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.

2018 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green

A beautiful morning for a 5 mile run with 1,000 or so of my closest

sort-of acquaintances. (3/17/18)

Weather: Fair, 24°F (feels like 12°F) , 80% Humidity, Wind: WSW @ 13 mph.
Route: Johnny's Running of the Green, an out-and-back course.
Time (Pace): 41:29 (8:08 min/mile) Unofficial.

Pre-Race Observations: With my forty-ninth birthday less than two months away, I have only recently returned to actively "running". My "competitive" racing "career" has entered a new stage beginning with this morning's awesome annual community run, the Johnny's Runnin' of the Green. In years past, I would fancy myself occasionally competitive. Now, I am just happy to be out there.

Following January's aborted Winter Warrior Half-Marathon, due to very inclement weather and, if I am honest, poor pre-race training on my part, this morning's (morn's?) run is my first organized one since December's equally festive Reindeer Run 5k. In the interim, I have been rehabbing my hamstrings, reading books, and whining about the weather (oddly, a time-honored tradition for those in Western New York born to it!).

Pre-run jitters less of a problem when

you're doing it for fun. (3/17/18)

After getting out and about on one-day-icy, one-day-spring-like roads for the past week-and-a-half, I registered for the Flower City Half Marathon this past week. This run takes place toward the end of April and today's run is just another step toward accomplishing crossing that finish line with a smile. This is my sixth Johnny's, and third consecutive one, and after posting admirable times the previous two years (38:20/7:40 per in 2016 and 38:33/7:43 in 2017), I suspect the law of diminishing returns will bite hard this year as I project a finishing time of around 45 minutes based upon the past two weeks. Like most "old grey mares", this one ain't what he used to be. An increasing comfort with that new reality does not mean I am resigned to not going faster, further in the future!

Post-Run Reflections: As usual, the Johnny's Runnin' of the Green was a festive, enjoyable community event regardless of how well one might have run. Lots of friendly faces, green t-shirts and picturesque skies made for a very pleasant morning jaunt. Though I am a little socially awkward, it is always nice to see some familiar faces enjoying their time together as a community of runners. It is even nicer to be a small part of it for a few hours on a cold March morning.

I felt remarkably well for initially feeling so unprepared to run. Though my pace was slightly slower than in years past, I was happy with both the final time and mile pace. As is to be expected with a back-of-the-pack position at the start (intentionally), my first mile was at a leisurely 8:49 pace though the final two miles were consistently faster (7:51 and 7:42). In both instances I settled within 5-10 meters of faster runners in an effort to pace with them. The pace also allowed me the breath with which to thank the many volunteers and police officers who helped keep the course safe.

While there was some slight discomfort in my hamstring, overall, I felt strong and excited about what comes next. With a little ice, core work and stretching, I look to be ready for tomorrow morning's longer, slower training run and ultimately (fingers crossed) ready for that half-marathon a few weeks.

Scoutin' Routes: Flower City Half

Over the past few weekends, Fleet Feet Rochester has offered course previews for the fast approaching Rochester Regional Health Flower City Half Marathon. While this is a run I have participated in two years ago, I would have liked to have attended these tours, not because I am likely to get lost (there will be plenty ahead of me) but because I like having a familiarity with the course prior to "racing" it. Unfortunately, I could not make it, though if Twitter pictures are accurate, a good time was had by those who did.

USATF Course #NY13101KL:
Certified Course Map.

With Spring Break this past week, I decided to preview the course myself, doing so in parts rather than in a single long run. Rather than running it, which would give me a stronger sense of the layout, I have opted to bike and walk it. A stretch of the course runs directly through my neighborhood (and as I sit here typing, flashes of my experience last year return).

Despite a great affection for USATF's certified course maps, they feel like a sort of runner's folk art, I used the 13.3 mile run map created by YellowJacket Racing. This course offers quite a bit for both participants and spectators to take in visually as the course flows through a variety of Rochester neighborhoods. As I biked the course over two days (in 6+ miles increments, Parts 1 and 2 on Monday, April 17, and Parts 3, 4, and 5 on Friday, April 21), these section breakdowns began to take shape in my mind. For myself, it will help me to get a sense of pace and distance to consider the half marathon as a 5-part run.

Part 1: Westside Start (Approximately 2.4 miles)
The race start is located at the western end of the Broad Street Bridge directly next to the Rochester Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. From here, the course heads immediately west. Rochester can be thought of as having two sides: East and West, the line of demarcation being the Genesee River. This first section covers quite a few visual treats in a fairly short distance.

Part 2: Eastside, Represent! (Approximately 3.5 miles)
The course then heads back east passing once again over the Genesee River on Main Street. This part of the course takes one through downtown, along East Avenue, into the heart of the Park Avenue neighborhood before heading South along the edge of the South Wedge.

Part 3: Highland Park (Approximately 1.5 miles)
This third section is the important as it begins the second half of the run and, for my money, is the most challenging. The first half of the race is fairly favorable relative to any changes in topography. I can recall in years past feeling really confident passing over the expressway on Goodman. This, of course, can be dangerous. I often fall victim to getting too far ahead of myself and this part of the course will punish you (as it has me) if you lose focus...

Part 4: Mt. Hope Cemetery (Approximately 2.5 miles)
For some reason I always envision this part of the race as being toward the finish, but it's really not. This is among the most beautiful areas the course runs through and it is rife with deceptive challenges not the least of which is the mistaken impression I have that once your through the run is nearly done... it's not. Friends of mine who have also run this race point to the Mt. Hope Cemetery as being their least favorite (or most difficult) aspect of the overall course. I can see why as the initial beauty of the area quickly seems repetitive as the course gives way to follow a serpentine trail of paved, empty roadway.

Part 5: Genesee Riverway Trail to Finish! (Approx. 3.2 miles)
"Only" 5k to go. The water station immediately inside the gate of the cemetery you've just left is a good time to re-hydrate (again) and prepare for the last leg of the half marathon which takes you through another picturesque part of our city (yes, there really are many of those) along the Genesee River and past the University of Rochester. This last 5k provides lots to fuel positive thoughts...

As I bicycled the course over two days, many of the turns and views came back to me from my last go at the course in 2015. Out of proximity, I also run many sections of the course forwards, backwards and sideways during the course of any training cycle, so for me, like many other local yokels I suspect, there is a familiarity with the land. Fortunately for someone like myself, who gets lost on most trails (and in my head), given the layout and excellent job YellowJacket Racing does with the courses, getting off-course is not even a likelihood, should one even try (often at mile 10 I briefly wonder how I might successfully drop out and hide my shame until my wife can secretly picks me up in a car).

An added benefit offered by our friends at YellowJacket will be pace runners in short increments from projected finish times of 1:40 and up. Having fallen in with one of their pacers in the past, if you have a target finish and need some support, I would definitely look for them at the start and join their respective entourages. With those involved in the race, the course and your fellow participants, whether racing, running or spectating, Sunday (and Saturday for that matter--there are other events on that day as well) should be an excellent time!