2020 Winter Warrior Half-Marathon

Forecast: Snow Showers, 34°F (27°F), 90% Humidity, Wind: NW @ 8 mph.
Route: Winter Warrior Half Marathon
Time (Pace): 1:49.47 (gun), 1:49.29 (official), 8:21 min/mile

Just over a decade ago, when I first discovered the therapeutic joys of blogging, I posted primarily about gardening, training plans and road races. Of late, I write about very little, a circumstance I am always trying to improve upon, but with very little recent success or consistency. So, why not try again by going back to the "old ways"?

Pre-Run Reflections: This afternoon's Winter Warrior Half-Marathon will be my third overall and first since January 2017. A few things have changed since my first run in January 2016, most notably the start time. In year's past, the race did not begin until late in the afternoon, assuring a finish in the cold, dark evening. My guess is that following a few years of terrible wintry weather, this eventually proved too difficult for organizers and athletes so the start time has been shifted to noon. I was signed up to run the 2018 edition but the temperatures were obscenely cold (-something with wind chill) so this change seems perfectly warranted. While a fan of early morning running, varied start times can be challenging especially if one has not taken as much advantage as possible of training during the altered time (noon instead of usual 7 a.m. during Winter Recess, for example.) Of course, I would rather adjust to an earlier start time change than risk pneumonia...

Other facets of the race remain consistent: little doubt of a very well organized and executed by YellowJacket Racing/FleetFeet Rochester regardless of weather conditions, many participants with a variety of personal goals for the run and, most notably, the 5k loop course on closed road surface at Rochester Technical Park in Gates, N.Y. As it has not changed, I am very familiar with it, even having scouted it out in December 2015 prior to my first run. Much like running a 5k on a 400 meter track is as much a psychological as physical test, loop courses can be mentally taxing if unprepared for. Fortunately, I have been down this road before (literally) so can anticipate the challenge--biggest difference this time is that the scenery over the last loop-and-a-half will be during "daylight". There is not much to see given the industrial nature of the Tech Park, but the spirited volunteers always seem to provide an encouraging lift when the going gets boring.

Post-Race Observations: My first rule of running (and especially "racing", which is a different animal), is to look for what was learned whether a "win" or "loss." My competition continues to be myself and against that cat, I did "okay", posting a (slightly) better time than my previous efforts on the course, if only by a few hairs. My secondary goal (the primary always being to just finish with a smile) was to record negative splits (slow-to-fast) and once again, I fell very short, though a little closer than in the recent past. Mentally, I felt much stronger as I focused on my form, breathe and pace, performing with a degree of consistency over all four loops despite going fast-slow. The weather was really ideal and I am sorry not to have taken better advantage of the opportunity.

As was expected, the overall experience was an excellent one thanks to the extremely positive race-atmosphere established by the race organizers. Hyped-up volunteers (each of whom I tried to thank throughout) and an encouraging finish-line emcee, made each pass through the 5k point a chance to re-charge. In the end, it was very difficult to be too discouraged after crossing the finish line.

Having allowed 24 hours to pass since the race, it occurs to me that this may have been the first time I've finished a half-marathon and not told myself "I'll never do this again" (knowing somewhere in the back of my head "well, I might.") The implied acknowledgement that "I want to do this again" suggests a slight change of thinking for me, and I welcome the future challenges it invites.