Rock n Roll Half Marathon 3/27/2011 Dallas

I was unsatisfied with erratic pacing at Cowtown and felt the need to redeem. I also thought it’d be nice to run with Casey, who wanted a sub-100 min half. At the rate he's improving, this could be the last race we'd run at similar pace.

_The Competitor Group
I was carded when getting my race number. I was unhappy being forced to make the downtown trip just to pick up the race packet but couldn’t blame a for-profit organization for maximizing the traffic when parking alone is $10.
The event was well executed: race number and chip pick up, water stations, gear bag check, start line bus, porta potties, course markers, finish area.... In comparison, Dallas Marathon was poorly run.
For additional $1000 in the form of fundraising, the participants gets "an exclusive start-line lounge, gear transport from start to finish, a Komen cheer station party on the course for your donors and family, and a VIP finish-line party tent." There was an attractive bouncer guarding the VIP area inside the velvet ropes. I visualized cloth towels in the trailer bathroom completed with an attendant whose sole job was uttering “have a good race!”

_Expo
Vendors wised up and stopped selling Gu Roctane for $1.
Garmin rep was unhelpful in answering the question “is there’s a way to normalize the course length based on mile marker.”
I quizzed a few booths about compression socks. I wasn’t trying to be confrontational by demanding data—I really wanted to believe the 5% improvement in the ad.

_Taking chances
I tried new things in this "C" race:
- 3-week preparation for PR pace while fighting spine issue.
- First race with race flats. Green Silence’s odometer says 5 miles per shoe.
- Calf compression sleeves. I wore it for 5 minutes while being convinced by the salesperson. Actually, Biff did most of the convincing in past 3 months.

_Setting PR
Stomach wasn’t happy after the 1st banana at 5am. I threw trash bags, towel, and extra change of clothes into the car. I prayed the liver had enough glycogen for the race. I gained another lb since Cowtown and actually felt lightened by the GI issue.
Weather cooperated --cold, cloudy with pending rain, no wind. I wore 2 layers of disposable shirt and no gloves.

I gave Casey a cap hoping that'd weigh him down

Casey and I ran alongside 95-min pace balloon at 5k mark. Side stitch started. I let Casey go. The plan was sub-100-minute finish and even splits.
The motivation signs on the course reflected our time. Charlie Sheen's tiger blood was winning for this Rock n Roll.

running with Adam's Apple

_Half way
At mile 6, body parts were stressed at expected level. Big decision: how much speed to bleed on the final 2 miles of climbs? I focused on arm swing and listen to my body. “Don't use up the quads.”
I stuck with the 7:33 GPS pace and was 100 feet behind virtual partner by mile 8, the highest point of the course. I aimed for 7:15 pace for the final 5 descending miles. I used runners around me to keep up with this unnatural speed. I was rhythm challenged.
Saw no barefoot runner, but was paced by a pair of Vibrams for a few miles.
I raced a big dude for the final mile. I lost the sprint by half a step. So much for my supposedly sprinter’s legs.




_Post race
The organizer didn't anticipate the cold front and ran out of silver blanket by runner 312 in this 10000 runner event. There was no finishers' shirt. I lend Casey leg warmers to warm arms. It felt good to be helpful to a friend by making him look silly. After dropping him off at the train station, I attempted Sunday morning stroll in Carrollton downtown. Shivering started as I locked the car. Insulation and lightness are difficult to balance. I gave up active recovery.
I worried weight obsession would lead to eating disorder. I thought of Peter Sagal's words: ''It's not about being fat. ... people of all shapes whose sense of self is blessedly untethered from their weight. It's about the terror of what we might become if we allow ourselves to let go, to get weak, to slow down."

After shower and soup noodles, I sat at fireplace sipping bubble tea. Midori was playing Mendelssohn through the recently repair Yamaha DSP A1.

Shishamos, shrimps, bacon and wrapped scallop were baking in the oven as pinot grigio chilled. For this afternoon, the most difficult decision would be chopsticks or silverware for my tapas.

result:
Casey Murrell
Overall: 312 out of 10969 • Division: 36 out of 810 • Gender: 264 out of 4159
Pace 5 Km 10 Km 10 Mi ChipTime ClockTime
7:23 22:54 46:19 1:14:21 01:36:40 01:36:56

Johnny Chen
Overall: 342 out of 10969 • Division: 50 out of 674 • Gender: 287 out of 4159
Pace 5 Km 10 Km 10 Mi ChipTime ClockTime
7:26 22:53 46:43 1:15:12 01:37:22 01:37:39

We beat Aikman
Troy Aikman
Overall: 1206 out of 10969 • Division: 138 out of 674 • Gender: 879 out of 4159
Pace 5 Km 10 Km 10 Mi ChipTime ClockTime
8:16 27:19 54:05 1:24:50 01:48:11 01:52:42