The 2008 Space Coast Half Marathon!

Two of my running friends, West and Ozzy, ran the Space Coast Marathon and Half Marathon in Cocoa, FL in 2007. It was Ozzy’s debut marathon, and from what they told me, it sounded like fun. They were planning to make a repeat appearance at the Space Coast to run the HM (which stands for “Half Marathon” for those of you who don’t know the runner lingo) in 2008. Since I usually run with these guys once or twice a week, they tried to convince me to make the trip with them. While West was going with his wife, Ozzy was going by himself, yet still made a hotel reservation for a room with two beds, so I guess they figured I could be talked into it somehow! Anyhow, race day was November 30th, which was a scant 28 days since I ran the C&D Marathon. After taking a couple weeks off without running – I actually only planned to take one week off but that’s how it turned out – I was still feeling a little off my game running-wise. For some reason my legs would feel sore after distance running, a sure sign that the damage I took from pounding out a marathon hadn’t totally healed up yet. I probably wouldn’t be able to race to the best of my abilities.

So on the Wednesday evening before the Sunday race, I met West and Ozzy at the UF track to do a short workout. After our workout we were talking as usual, and I had a lot of questions about the race. The guys seemed to really enjoy it and said it was a great course and a lot of fun. Well, earlier I was balking at the idea of paying $75 to race a half marathon because I wanted to save the money towards running the Boston Marathon in the spring. But the guys made it sound too fun to resist. So after giving them a solid “maybe”, I ran back to work. After finishing up, I started perusing the Space Coast Marathon website. Hmm… among the goodies you for registering included: a long sleeve technical running shirt, a huge colorful finisher’s medal, beach towel at the finish to keep you warm, pre-race pasta dinner, and oh yeah, the kicker being hot pancakes, eggs, and sausage for breakfast after the race! West and I always joke on Saturday group runs that there’s no point in getting up early to run with the group if we don’t have breakfast afterwards…

Checking out the course map showed that the race starts in Cocoa and runs up SR-515 which is along the Indian River the entire way. It goes north halfway through the HM then back south to finish inside Riverside Park. The marathon continues south and then back up to finish in the same place. The elevation map showed there wasn’t a single significant hill. This looked like the recipe for a PB (Personal Best) race time: what race directors all across the country like to call “Flat and Fast”. That got me thinking that not only would it be fun just to hang out, get all the cool race swag, but I could knock out a new HM PB as well! And the seemingly steep registration fee didn’t seem so bad when I broke it down. A long sleeve running shirt would cost about $35-45, dinner $15, beach towel $10, and breakfast $10, so heck… it would be like buying that stuff and getting the race for free!

So I broke down and registered online for the Space Coast Half Marathon.

I almost signed up to run the full marathon instead of the HM. After having a great race at C&D, my inflated ego thought it would be easy to just jog through the marathon, run a 3:35-3:40 or so. In fact, in 2006 I did train through the Disney Marathon and ran 3:42 very easily on a cold day. However, the weather forecast was for warmish weather around 60 degrees for the low and possible rain. Not quite the ideal marathon weather which for me would be 45 to 50 degrees and overcast. Anyhow, I figured I would just run the HM and hammer out a new PB.

The Space Coast Marathon and HM offer very nice amenities for a race that has less than 2000 runners. You figure the megaraces would have the best race swag as far as cool race shirts and finishers medals go. But the Space Coast race organization did a great job with everything looking terrific. They even had marathoner Dick Beardsley on tap to be the guest of honor, but unfortunately he suffered a problem with his knee and had to cancel.

Anyhow, I had an uneventful ride down to Cocoa with Ozzy. We got our race numbers and shirts and waited for West and his wife Fran to arrive. Oh yeah, one day West was running at the track and left his race shirt from last year by the stands, but when he was done it was gone, swiped by some fool who didn’t realize it was bad luck to wear a race shirt for a race you didn’t run or volunteer in! They had some of last year’s shirts for sale, so I picked one up to surprise him with. Saw the Gators taking control of the Gators/Noles football game with a score of 28-6 at halftime. When West arrived, I surprised him with the shirt and we got in line to grab some grub. It was typical hotel banquet food: not spectacular but edible. I am crazy about food, so here are the details: simple salad blend of iceberg lettuce, carrots, and maybe some purple cabbage with ranch dressing (don’t remember the other dressing), breadsticks, 3 types of pasta (farfalle/bowtie, fettuccine, and penne) which you could smother with 3 types of sauce (pesto, marinara, or meat sauce), and chocolate mousse.

The race was scheduled to start at 6:00 AM in the morning. After arriving at the hotel, we had a discussion about when to leave in order to get our morning business done (portapotty business that is) and be on time for the race. West and Ozzy were voting for 4:45 AM versus Fran and me choosing 5:00 AM. We compromised at 4:50 AM and called it a night.

Now when you go to enough races and are as much of a procrastinator as I am, you know that it’s imperative to get everything set the night before. So before turning in, I looked up the weather forecast and chose which running clothes I would wear in the race. Then I took my race number and pinned it to my singlet. The race was chip timed, that is they use a RF-activated chip that you tie on your shoe to automatically take your starting and finishing time as you cross over a special mat on the road. You have to attach that to your shoe, so I made sure to do that. Then I laid out my shorts, socks, and even a hat and gloves just in case. That eliminates the need to think too much or do too much after waking up which is great for a non-morning person like me!

When we arrived in downtown Cocoa, we walked around a bit to find the start and then sought out the portapotties. I saw some runners in cool costumes as there is a space-themed costume contest. One of my favorites was a gal dressed up as Marvin the Martian complete with makeup on her face to fit the role. There was another who was the space shuttle – she made a space shuttle with a hole in the middle for her body and was held up by suspenders and her hands. It was an impressive costume, but didn’t look too fun to run in! There was another gal in a very realistic Star Trek costume too.

The race implemented a corral system to line up runners at the start in order from the fastest at the front and the slowest at the back. The three of us were in corral 2, but there really weren’t many folks in corral 1, maybe 10 to 20? We were fairly close to the start line which kinda worried me. You don’t want to start too far out and get in the way of faster runners behind you, and you don’t want to get suckered into running too fast by getting caught up in the wake of the speedsters in front.

It was dark at the start, but not so bad you couldn't run safely. The weather was pleasantly cool, not cold. To me, cold is preferable since I warm up considerably once I am running, and the cold temperatures lead to better times (around 45 to 50 degrees is best for me). After the national anthem was sung, they had a jumbotron TV screen at the start that showed a shuttle launch and the start was counted down by the announcer, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

We were off. Ozzy dropped back, and then after a bit so did West. It wasn’t very congested at all versus some crowded races where you have to zigzag around slower runners. I tried to get in a groove and keep it steady. A couple of very fit ladies were running next to me when one says to the other, “7:18 pace”. I ask them if they are running the half or the full marathon and one responds that they are running the half as a training run and plan to add on 6 miles after the race finish. Next they say “6:58”, so I just keep running not wanting to play the yo-yo pace game. It’s easier for me to just run, and I don’t own one of those GPS watches that tells you how fast you are running because the data isn’t good enough quality to be relevant in a race situation.

Mile splits:
1 - 7:31
2 - 7:07
3 - 7:14
4 – 7:04
5&6 – 14:16 (missed the mile 5 marker)

The race venue was terrific as we ran north right along the Indian River. It was so peaceful and scenic. I thought about how lucky I was not only to be able to enjoy a healthy hobby like running, but that it took me to places that are scenic and peaceful like the Indian River today, the C&D Canal towpath a few weeks back, and locally the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, which I never would’ve visited nor even heard of if it wasn’t for becoming a runner.

The effort seemed too high for the pace I was running. Four weeks ago I was running a similar pace at the C&D Marathon, but it felt effortless. Today it was a struggle, and I never felt completely comfortable. Compounding matters, the weather forecast was for a wind from the south, and once we turned around you could really tell it was blowing in our faces.

7 - 7:16 (headwinds after the turnaround)
8 - 7:12
9 - 7:23 (starting to feel tired)
10 - 7:30

Looking at the weather data after getting back, the winds ranged from 8 to 16 mph with gusts up to 24 mph. There were times I felt as if I was running backwards. I just leaned forward from the ankles and tried to keep up the forward momentum. By mile 10 it was a major struggle to maintain pace.

11 - 7:28 (felt so wiped out I actually stopped, bent over with my hands on my knees)
12 - 8:01 (walked while drinking Gatorade)

Miles 11 and 12 were where I totally fell apart. Part of it was mental. I wanted a good time, but I’m not sure I was ready to pay the price that day. I actually felt so bad that during mile 11 I stopped all of a sudden and hunched over with my hands on my knees. I always say that the race itself doesn’t matter much, that I can quit any race whenever I want because I have nothing to prove. I felt blown out and wanted to stop, so I did stop. But I don’t remember how long I stopped, just that I decided to keep plugging away. The split of 7:28 totally surprised me as I thought for sure that I lost much more time stopping. But I was still struggling and felt wiped out. During mile 12 I decided it would be better to walk through the aid station to drink a cup of Gatorade. I never walk to drink Gatorade – I insist on drinking on the run during a race. But today I was toast and felt it was better just to drink and recover a bit by walking. That obviously cost me the most time as I slowed to 8:01 for mile 12.

13 - 7:13
last 0.1 - 0:37
finish - 1:35:52 (7:19/mile)

When I slowed to a walk to drink, one runner passed me, so I worked myself back up to him and asked if he was running the half or marathon. He was one of the lucky ones running the full marathon. I asked if he had a goal, and he said he was trying to run 3:10. I looked at my watch and told him that he was running well. Then I tried my best to keep up the pace he needed to hit, 7:15/mile. We came up to downtown Cocoa and I saw Fran waving and yelling for me which gave me a boost of energy. We hit the part where the half marathoners turn east towards the finish at Riverside Park and the marathoners keep running south, and I tried to eek out a “Go for it” to the 3:10-hopeful but it barely got out of my mouth. As I ran up to the park, I could hear the announcer on the PA saying, “Mark Ou is entering the park looking strong”. The spectators on the course were extremely sparse but enthusiastic and supportive. But once you got to the finish, they were packed and excited!

The finish is a big circle that loops around the amphitheater in the park, on a covered circular walkway. It is very cool to realize you’re almost there as you rush around all the spectators in the park. And they cheer for you as if they were your own family and friends. I was moved by the response of the crowd. Everywhere you turned you could hear “looking good”, “good job”, “finish strong”. I kicked as hard as I could and was relieved it was over. Volunteers clipped my timing chip off my shoe and put my finisher’s medal around my neck. I collected the beach towel to stay warm and went looking for some pancakes! Unfortunately, by the time I got some food and headed back out to find Fran to watch West and Ozzy finish, they must’ve already finished!

Anyhow, I walked out to the main street and looked around. Once I realized Fran wasn’t out there anymore, I headed back and found everybody at the finish festival. The grub was very nice with your typical post-race stuff like bagels, bananas, pastries, but the real draw for me was fresh hot pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage patties. Yummm… In addition to Gatorade, there was Coke, Vitamin Water, and even Starbucks coffee. It almost like breakfast after our typical Saturday group run, though no blueberry pancakes were in evidence!

Bill Rodgers once said, “The marathon can humble you.” And 28 days after my latest, I’m still feeling humiliated! I thought I’d just show up and run 1:33 in my sleep for a PR, but I am still not up to top racing form again just yet. I ran this HM more than a minute slower than I went through halfway at the C&D Marathon! And there I felt great; here at Space Coast, I was struggling something fierce. The plan now is to just run easy, get the mileage back up, wait until I feel strong again and THEN start adding in some faster running. It was definitely too early for me to try racing all out.

West took second in his AG (Age Group) just 50 seconds behind first place. In retrospect, I wish I’d offered to pace him and act as a wind block as the wind was pretty fierce coming back at the turnaround. It might’ve been enough to get him that AG win, and instead of trying to eke out a sub-par performance, I could’ve helped West earn that 1st place award. But you never know for sure, and hindsight is usually clearer than any foresight I might have… We stuck around for the award ceremony since West was gonna pick up some hardware. I hit the little boy’s room, and when I came out Fran said West and Ozzy went to stretch their legs. When I found them in the field toward the amphitheater stage, I noticed a striking blonde female runner stretching her very long and very toned legs. She started doing some lunge and squat stretches that seemingly verged on being vaguely obscene. For some reason I couldn’t tear my eyes away, so I had to put on my sunglasses and try my best to endure through this additional ordeal… 8^)

I’m tempted to shoot for the 2009 Space Coast Marathon, as the course seems very conducive to fast running as long as the weather cooperates. All-in-all, a nice race and a good lesson in humility! I didn’t achieve a good time, but I had a really FUN time hanging out with friends, and that’s really what counts. Thank you to Ozzy, West, and Fran for inviting me and sharing the weekend! I’m already looking forward to the next time!