In short, I spent the Monday-Wednesday before the race in the DC area for work. I missed my last quality workout on Tuesday which was 8 miles with 6x800 in the middle. I made that up on Wednesday, a gorgeous but windy lunch run around a cobblestone block on streets I wasn't familiar with. Twenty-three laps around kids in strollers, fire hydrants, and hordes of people walking to lunch or just out enjoying the day. Not really conducive to running 800s but an hour later and it was done. Wednesday at midnight I had the misfortune of hitting a deer on my way home, at midnight, going 75 mph, in the middle of nowhere VA. Or maybe it was more the deer's misfortune? Soon I would be checking into a hotel in Durham and would spend more time than I wanted the next day with the insurance adjuster, the repair shop, and Enterprise. And none of that went very smoothly.
By Friday things were back to normal with the exception of me in a rental car for the unforeseeable future. For the first Saturday in months there was no long run on the calendar so I slept in until all of 8:30, then ate breakfast, took Landon to baseball evaluations and circled back to catch Sam's first Lacrosse game. At 1:00 I was finally on the road to the expo to pick up my bib and get checked in.
The Allscripts Tobacco Road Marathon and GNC Half Marathon is in Cary, NC and is predominately run on the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) with roughly 2 miles on paved roads leading to the trail head with those same 2 miles leading back to the finish. The ATT surface is a crushed granite / packed dirt type surface that's mostly flat with a few subtle rolling hills that are more felt that seen but overall it is a fast course. Both the marathon and the half run these paved sections with the full marathon going right on the trail and the half taking a left. The half is a simple down and back while the full is a down and back the other direction that circles back eventually picks up the half marathon course.
This is really a fairly small event with 4,000 runners combined in the full and half but it has the amenities of some much larger marathons. The race is very reasonable if you register early, starting at $50 in April and gradually increases to $100 in November when procrastinators like me register. The half marathon always sells out early so you can't count on last minute or race day entry for 13.1. And I highly recommend purchasing the parking pass to the USA Baseball Complex where the race begins and ends. The alternative is having someone drop you off or taking the race sponsored shuttles which are free of charge. More on that later.
The race expo is usually at the Sheraton and run by Inside Out Sports so there's plenty of gear for purchase and gels / fuels to sample. I typically go to the expo to pick up my bib and then I'm on my merry way so I'm probably not the one to critique an expo but if I would have forgotten something I could have gotten it here.
The race really promotes itself as a Boston Qualifier and since this is where I earned my first BQ I can certainly attest to that. They also add a very nice touch by awarding Boston Qualifier tech shirts once your time is verified with official results. I'm not sure if this is something they started in the last few years or if I just completely overlooked these a few years ago as I was walking around in a daze. These are really cool shirts though and a very neat incentive to choosing Tobacco Road as your qualifier.
The website suggests that 10% of their runners qualify for Boston and I feel certain that's accurate. I do believe the high qualifying rate is largely a product of the $17K in prize money combined with the relatively small field size. Cash prizes are awarded for Top 3 male, female, active military, and masters for both the full and half. That kind of money in a race this size is always going to draw some talent. But again, it is a fast course and one to consider for a BQ especially if you're looking for a spring race.
Since I didn't run the full marathon and try to avoid all thoughts of the physical misery I was in when I ran it a few years ago I'll stick to reviewing the half from here on. I checked in about 5:00 on Saturday, got a quick shake-out run in, then hit up a Jersey Mike's for dinner, and made a grocery store run for some water and a pre-race bagel. After my running around I was in bed by 8:30 and excited about the prospect of actually getting a decent sleep in but little did I know...
I started watching the Carolina / Virginia game and it was just close enough to keep me interested. Then I started to stress a little about the time change and getting my alarm to go off at the right time. I knew my iPhone would automatically adjust for daylight savings but it was just enough to wonder what if... By 11:00 I was still up and decided I might as well give it until midnight to verify the change and that I was good to go. Yes, like an idiot I was thinking the change would show up at midnight even though I knew the change didn't actually happen until 2:00 am. Eventually I decided to work from the antiquated digital alarm clock as my back up but I still couldn't sleep.
I started reading up on the shuttles and their suggestion to be there as close to 5:00 am as possible with shuttles running until 6:15 for runners. The race didn't start until 8:00 this year rather than 7:00 as in prior years presumably to avoid being on the ATT before sunrise. I did the math and realized I was going to be on site 2 hours before the race started and wasn't terribly excited about it but whatever. By this time it was almost 1:00 am which was really 2:00 am and I needed to be up at 4:30 am. Eventually I would see my phone go from 1:59 am to 3:00 am so for anybody that doesn't believe take my word for it and don't wait up for proof. So I got a solid 1.5 hours sleep, ate my bagel and peanut butter, and headed to the shuttle.
The shuttles were actually chartered buses, completely free, and run back and forth all day for runners and spectators. Parking was at an industrial center type lot with ample parking so that wasn't an issue either. I boarded the first bus and was among the first runners on site. On one hand I had officially arrived to the start on time and I hadn't forgotten anything which is often half the battle. On the other hand I was going on 1.5 hours sleep and had more than 2 hours before the race started to do absolutely nothing. I spent the next hour laid out like a buffet on the concrete sidewalk using my soon-to-be checked bag as a pillow which wasn't exactly full of fluffy comfort. If I had a parking pass my car would have been on site in the parking lot (there is limited parking hence the required pass) and I could have gotten at least another hour of sleep plus I could have sat in the comfort of my rental car where there just happened to be a blanket.
From the time I started rehabbing after running Boston last year my goal was to get healthy, build my base back up, follow that with the speed, and try to better my half marathon time which was (spoiler alert) and still is 1:25:37. I ran that at Thunder Road at the end of 2013 so while that was close to my peak fitness, I've never heard Thunder Road (and it will always be TR to me) referred to as a fast course. A target time of 1:25 sounded reasonable and just so happened to be the standard half marathon time that could guarantee my entry into the NY Marathon so that became my number. Training has gone very well and I've hit all of my targets on the track and intervals plus I haven't missed a workout in months. The Hot Chocolate 15K in January was to gauge my fitness or temper my expectations so when I ran that difficult course with a million turns and a wind chill in teens at under a 6:30 pace I felt pretty good about my chances of a personal best at Tobacco Road.
Two weeks before the race I knocked out 15 miles at an average 7:00 pace finishing with 6 miles at a sub 6:30 pace so I was cautiously optimistic but was also well aware that more than just training goes into that perfect race. Since the first couple miles to the trail are primarily uphill the plan was to start smart and not too fast, hit the trail and lock in on 6:30's. Doing just that I went 6:38 and 6:41 to the trail with the next three mile splits at 6:22 / 6:14 / 6:24. At mile 6 it was noticeably warmer and more humid than I was used to. I still felt comfortable but my splits slowed a bit to 6:34, 6:35 at the turn around and 6:35 through mile 8. Going into the race I felt like I could make up some time in the last 2 miles since it's a downhill finish but I was really starting to labor. Mile 9 was at 6:47 which was a little demoralizing because I knew I needed to be at 1:05 through 10 miles and that put me 30 seconds off of my 1:05 target.
Even though this is mostly a flat and fast course there are some slight elevation changes and mile 10 includes a subtle climb and I dropped a 7:06. I don't remember seeing that as I was running because I was focused on the 10 mile split so I'm kinda glad I missed that. It's really not that bad of a climb, I just sucked ass for that particular seven minutes and six seconds. That put me at 1:06 through 10 miles so I knew it wasn't my day to PR. I managed to regroup and hang on finishing the last 3 miles at 6:48 / 6:42 / 6.36 for a time of 1:27:07 and a 6:37 pace. That was good for 28th overall and a 2nd age group award which was a nice Under Armor backpack with the Tobacco Road logo stitched in it. I was really happy with my placing because there were a lot of quality runners there but after putting in the work it still stings a little not to see it reflected in my time. All in all it was a good day and a great event and there's really nothing I could have, or would have done differently. Except maybe register early enough to buy a parking pass and maybe get more sleep Saturday night.
A few weeks ago, before the LA Marathon, I read an open message from a runner in California (Jimmy Freeman) to the folks running that weekend. It read, "appreciate the moment where you aim to be better than you've ever been before. Pushing for a personal best distance or time is a courageous thing. It's a special day and moment when that is possible, even if it doesn't happen, you'll learn something about yourself. No matter what happens by the time you cross the finish line, let go of the bad moments but learn from them and celebrate the day. One never knows which race or day will be our last so appreciate this one like it could be. There are many people on the sideline that would trade your worst running day for whatever they are dealing with." I saved the post and refer to it often for perspective and today it was very fitting.
This is definitely a race worth running and it's only about a 2.5 hour drive from the Hickory area. There's a strong Charlotte / Cornelius presence as well and you can generally count on Bobby Aswell being there. Running his second marathon in as many weeks he ran a 3:23 on a really warm day which just hurts me to think about. Chas Willimon, another Reckless Runner from that area was there running the half and really pulled me through most of the race. Chas was also an age group winner so thanks for dragging me along today and congrats to you both.
The Allscripts Tobacco Road Marathon and GNC Half Marathon is in Cary, NC and is predominately run on the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) with roughly 2 miles on paved roads leading to the trail head with those same 2 miles leading back to the finish. The ATT surface is a crushed granite / packed dirt type surface that's mostly flat with a few subtle rolling hills that are more felt that seen but overall it is a fast course. Both the marathon and the half run these paved sections with the full marathon going right on the trail and the half taking a left. The half is a simple down and back while the full is a down and back the other direction that circles back eventually picks up the half marathon course.
This is really a fairly small event with 4,000 runners combined in the full and half but it has the amenities of some much larger marathons. The race is very reasonable if you register early, starting at $50 in April and gradually increases to $100 in November when procrastinators like me register. The half marathon always sells out early so you can't count on last minute or race day entry for 13.1. And I highly recommend purchasing the parking pass to the USA Baseball Complex where the race begins and ends. The alternative is having someone drop you off or taking the race sponsored shuttles which are free of charge. More on that later.
The race expo is usually at the Sheraton and run by Inside Out Sports so there's plenty of gear for purchase and gels / fuels to sample. I typically go to the expo to pick up my bib and then I'm on my merry way so I'm probably not the one to critique an expo but if I would have forgotten something I could have gotten it here.
The race really promotes itself as a Boston Qualifier and since this is where I earned my first BQ I can certainly attest to that. They also add a very nice touch by awarding Boston Qualifier tech shirts once your time is verified with official results. I'm not sure if this is something they started in the last few years or if I just completely overlooked these a few years ago as I was walking around in a daze. These are really cool shirts though and a very neat incentive to choosing Tobacco Road as your qualifier.
The website suggests that 10% of their runners qualify for Boston and I feel certain that's accurate. I do believe the high qualifying rate is largely a product of the $17K in prize money combined with the relatively small field size. Cash prizes are awarded for Top 3 male, female, active military, and masters for both the full and half. That kind of money in a race this size is always going to draw some talent. But again, it is a fast course and one to consider for a BQ especially if you're looking for a spring race.
Since I didn't run the full marathon and try to avoid all thoughts of the physical misery I was in when I ran it a few years ago I'll stick to reviewing the half from here on. I checked in about 5:00 on Saturday, got a quick shake-out run in, then hit up a Jersey Mike's for dinner, and made a grocery store run for some water and a pre-race bagel. After my running around I was in bed by 8:30 and excited about the prospect of actually getting a decent sleep in but little did I know...
I started watching the Carolina / Virginia game and it was just close enough to keep me interested. Then I started to stress a little about the time change and getting my alarm to go off at the right time. I knew my iPhone would automatically adjust for daylight savings but it was just enough to wonder what if... By 11:00 I was still up and decided I might as well give it until midnight to verify the change and that I was good to go. Yes, like an idiot I was thinking the change would show up at midnight even though I knew the change didn't actually happen until 2:00 am. Eventually I decided to work from the antiquated digital alarm clock as my back up but I still couldn't sleep.
I started reading up on the shuttles and their suggestion to be there as close to 5:00 am as possible with shuttles running until 6:15 for runners. The race didn't start until 8:00 this year rather than 7:00 as in prior years presumably to avoid being on the ATT before sunrise. I did the math and realized I was going to be on site 2 hours before the race started and wasn't terribly excited about it but whatever. By this time it was almost 1:00 am which was really 2:00 am and I needed to be up at 4:30 am. Eventually I would see my phone go from 1:59 am to 3:00 am so for anybody that doesn't believe take my word for it and don't wait up for proof. So I got a solid 1.5 hours sleep, ate my bagel and peanut butter, and headed to the shuttle.
The shuttles were actually chartered buses, completely free, and run back and forth all day for runners and spectators. Parking was at an industrial center type lot with ample parking so that wasn't an issue either. I boarded the first bus and was among the first runners on site. On one hand I had officially arrived to the start on time and I hadn't forgotten anything which is often half the battle. On the other hand I was going on 1.5 hours sleep and had more than 2 hours before the race started to do absolutely nothing. I spent the next hour laid out like a buffet on the concrete sidewalk using my soon-to-be checked bag as a pillow which wasn't exactly full of fluffy comfort. If I had a parking pass my car would have been on site in the parking lot (there is limited parking hence the required pass) and I could have gotten at least another hour of sleep plus I could have sat in the comfort of my rental car where there just happened to be a blanket.Two weeks before the race I knocked out 15 miles at an average 7:00 pace finishing with 6 miles at a sub 6:30 pace so I was cautiously optimistic but was also well aware that more than just training goes into that perfect race. Since the first couple miles to the trail are primarily uphill the plan was to start smart and not too fast, hit the trail and lock in on 6:30's. Doing just that I went 6:38 and 6:41 to the trail with the next three mile splits at 6:22 / 6:14 / 6:24. At mile 6 it was noticeably warmer and more humid than I was used to. I still felt comfortable but my splits slowed a bit to 6:34, 6:35 at the turn around and 6:35 through mile 8. Going into the race I felt like I could make up some time in the last 2 miles since it's a downhill finish but I was really starting to labor. Mile 9 was at 6:47 which was a little demoralizing because I knew I needed to be at 1:05 through 10 miles and that put me 30 seconds off of my 1:05 target.
Even though this is mostly a flat and fast course there are some slight elevation changes and mile 10 includes a subtle climb and I dropped a 7:06. I don't remember seeing that as I was running because I was focused on the 10 mile split so I'm kinda glad I missed that. It's really not that bad of a climb, I just sucked ass for that particular seven minutes and six seconds. That put me at 1:06 through 10 miles so I knew it wasn't my day to PR. I managed to regroup and hang on finishing the last 3 miles at 6:48 / 6:42 / 6.36 for a time of 1:27:07 and a 6:37 pace. That was good for 28th overall and a 2nd age group award which was a nice Under Armor backpack with the Tobacco Road logo stitched in it. I was really happy with my placing because there were a lot of quality runners there but after putting in the work it still stings a little not to see it reflected in my time. All in all it was a good day and a great event and there's really nothing I could have, or would have done differently. Except maybe register early enough to buy a parking pass and maybe get more sleep Saturday night.A few weeks ago, before the LA Marathon, I read an open message from a runner in California (Jimmy Freeman) to the folks running that weekend. It read, "appreciate the moment where you aim to be better than you've ever been before. Pushing for a personal best distance or time is a courageous thing. It's a special day and moment when that is possible, even if it doesn't happen, you'll learn something about yourself. No matter what happens by the time you cross the finish line, let go of the bad moments but learn from them and celebrate the day. One never knows which race or day will be our last so appreciate this one like it could be. There are many people on the sideline that would trade your worst running day for whatever they are dealing with." I saved the post and refer to it often for perspective and today it was very fitting.
This is definitely a race worth running and it's only about a 2.5 hour drive from the Hickory area. There's a strong Charlotte / Cornelius presence as well and you can generally count on Bobby Aswell being there. Running his second marathon in as many weeks he ran a 3:23 on a really warm day which just hurts me to think about. Chas Willimon, another Reckless Runner from that area was there running the half and really pulled me through most of the race. Chas was also an age group winner so thanks for dragging me along today and congrats to you both.
There's quite a spread after the race as well in addition to live music througout the day. Admittedly I'm not the most social butterfly in the world so I didn't stick around long but there was beer, pizza, orange slices, water, chocolate milk, and samples of various breads and recovery stuff. Again if you're looking for big race bells and whistles and a smaller venue this is it.
So while it wasn't the day I wanted it was the day I got and I'm certainly not going to sulk over missing my target on a hot day. Alright so maybe I've sulked a little and maybe I have compared the times to prior years. Maybe I took some comfort in other guys commenting on their race plan and how it went awry but really, I promise I'm not going to complain or mentally justify it -- for at least another hour...
Happy running and good luck to all of you Palmetto 200 guys next weekend!
Happy running and good luck to all of you Palmetto 200 guys next weekend!
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