Rock 'n' Roll USA Half-Marathon

Prior to my first distance race of 2013, things were not starting to look good. About 10 days prior to the Rock 'n' Roll USA Half, I was diagnosed with bronchitis and placed on antibiotics forcing me to sit out a day of work AND almost a week's worth of training. Also, the D.C. weatherman was calling for race day temperatures in the mid-30's (I'm good with that), with a 100% chance of steady rain (I'm not good with that). Lucky for me, I was almost cured by modern medicine AND the weatherman was wrong! The temperature at the race start was in the high 40's, with no rain!

Thank goodness for modern medicine!

Race morning started like most race mornings. Alarm went off at 3:45 AM and I popped right up, showered, got dressed and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Yogurt with granola and a banana, topped off with PowerBar Perform. I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts on the way to the race for some coffee to get things going...and it worked. This race was unique in that it was a point-to-point race, starting near the National Mall and finishing at RFK Stadium. I picked up two buddies and headed to the finish area to park and ride the Metro to the start. I spent the rest of the morning sipping my PowerBar Perform and mentally prepping myself for the race.

My previous PR was 5 months ago at the Hartford (CT) Half-Marathon, where I ran 1:31:04. I was determined to beat this time, with a goal of breaking the 1:30:00 mark. It was my belief that if I ran sub 7:00 min/miles, I would break 1:30:00. Looks like my math is a little a lot off. I would need to run a 6:52 min/mile pace to break 1:30:00...

Rocking the W in Corral Number 1

Just prior to the start of the race, I took one packet of PowerBar Energy Blasts. I am HUGE fan of these, just find it very difficult to carry them on a road race. It is much easier to carry and consume them during the bike portion of a triathlon. I planned on then taking one PowerBar PowerGel at the 30 minute mark and a second at the 60 minute mark, knowing that would be sufficient to take me to the finish. I have always observed the rule to not use anything "new" on race day, but I took my K-Swiss Kwicky Blade-Light S shoes out of the box for the first time on race morning. I HAD to rock the patriotic, red, white and blue shoes at the R'n'R USA race! I had absolutely ZERO problems! Thank you, K-Swiss!

Brand NEW K-Swiss Kwicky Blade-Light shoes and PowerBar PowerGels

The course seemed very fair, with one known hill, just prior to the halfway point. Below is the elevation chart as advertised on the R'n'R website:

Here is the elevation chart as found as I found it on my Garmin after (yes, there was a large spike in my HR as a result of this hill):

Ouch, that hill hurt!

It was not until I reached almost mile 12 that I realized I needed to make up some time if I was to break 1:30:00! I picked up the pace, but fell a few seconds short. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my results! I feel like I nailed my nutrition and nailed my effort as evidenced by HR data (average HR of 169 and max HR of 183).

5K Split: 21:28 (6:55 min/mile)

10K Split: 43:13 (6:58 min/mile)

10M Split: 1:09:26 (6:57 min/mile)

13.1 Finish: 1:30:24 (6:54 min/mile and overall, NEGATIVE SPLITS and a NEW PR)

According to the data off my Garmin, my 13th mile was clocked at a 6:20 pace, which I am VERY pumped about! I am super excited where my fitness is, as I am now less than two months out from REV3 Knoxville and the start of my triathlon season! I'm ALL IN for 2013! It gives me great satisfaction when two people approached me post race telling me they've never seen a big guy run like I do! 

It's AMAZING how much better the beer tastes AFTER a PR!

Race pictures to be posted as they begin to surface. 

Thank you to PowerBar, K-Swiss, Wattie Ink, the Wattie Ink Elite Team and especially my family!  

Rock the W!