camaker
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing
- Joined
- May 8, 2015
IM70.3 Raleigh Relay - Running Leg Race Report
Tough race today. First off, how did we get here? Not my normal type of race. The assistant principal at DWs school loves triathlons. But only the swimming part. So she recruited a fellow teacher to ride the biking leg and asked DW if I’d run for them. I’m not a big fan of relays, but why not?
The swim went fine and the biking started ok. Our biker was rocking a mountain bike in a sea of fancy tri bikes. I was heading to Transition 2 to meet her when we got word she’d had a flat and was waiting for assistance. Not knowing how long the ride would take, I got to transition and waited almost 2 hours. The race officials came over and told me if the biker wasn’t there by 1:55, I wouldn’t be allowed to run. About 1:30, the word came in she had another flat! She ended up riding the last 3 miles on a flat tire and passed the chip to me at 1:50, just under the wire.
At that point, the temperature was 85 degrees with a dew point of 71 degrees. It was smoking. I went out at target pace in the first mile to see if it would be sustainable in those conditions. Negative, Ghost Rider, you are NOT cleared to half marathon tempo pacing! With it abundantly clear that it was not going to be a good race day, my focus shifted to making it a reasonable and safe race day.
The course could have been much better designed. It’s kind of hard to describe, but overall it was a double out and back course in Raleigh’s notoriously hilly near downtown area. Within each of those out and backs there were three out and back spurs that were run a total of four times per leg. I know that sounds weird, but here’s how it worked:
Run Spur 1
Exit Spur 1 and run Spur 2
Run Spur 1 again
Exit Spur 1 and run Spur 3 (that you bypassed the 1st time on the way to Spur 1j
Also within each overall out and back was a cloverleaf exchange the you ran from the top of one side of the road, down, under and back up to the top of the other side of the road. The course design meant you hit that bad boy 4 times! Big fun! Big, big fun!
I did a lot of running, a lot of walking, and a lot more sweating than is normal for me. My final time ended up being 2:23:31. Very slow for me, but I’m not unhappy with it given the running conditions and my decision to take it slow and safe.
I do want to comment on the organization and the volunteers for the race. Top notch! Aid stations were plentiful and well laid out consistently with a good variety of food and hydration. The ice water soaked sponges that were handed out in places were a lifesaver. I even had a volunteer pour a cup of ice down the back of my shirt.
I am also in awe of those triathletes who powered through all three legs in those conditions. Water temp for the swim was 80 degrees! They are truly monsters and I was honored to share a portion of their course.
Would I do it again? Probably not. There are just too many variables that impact the rhythm and timing of getting ready for a race. I also don’t like being “that relay guy” blowing by the true triathletes who are struggling to finish their course when I’m out there (relatively) fresh at the end of their long days.
Now, for those of you scoring at home, let’s hope this is the 3rd and last in the sequence of crappy half marathons. To recap, this year has consisted of:
WDW Half Marathon: Frozen, bronchitis, personal worst death march
Owl’s Roost Rumble: Single track trails, hills to spare and a tumble
IM70.3 Relay: Smoking hot, my time was not
I’m really hoping that these bad races are banking me some good karma that I can cash in on at Chicago!
Thanks for reading yet another long-winded race report!
Tough race today. First off, how did we get here? Not my normal type of race. The assistant principal at DWs school loves triathlons. But only the swimming part. So she recruited a fellow teacher to ride the biking leg and asked DW if I’d run for them. I’m not a big fan of relays, but why not?
The swim went fine and the biking started ok. Our biker was rocking a mountain bike in a sea of fancy tri bikes. I was heading to Transition 2 to meet her when we got word she’d had a flat and was waiting for assistance. Not knowing how long the ride would take, I got to transition and waited almost 2 hours. The race officials came over and told me if the biker wasn’t there by 1:55, I wouldn’t be allowed to run. About 1:30, the word came in she had another flat! She ended up riding the last 3 miles on a flat tire and passed the chip to me at 1:50, just under the wire.
At that point, the temperature was 85 degrees with a dew point of 71 degrees. It was smoking. I went out at target pace in the first mile to see if it would be sustainable in those conditions. Negative, Ghost Rider, you are NOT cleared to half marathon tempo pacing! With it abundantly clear that it was not going to be a good race day, my focus shifted to making it a reasonable and safe race day.
The course could have been much better designed. It’s kind of hard to describe, but overall it was a double out and back course in Raleigh’s notoriously hilly near downtown area. Within each of those out and backs there were three out and back spurs that were run a total of four times per leg. I know that sounds weird, but here’s how it worked:
Run Spur 1
Exit Spur 1 and run Spur 2
Run Spur 1 again
Exit Spur 1 and run Spur 3 (that you bypassed the 1st time on the way to Spur 1j
Also within each overall out and back was a cloverleaf exchange the you ran from the top of one side of the road, down, under and back up to the top of the other side of the road. The course design meant you hit that bad boy 4 times! Big fun! Big, big fun!
I did a lot of running, a lot of walking, and a lot more sweating than is normal for me. My final time ended up being 2:23:31. Very slow for me, but I’m not unhappy with it given the running conditions and my decision to take it slow and safe.
I do want to comment on the organization and the volunteers for the race. Top notch! Aid stations were plentiful and well laid out consistently with a good variety of food and hydration. The ice water soaked sponges that were handed out in places were a lifesaver. I even had a volunteer pour a cup of ice down the back of my shirt.
I am also in awe of those triathletes who powered through all three legs in those conditions. Water temp for the swim was 80 degrees! They are truly monsters and I was honored to share a portion of their course.
Would I do it again? Probably not. There are just too many variables that impact the rhythm and timing of getting ready for a race. I also don’t like being “that relay guy” blowing by the true triathletes who are struggling to finish their course when I’m out there (relatively) fresh at the end of their long days.
Now, for those of you scoring at home, let’s hope this is the 3rd and last in the sequence of crappy half marathons. To recap, this year has consisted of:
WDW Half Marathon: Frozen, bronchitis, personal worst death march
Owl’s Roost Rumble: Single track trails, hills to spare and a tumble
IM70.3 Relay: Smoking hot, my time was not
I’m really hoping that these bad races are banking me some good karma that I can cash in on at Chicago!
Thanks for reading yet another long-winded race report!
Our church youth group is having a yard sale at the end of the month so I peeked in the room they are storing stuff yesterday and saw a Gold's Gym TM. I was with my mom so we hunted down the couple running the yard sale (my mom knows EVERYONE!) and she told them I was interested in buying it. They offered it to me at $20 and I said I would give them $50 (it's for a good cause), and it was a done deal! Now just have to go pick it up and see how it works. They said they were told it was in great condition. It is buried in the room so I wasn't able to check it out. The downside is DH said it has to go on our back patio, but he promised to buy me a giant box fan (think construction site fan!). At least I can run out of the sun and with air blowing on me for the rest of the summer! I'm sure I will still get in some outside runs as I HATE TM running but it will be nice to have another option. 
