Although I was well into Mile 13, the marathon at this point was only around Mile 21 and proceeded to split off one last time before joining up for the final half mile sprint.   Wouldn’t you know, I ended up getting back in front of the marathon leader.  I was on the home stretch in sight of the finish line talking with another girl about how far that finish line looked and then we saw more police cars and flashing lights.  My first thought was that perhaps it was the leading female in the marathon.  Surely the male had already finished.  I was trying hard to break 2:30 but by this point I knew I had failed.  But then the police passed us along with that familiar camera truck and bikes and then, the male leader yet again.  So the crowd erupted.  For the second time, I finish a half marathon right behind the marathon winner.  I’m not going to lie.  This has a spoiling effect.  It’s so much fun to cross a finish line so close to the actual winner.  It makes it that much more special.

Finish Line

I wasn’t so sure about PR.  I knew I was close being as it was 2:32, but I wasn’t sure exactly.  After I got home, I was able to confirm that I had in fact run another personal best by just a few seconds.  Perhaps 2:30 is in reach, but I realize it’s going to be tough and if I would stay up and running hard for long enough, I know I could do it.  Two minutes should be nothing.  I can’t wait to run another half marathon that has true half marathon pace groups for my time area like they had in Kansas.  Most races don’t have half marathon pace groups up to 2:30 let along beyond it.  But Kansas had pace groups for every five minutes or so which was great.  The 5:00 marathon pace group helps but you’re not running the whole distance with them either, so it only helps if they split right at the half finish.

Medal

Anyway, this race was great.  I was amazed with the support and how ‘big’ it felt even though it didn’t have some of the big event numbers of a Chicago or Philadelphia.  It felt big.  The finishers medal was big too.  Huge in fact; with a blue angel jet on it.  And plenty of stuff afterwards although I was mainly interested in the chocolate milk.  They had some sandwiches which seemed dry.  I would have stayed much longer but I had family waiting for me at the hotel on the beach so I packed up my stuff and headed on out.  By now the weather had warmed up nicely so it was time to go spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach.

Destin

Three half marathons, back to back to back.  Not so bad.  I didn’t feel bad at all after them.  In fact, I felt like I was getting better and better with each.  Too bad it was so cold in New Orleans.  Ha!  But no more scheduled for this year, and no Louisiana half for January.  Too expensive really.  I was able to run in six states this year.  Quite an accomplishment to say the least.  I didn’t go further into debt, but I also didn’t pay things off or save nearly as much as I was hoping to.  So I already have a feeling that next year will be tough.  Not nearly as much traveling for sure.  I’m already thinking that I may just try to do two big trips (one spring/one fall) where I try to run two halfs in two adjacent states over one weekend.  That would be four states right there.  And if I can sneak in a quick trip to the Mississippi coast in March, that’s five.  That would be a win for me at this point as it would put me at 12 after only two years.  Then perhaps 2016 will look brighter.  Wish me luck.

Race: Pensacola Marathon

Date: November 9, 2014, 7AM

Place: Pensacola, Florida

Time: 2:32:23