Saturday, March 1, 2014

Hyannis Half Marathon - 02.23.14

Same race. Same team. Same excitement going into Hyannis.

A year ago, I was going to run my first marathon in the middle of a Nor'easter.

What a difference a year makes: Right after the Hyannis Marathon, I ran 4 more marathons to the end 2013. This year, I was not coming to Hyannis to test distance or my endurance. I was coming back to establish a new PR for myself.

The weekend was shaping up weather wise to be perfect for a long run. Temperatures were going to stay in the high 40s and an expected cool breeze was going to make the Hyannis Half a pleasure to run.

January and February were cold last year but the temperatures never dipped below 0°F. When we were training to run the Hyannis marathon, we thought twice before running in temperatures below 20°F.  This year, I ran when the temperatures were well below 0°F. Temperature did not dictate whether I could run outside. Snow did not dictate when I could run outside. Even a Nor'easter pattern did not dictate when it was appropriate to run outside. It was my body and its readiness that dictated when I could run outside.

Running 13.1 miles is not a challenge anymore. I have run these miles after a lack of sleep or with an empty stomach and some water. From a previous run, I knew that I could sustain an 8:00 pace for 10 miles, when running on an empty stomach. So for me the worst case scenario was going to be 13.1 miles in around 1:45:00.

I was also nursing an injury that had not fully healed. In May of 2013, I sustained an injury to my right-upper hamstring while squatting with heavy weights. This injury developed into a Piriformis syndrome aka "A Pain in the Butt". I never gave it time to fully heal. Piriformis syndrome was bothering me more and more after the Honolulu marathon. I was noticing that after about the third mile, I would start to feel my right hamstring tighten up and sometimes cause a sharp pain where the hamstring connects with the buttocks. Through research on the Internet, I understood that the only way to heal this injury/syndrome was through hamstring stretches or certain Yoga poses.

On the day of the half marathon (03/23/14), I woke up early and got ready real quick. As soon as I opened the door to come out of the house, I saw Stanley leaving his driveway and towards my Cul-de-Sac. It was perfect timing. We picked up Rahul and Pavan along the way.

We left Chelmsford at around 6:20am. We stopped at a local diner in Quincy called McKay's Breakfast and Lunch. I had planned to eat two pancakes, two sausages and drink a glass of orange juice in preparation for the run. Pancakes are the next best thing after sliced bread. It has all the carbohydrates a runner needs to sustain a long run.

We left McKay's Breakfast and Lunch at 8am for Hyannis. We drove for about 45 minutes before we hit the bridge that would take us to Cape Cod. We started noticing traffic around us right after we crossed the bridge. This traffic was made up of runners that were also driving to Hyannis to run the race. It was exciting to share the road with other runners. I could tell that they were runners as they had a familiar energy radiating from their faces and you could see the excitement on their faces as they were driving. Of course the running clothes on them also gave them away.

We got to Hyannis around 9:15am. The traffic slowed to a crawl. But we were not far away. We found a parking lot about half a mile away from the starting line. We felt a bit of a chill in the air when we got out of the car. It felt good. This was going to be a good running day.

But first, we had to get our bibs, if we wanted to run this race. We jogged to the expo. The expo was busy and crowded. The expo was well managed and folks were respectful. I started talking to a couple in the line that had run last year. We were talking about the difference in weather last year, when compared to the weather this year. I bet most of the runners in the line only had one topic to discuss. The weather.

We picked up our bibs and then ran back to our car (.5 miles away) to stow away everything that we did not need. We ran back to the starting line. It was a good warm up. We were at the starting line and we had 10 minutes left. I was feeling good.

I started the Runmeter app on my iPhone. I had programmed it earlier to help me finish the 13.1 miles in 1:35:00 time. I tapped on my "100 miles" playlist and the music was now streaming through my Yurbuds. All systems were now a go.

The national anthem was sung well. The countdown started. It was now time to set a new PR.

As soon as I crossed the starting line, I started the timer on my watch and then tried to start the Runmeter app by slowly double-clicking my Yurbud's remote. I hadn't practiced starting Runmeter through the remote and thus I could not get it to start while running. I stopped running and turned it own by manually navigating it through the iPhone screen. I probably wasted about 30 seconds getting the Runmeter app to start.

I was running now. I was running at a 6:30 pace. I was running fast. I was feeling good.

After about a half a mile, the  Runmeter app asked me to slow down as I had achieved the target pace needed to finish the 13.1 miles in 1:35:00. I slowed down.

I kept with the  Runmeter's advice of keeping a 7:40 pace. Rahul was also running with me and we were enjoying the weather and our pace. We both knew that we had started the race unusually fast and at least I was not sure if I could maintain this pace for the remaining miles left in the race.

I was in a zone with my pace and my music. I had a mix of Indian songs, 90s hits and last year hits streaming through my Yurbuds.

At around 5 miles, Dr Dre. started playing. I was not in the mood for Dr. Dre so I tried to skip the song with two clicks on the Yurbud's remote. My clicks were not fast enough and it stopped my Runmeter app. I was in a good zone and did not want to stop. The timer on my watch was still going strong so I decided to not worry about the  Runmeter app and monitor my performance with my watch. I probably lost a minute while managing this issue.

I kept running. I was feeling good. I tore open my first Roctane at 10:35am. It gave me instant energy and now I was back to my speed that I had started with. I stayed with this pace. I took my second Roctane at 11:20am. I knew I only had a few more miles ago. I was getting tired and was not sure that I would be able to maintain the fast pace I had been running with. Since my Runmeter was not working, I was not sure of my pace and because I was too focused on my breathing and my energy while running, I couldn't do math correctly in my head. I just kept looking at my watch and was hoping to stay below 1:35:00. I was now a mile way from the finish line. I increased my pace again.

As soon as I saw the finish line, I took my running to a different level. I was running as fast as I could. I crossed the finish line strong.

I received my finisher's medal.
I facetimed with my family. Seeing them after every run makes it all worth of it for me. I grabbed couple of Vita Coco. It has the magical power of relieving all ills instantly from my body after a tiring run.

Later that day, I found out that I ran the half in 1:42:41. I had a set a new PR. If I hadn't had issues with Runmeter app during my run, I probably would have run these 13.1 miles in less than 1:41:00.

Either way, I was proud of my time. I have 3 marathons coming up (2 Marathons and 1 Ultra). This is a big confidence boost and will help me train for these upcoming races.