Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon

State #20 Race Recap

The official title of this event was The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon.

I don't know why I am so opposed to the term mini marathon, but I do not care for it.  13.1 miles is a long, long way to run.  In my mind it is not a mini anything.  Do they call the 100 meters a mini 200 meters?  No!! In fact, they call the winner of the 100 meters, the FASTEST MAN ALIVE.  Or the 400 meters a mini 800 meter race?... etc... you get the point.  After my race in Duluth, MN., I posted a picture posing with my medal.  The medal clearly read HALF finisher on it.  One of the sweet ladies from church responded to my posting, "Well good for you for making it THAT far!"  She was trying to be sweet and encouraging.  -- Of course, to be fair to the discussion, most people that I talk with do not even know the difference between a marathon and a half marathon.  I am often asked, "How's the marathons coming?", and "Marathon?!?! How far is that, like 10 kilometers or something?"... So, maybe it makes no difference what you call it, a half marathon, a mini marathon, a marathon, or a stupid long way to run.  Truth is, the very next thing out of people's mouth is either, "Oh, my son runs marathons.... ", or "I used to run...", followed by, "How are your knees?" -- either way, I do not personally like the term mini marathon.  It just seems to diminish the race.  FWIW (For What It's Worth)(I recently discovered that several people are not aware of FWIF.

The Kentucky Derby Festival HALF MARATHON is held Louisville, Kentucky.

Registration:

Registration for this event was through RunSignUp.  Accessed through the derby festival web site: derbyfestivalmarathon.com

 Fee:

The fee was $85.  plus a $7.70 processing fee -- grand total: $92.70

The Expo:

The expo was held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. It was less than 2 miles from the airport, so I decided to walk.  I only had a backpack since I was alone and staying just one night.  It was an easy walk with the exception of having to walk out of the way to get to a place where I could cross the multi-lane HYW. Once at the expo, it was easy enough to get my bib and shirt, then one had to walk through the expo to the exit.  In this event, they decided to force the racers through the expo in an attempt to maximize the exposure to the vendors.  It was set up so that you were forced to walk a narrow, winding path in an continuous S-pattern.  That would not have been so bad, except there were many who would saunter through the maze with frequent stops and wander aimlessly, talking and forcing a line to form behind them.  It was terribly frustrating.  Once you finally got past those three people, there was another wandering group just in front of them.  I was not in any hurry, but I was trapped, and do not enjoy being trapped.  As a result, I saw none of the vendors.  I was focused only on getting through the blockade.  At the end of the expo, there was a place to take a "free" "shuttle" to downtown.  Free is in quotation marks because there was no XTRA charge.  And shuttle is in quotes because they were school busses.  I was the only rider on the bus on this trip.  It took about 15 min. and we passed right by where I needed to go to my accommodations, but the driver would not let me out when we stopped as "it would be too dangerous".  Safety first!

Shirt:

The shirt was another short-sleeved wicking, tech shirt  

Race Day:

Saturday.  I flew out Friday morning, made my way to the expo, had a good night's sleep.. woke at 4:00am to eat breakfast and get my bathroom routine working properly, then off to the race.  A two hour rest and shower, then to the airport Saturday about noon.

Race Start Time:

Race start was 7:30am.  We started a little more than 5 min. late.  They kept announcing that they would start in 5 min, then 2, then a long pause, then 5 min late.  I do not know why, but it did not matter.  The race started in downtown Louisville.  There was some construction, so instead of running straight up  main st. there were a couple of turns to re-route around the construction, but it did not seem to affect anyone.   There were a reported 13,000 people in this race.  If you look close at the below picture you cannot see me, but I am way up there near the start, which was great, because there was a whole bunch of folks gathered into a small space.  I was playing pinball at the start and there was only about 100  or so people in front of me.

Course Map:

The blue line is the half marathon.  The orange is the full - which extends beyond what I have captured here... but since the half is only a mini marathon... just kidding.  The big draw of this race was to run through Churchill Downs.  More on that later.

Accommodations:

I stayed in an AirBnB condo.  It was right about 200 yards from the finish line, and right at corral I, but just down the street from Corral B and right next to Slugger Field

I found this picture kinda funny.  They had moved the start line down a street that was already blocked off, so they did not have to close off main st. the day before.  Some time in the middle of the night, they moved the start down the street, but for the day before it sat right next to the finish.  Looks like a short race from here.  Maybe that is what they mean by mini marathon.  lol.

Transportation:

I walked from the airport.  Took the bus to downtown.  Walked to the room.  Walked (actually I jogged) to the grocery... and back.  Then I took an Uber back to the airport.  It was a super easy transportation this time.

Weather:

The weather was really great.  55F from race start to race finish.  It was clear and sunny.  I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.  I was comfortable.  I thought it might warm up and get hot, but it never did.  Nice.

Race Morning:

55 F.  It was a bit windy, but not so much that it was a problem.  There was one stiff head wind that I remember, but it was short lived and really did not bother me too much.  I walked out of my room at 7:00am and comfortably made my way to the start.  It was super easy.  Location is key for the accommodations.

Race:

We started the race.  I played pingpong with a bunch of folks who should not have been up at the front, and a few others that wanted to be and maybe should have been closer to the front.  Navigating crowds of runner who are trying to find their rhythm for the first couple miles is always tricky.  I never felt comfortable with my position on the course until about mile 3.5.  It opened up a bit at that point and I was not worried about running into someone or getting cut off or clipped from behind.  I found two guys who were running about the pace I had settled into.  It was nice to have two of them because there were times when I would speed up and different times where they would speed up and/or slow down.  We passed each other back and forth for 10 miles.  One would pass and the other I would pass, and so forth.  Back and forth for 10 miles.  At the finish, I passed one of them and lost track of the other.  It helped keep me around the right pace to get a decent time.
The elevation chart showed an uphill section at the last several miles, but my Garmin showed a net downhill over the entire race.  I did not really notice the uphill at the end, and my times did not reflect it.  I felt decent and only felt like I needed to slow down one time.

Water/Food Stations:

There were several water and Powerade stations.  I think they said there were 19 water stations.  That was plenty.  I drank at 3 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles, and 9 miles.  Otherwise, I did not feel the need to.

Scenery:

As I mentioned, the draw of this race was running through Churchill Downs. We ran through the front, which in my opinion was the best part of the entire experience.  

Once through the front entrance and past the museum, we entered a tunnel to go underneath the race track, and came out in the infield, which is  a paved road.  We made a short loop on this paved road and then back out another tunnel on the opposite side.

The infield loop was a little disappointing to me, only because this race is in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby next week, and there was a lot of set up and things in disarray.  The view was obscured by half erected tents and deliver trucks.  It would have been nice if we could have seen the track and the stadium etc.  The ironic part is that I do not generally notice these things, as I am focused on my race and not passing out, but I made a conscious decision to be alert and aware so that I did not miss any of the sights and the atmosphere.  It appears there was not a lot to miss in this one.  It was neat running into the stadium, but otherwise it was just more pavement.

Race Entertainment:

There were several bands at different points in the race and a few DJs playing music, but the best part of the "entertainment" for me was the fan support.  There were people everywhere and they were all clapping and cheering and ringing cowbells, etc.  I actually found it uplifting for the first time.  They were an encouragement to me.  There were fans and cheering along the entire course except in Churchill Downs itself.  

Finish:

The finish was nice with a large fan base.  There was water and chocolate milk and Powerade and mini muffins and bananas, and a couple of other things that I don't remember because I could not carry them, so I dismissed them.  People were taking the racers pictures at every turn.  The finishers area finished in a field where there was a festival the day before and one could only presume the after party was held there as well.  I walked back to the room.  I had to walk the loooong way around as my place was right at the turn to the finish, so I could not cross the runners path to get back.

Bling:

Misc:

 My math skills were a little better this time.  My awareness was a little better this time.  I felt more aware of my surroundings as well as where I was from a time perspective.  I don't know if that means I was in better shape or my nutrition was better or what made the difference.  I did get another PR, and that ALWAYS makes me happy.    The course was pretty flat and an overall net downhill

Next race May 19 in Alton New Hampshire.  Valerie will be running with me on this one.  Should be fun.

I forgot to relay one thing about this race.  I upped my milage the week before the race and my calf was not happy about it.  Both calves were tight and one was a bit uncomfortable.  So, I was super easy with my running the last few days before.  My times were slow and my distance was short.  Before the race my calf was very tight, and for the first several miles I could feel it, and was nervous that it might affect me as I continued.  Each time I felt it, I prayed that God prevent me from injuring myself, even if that meant for me to drop out or slow up considerably.  I was worried that I would get injured and take multiple weeks to recover.  After 5 or 6 prayers in the same vein, I totally forgot about my calf and never felt it again.  God is good!  Amen.

NYC Half Marathon

New York City Half Marathon recap    State number 19.

Registration -- The NYC Half is a lottery entry.  In order to get registered for this race you have to be an elite racer and show proof of time in a qualified race.  I don't remember the qualifying time, but suffice it to say, I did not qualify.  There are three other ways to get entry to this race.

1.  Enter the lottery -- I did, but I did not get picked
2.   Join a charity team -- the minimum amount needed to raise for your charity to gain entry was $1300 and this was a guarantee, so if you do not raise the money from your friends and family, then you had to pay it yourself.
3. Book your hotel accommodations through Anthony Travel 

I chose, by default, option number 3.  The hotel cost an extra $20 per night and the race entry was about $50 more than I would have paid, but I got entry to the race, so I was in with 22,500 of my closest friends.

It was on the more expensive side but I thought it would be fun to run through Manhattan, through Times Square, and through Central Park, so I figured it was worth it.  Also, Valerie and I were able to go and see Hamilton and enjoy the City together for a couple days.

The picture above pretty much sums up the race.  It was downright cold.  The iPhone weather forecast was fairly accurate for the race.  At the start it was about 28F and never got above freezing until well after I finished.
The shirt and the medal were nice and the only other swag was a United Airlines nylon cover that I picked up at the expo.  I was planning on wearing it during the race, but I lost it somewhere between dropping off my jacket at bag check and the start line.  It looked like this. Or maybe I could wear it like this:


Anyway, for the first 3 miles and before the start and after the finish, I sure wished I had it, and was wearing it in some way.  Instead, I mostly just shivered.

EXPO

The expo was about a 45 minute walk from our hotel.  It was sponsored by New Balance, so there were really no other vendors there.  All of the clothing, shoes, and accessories were New Balance.  I was looking for another pair of shoes as I have about worn out yet another pair of Brooks Glycerin 15.  I did find a nice visor that I liked and actually wore during the race.  I also bought a cap, but it was neon yellow and simply did not match my outfit, so my daughter would not let me wear it.

In the expo, they had a wall with all of the registered runners names on it.

After the expo, Valerie and I walked another 45 minutes to Broadway where we took in a matinee and saw Hamilton.  It was a good time.  I can't say that it was worth the ticket price, but I am not so sure any 2 hour event is going to give me the entertainment value for the price of those tickets.  Having said that, I just remembered that I am spending about $1000 every month to go and run 13.1 miles in somewhere around two hours, so maybe my perspective is skewed a little.




The race started in Brooklyn.  Through Anthony Travel, part of the arrangements was a bus trip from the hotel to the start.  The bus was supposed to pick us up at 5:15am, but my bus did not leave until about 6:00am.  Then, we drove over to Brooklyn and several of the streets were blocked off, so we had to walk about 3 blocks to get to what we thought was the starting area, but as it turns out, the start area was around the park and it was a little over a mile around.  I missed my designated bag check time as a result, but got my bag checked into the "late check" truck.  It worked out fine, but it was a pile-up and mob mentality, mass confusion.  After bag check, we had to go through metal detectors and then we could enter our respective corrals.  I was in wave 1, corral D.  I came out of the metal detector and saw corral K.   It took my a good 10 minutes to get to the back of corral C.  The elite racers on corral AA started at 7:30am and corral D started at 7:38am.
There was a mass of people.  They say there was 22,500 starters and the results read 21,956 finishers.  Lots of folks on some not so large roads.

From Brooklyn we ran over the Manhattan Bridge and into Manhattan, around the city and through Times Square, then through Central Park and finishing in Central Park. While running through Times Square, for three miles or so, my Garmin was acting up.  It showed that I ran a 6:38 mile, and two miles in the 5:30 pace range -- I did not run that fast.  That was kinda funny, but it made it a little difficult because I was unable to gauge my pace.  I had no idea how fast -- or slow as it were -- I was running.  Afterward, it was clear that I had slowed a bit heading in Central Park.  Central Park had some sneaky hills and I continued to slow.  Prior to that, I was running pretty well.  I was calculating a PR until about mile 9, then I felt like I lost it.  Oh well.  I ran pretty well, but missed my goal a bit.




Not too bad, but not what I was thinking during the race.  As you can see, I slowed after the 10k mark, sadly.

Still had a good time, had a smile on my face and a thumbs up for the race.

Next race is Louisville, KY.  The Kentucky Derby Festival.  April 28 .  Should be fun.

Austin Half Marathon

Here is the race recap for Austin.  Officially,  Austin Marathon and Half Marathon
Austin, TX


Registration:

Registration was through Event Dog... eventdog.com .  Who comes up with this stuff??  I dunno.

Fee:
The fees were $110 for the half and 
$7.04 processing fee
Total, in case you hate math $117.04

The Expo:

This expo was at the Palmer Event Center.  It was the same old thing. With the exception that Valerie and all three kids were with me.  Valerie's brother lives in Leander, just outside of Austin, so we bundled this trip with a visit to see her brother.  Packet pick-up was very easy.  There was no line.  I walked right up to the bib pick-up area and showed my drivers license and collected my bib and safety pins, then right over to get my bag and shirt.... easy peezy.  The only "difficult" part of the expo was not losing track of Valerie and the kids.  At one point I had to text them and let them know I where I was waiting for them near the exit -- they were wandering around looking at things that did not even interest them.  Go figure.

Shirt:
The shirt was a short-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.   

Race Day:
Sunday.  We flew out Thursday evening.  Valerie's brother picked us up at the airport and took us to his house for the night.  Then we went into town and stayed in an AirBnb condo for the remainder of the trip.

Race Start Time:

Race start time was 7:00am.  We started right about time.  Valerie and I walked over to the start which was only a block away from our room.  There were corrals, but they were designated for the full marathon, so I did some quick math and determined that I should be in the 3:20 - 3:25 corral area.  This put me right up near the start, about 10 yards from the elite corral.  I appreciated this placement because there were some 15,000 people in this race and it got a bit crowded in spots... particularly the start.

Course Map:
The course started in Downtown Austin with the Capitol in the background, ran over the river and around for a while, then back across the river and back to Congress St. and finished in front of the Capitol just down from the start.


Accommodations:

We stayed at an AirBnb condo/apartment.  It had one bedroom, one bathroom and a loft.  The loft only had room for a bed and a desk.  Keeley slept up there.  There was a pull-out couch in the living room and the boys slept out there, and Valerie and I stayed in the bedroom.  It really was not a big deal that there was only one bathroom.  I thought it would be worse with all five of us, but it was pretty uneventful.  

Transportation:
As I mentioned, Valerie's brother picked us up from the airport and drove us to downtown and even took us to lunch the last day and then on to the airport, so we did not have to get an Uber or taxi anywhere this trip.  Everything else was within walking distance.

Weather:

The weather was pretty good.  It was about 50-60F the entire trip.  The forecast suggested rain on race day, but the rain came about 3:00am and stopped prior to the race, so it was wet out, but there was no rain at all during the race, or even while we were walking around the city.  Some of the racers complained about the humidity, but I did not think it was an issue.  Maybe I am just accustomed to humidity?

Race Morning:

The kids stayed in bed and Valerie and I walked to the start.  She hung around until I took off, then found a spot to catch me coming back over the river and then again at the finish.  The kids were supposed to come out to catch me finishing.... but they just missed me as they had a lesson in herding cats.... but they were right there when I came out of the racers exit just past the finish. --- "missed it by this much!"

Race:

The race was well organized.  I did not have any trouble finding where to go.   There was no confusion.  All of the pacers and the corrals were set up for the full, so there was some simple division that needed to happen, but it was easy enough.  The half and the full took the exact same course until about 12.5 miles and the half runners split off.  It was well marked and there were people there directing traffic.

Valerie and I mapped out before the race about where she would be at mile 8 and roughly where she would be a the finish and then where we would meet after the race.  It was good that we discussed these things before hand, because she did not notice me at the 8 mile mark.  I noticed her and had to call out to her to get her attention.  I was racing pretty well at that point and feeling good, so I was able to focus and recognize her.  Had she been waiting around mile 10-13, I may not have been able to see her because I was "foggy" due to the hills.

Water/Food Stations:
There were water stations every1.5 or so.  This race was sponsored in part by Nuun, so every water station had some Nuun mixture.  I liked that.  If you are not familiar, Nuun is an electrolyte powder or tablet that you mix with water.  It gives the water some flavor and gives you some electrolyte replacement.  I have them at home and it is part of my regular training regimen.  They also had cliff shots at at least one place, maybe more, but I only noticed one around mile 9-10.  I did not see any other food until the finish, but it is possible it was there.

Scenery:
The scenery was downtown Austin.  I think they could have made the course center around the river more to take advantage of the scenic river front, but the river was not the main focus.  

Race Entertainment: 
There were several smaller bands and other groups out for entertainment.  One group of college aged kids were out in tiger outfits playing "eye of the tiger" and singing and dancing.  There was a fair amount of community involvement.  I saw multiple stations of neighborhood folks offering water, beer, and even champaign to the racers.  I did not have any of those.  Actually, I only got water and Nuun water at four stations, and only a couple sips each time.  I skipped the other stations as I was feeling pretty good.... that is, until the late hills.

In the other entertainment category, after braving the expo, Valerie and the kids and I went on a duck tour of Austin on Saturday.  We had a fun time.  It was a decent waste of time and not terribly expensive.  I think the kids enjoyed themselves as well.  

Finish:



The finish was just down the street from the start and just a couple blocks from the room.  Valerie was at the finish to cheer me in and the whole family met me at the racers exit.  The finish area was not crowded.  They took photos, passed out medals and water and fruit cups and a finisher's bag which had another fruit cup that I gave to a homeless guy, some Oreo thins and some chips.  The MC called out my name at the finish and as a bonus, he pronounced it correctly.  We all walked back to the room from the finish together... while I ate my Oreos. ;)  


Bling:



The finishers medal was a belt buckle with the ribbon colored to look like a belt.  Cute.  There was also a race bag.  

Misc:

This was a nice race.  It was well organized, even with a large group.  There were some hills that I have already alluded to.  The late hills were a killer for me.  There was a large elevation gain in the first few miles, some 600ft., but it was spread out over three or so miles.  I was running well at about 7:45 per mile.  Then came the down hill for a couple miles where I ran 7:11 and 7:17 and 7:30ish per mile.  Then came miles 9-13.   There were several hills that had less elevation gain, but over a much shorter period.  That is, they were steep.  I felt like I was standing still.  People were passing me and I was getting winded.  I have simply not mastered hills.  My split times were inching above 8:00 per mile, and particularly the hill at mile 13.  That mile was 8:30 something.  In all, I finished fairly well, but my hopes of another PR faded around mile 10.  

Friday morning, two days before the race, I went for a run, just a mile, around Valerie's brother's house.  There were some major hills there too, but i felt pretty good and ended up running three miles at about 8:30 per mile pace.  It was a relatively easy run.  That evening, my left foot began to swell.  No idea why.  It did not hurt.  Ice and anti-inflammatories did not help.  I was a little concerned that I might have difficulty come Sunday.  When I woke up Saturday morning it had subsided and was not a problem.  I went for a light jog with Valerie and had no issue.  I think it is/was tendinitis, but caused me no issue during the race.  Just weird.

Post Race:

We walked back to the hotel and I got a shower, packed up and went out to lunch with Valerie's brother and his wife and the rest of the fam.  We went to Rudy's BBQ.

It was good.  I had a banana pudding which I ate before my lunch in case I did not survive through lunch, then off to the airport.  We were super early to the airport, but we were sort-of homeless, so we went on to the airport and just hung out for a few hours until our flight.  I walked up and down the terminal several times because the lactic acid was building up and I was getting stiff.  I am still a bit sore three days later.

Next race is NYC.  Not sure about the weather and the race is the day after St. Patty's Day, so I am not so sure about the crowds, but it should be interesting.  It will be televised, so if you are so inclined to watch a half marathon on TV or internet on a Saturday morning, you just may see me out there.

Pictures of the last two races

The photos for the last couple of races were not available when I posted last, so I thought I would post them for you now.

The Rain Run does not seem to have any pictures.  There is a video, and I captured a screen shot of that video.

There is a link on the web site that reads: 2018 Photos, but the link simply takes you to the race results... no photos that I can find.  **** Several months later, I found some pictures, there appears to be ONE of me -- here it is (for your viewing pleasure)

There are several pictures from the Pebble Beach race... unfortunately, I look super tired in all of them.
 

I am not feeling great today and having difficulty getting motivated to run.  I seriously want to go back to bed.... but... I have to run at least a mile.  That was the goal.  That was the deal.  I intended to run 10 miles today, but I am trying to find any excuse to just go back to bed.  We will see how it goes.... at least it is the weekend.  Next race in 2 weeks.