Date: September 5, 2021; 7 AM
Distance: 13.1 MI (plus 2 miles before the half)
Place: Virginia Beach, vA
Weather: 86 F
Official Time / PACE: 2:31:39 / 11:35 min/mi
Swag: Tech T-shirt, finisher medal, a goody bag with a LOT of post-race snacks, face mask, Heineken 0.0

While I did not run as well as I wanted to do, I did enjoy running my first half marathon in my hometown. In my defense, this half marathon was supposed to be a 19-mile training run for NYC Marathon.

Pre Half Marathon:
I will say that the Rock n Roll folks did a good job with the race expo.I thought bib pick-up was pretty easy breezy for the most part. Actually, it probably was easy breezy because I went early on the first day of bib pick up. Also, there were not 80 thousand vendors trying to sell you everything under the sun. I’m kind of a get-in-and-get-out kind of guy when it comes to race expos.

Since finishers who are over 21 years old could receive free samples of Heineken 0.0 after the race, it was recommended that runners pick up their wristbands before the events. I thought it was kind of weird that I had a wear a wristband from Friday to Sunday (the day of the half). A volunteer told me that we had to wear the wristbands over the entire weekend because someone could give the wristband to someone who is under 21.

Here’s the thing:
-Are folks under 21 really trying to score free NON-ALCOHOLIC BEERS?
-There’s probably more alcohol in apple cider vinegar than in Heineken 0.0

It was a bit annoying that the race expo did not have parking information that you could take with you especially because the parking information was VERY limited on Rock n Roll’s website.

Half Marathon Time:

Honestly, I arrived at the start a bit later than expected – quite a few of the parking garages and parking lots were full or closed.

It was so beautiful running along the oceanfront right after sunrise. I will say that the first 4 miles were really nice because of the crowd participation, music, views of the beach/ocean from the boardwalk, and running through the strip. However, things became a bit “boring” from mile 5 to about mile 10 because it was super quiet. While quiet, it was nice to see some sights that I have never seen growing up in Va Beach. Although this section of the race was “boring”, it was very well shaded, which is always an A+ in my book.

Miles 11 to 13.1 were when things became a bit more exciting because we were coming “home” via the boardwalk. Running in direct sunlight was one of my biggest concerns the weeks/days leading up to the half. While the majority of the race was shaded, the sun was on top of us while finishing the last two miles on the boardwalk . . . and it was hell.

Lol Moment:

I thought it was kind of funny that volunteers were handing out cans of Heineken 0.0 at mile 12. I’m like we still have one more mile left in this thing. I guess they wanted us to get the party started early.

Post-race stuff:

While I did not have a major goal going into this half marathon, I was kind of proud of myself for not walking until Mile 7. This probably happened because I did not take many pictures during the race. Actually, I only took a quick video once we hit the boardwalk for the first time, and a bunch of pictures after finishing. Although I do not need to stop to take quick race snapshots for some memorable moments during a race, I have noticed that it does throw off my rhythm. Maybe this is something to think about for future races.

Going forward, if I need to incorporate a long training run into a half marathon, I need to run the additional miles BEFORE the race. For my NYC Marathon training plan, I was supposed to run 19 miles. While I did run (technically jog) about two miles to the start from the parking lot, once I finished I did not really feel like running. I was not completely drained, but I was not in the mood after receiving my medal, post-race snacks, cold cloth, two cans of Heineken 0.0.

Once I put all of my post-race goodies in my finisher bag, it was pretty damn heavy. While I did not have to accept the post-race goodies, that crap is built into registration fees, and I like to get my money’s worth. However, there was about a 2-mile walk back to my father’s car so I counted that as part of my long run. Oh well; feet smell.
Of course, I had to seize the opportunity and go for a dip in the ocean after the half.