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A solid 1/4 marathon

The Rock N Roll series, while being crazy expensive, is the jewel of San Antonio races.  20,000-30,000 runners come out and fill the downtown streets over the weekend running distances from 5K to a full marathon.  Bands dot the course as it also takes runners on a tour of San Antonio landmarks.  Not only are there 20,000+ runners downtown, it seems like 100,000+ spectators and another couple thousand volunteers line the course.  RnR is known for their cool medals and giving special medals away to runners that complete certain challenges.  They also give special treatment for longevity, as runners this year got a big sticker modeled after a Hollywood star if they've run RnR races 10 years in a row.  2017 was #7 in a row for me.
The RnR has always held a special place for me.  It was my first 1/2 marathon back in 2011 and I set two marathon PRs and a 1/2 marathon PR there.  I joined Carrera to train for the RnR in 2014, and that changed how I thought about running and training (as I wrote about here and here)  Running that course, especially now that I live in San Angelo, is a homecoming for me and I plan on running at least 10 in a row.
Having run the Wild Hare  on November 18th, I had no idea what to expect from this race.  Shortly after finishing Wild Hare, Tracy and I figured that we would basically have to walk this one but still planned on finishing.  I knew that my fitness was good, I was just unsure about how much strength I had in my legs.  I struggled through the Team RWB Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving

but my tempo run the Wednesday before the 1/2 went pretty well.  Still, my knee and hip hurt a bit and I really couldn't predict how I'd run on race day.  I decided to basically see what would happen if I went out like I could run a PR (1:42) and adjust at the midway point if need be.
Larry and Diana were nice enought to let us stay at their new place (Castillo Lim) and after taking the mandatory flat runner pic,
I actually slept pretty decently.  The race started at 7:15 am but to find parking and actually get to the correct corral, you have to show up by 6.  I did the mandatory pit stop (you're welcome Peter) and tried to find Blanca, Tracy, and Alex.  We succeeded in finding Blanca, got a quick pic, and I headed to corral #2.
All set?  You bet
The dude manning the entrance took his job super seriously.  Even had the sunglasses on though it was pre-dawn and overcast.  I wanted to take a second bathroom break, but didn't tell Mila.  She didn't get any pics of me at the start because I disappeared on her.  I tried crossing the corral (portapotties were on the other side of the street), realized it was closed off, then came back.  I tried pushing against the crush of humanity to get to the portapotties but realized it was futile.  I just hoped I wouldn't have to stop during the run and headed back to the corral. (Sunglasses man checked my bib carefully again)
Getting back just before the start, I cranked the tunes on my iPod (which gave its life for my race) and got ready.  Mila couldn't find me but she snagged some neat pics at the start of the race.









The question I asked myself leading up to the race was "how much can I get out of my legs?"  The answer is in the title of the blog.  I got roughly a 1/4 marathon, or half the race.  I felt pretty good and was able to keep consistent 7:35-7:45 miles for the first 5 miles.  At that point, I could feel my legs flagging a bit so I slowed down a bit for an 8 minute mile 6.
As I went through the 10K mark at 47:30(ish), I knew that this was not going to be a PR day.  It was a little weird since the normal markers were fine.  My heart rate was good, my breathing was good, in fact, everything above the waist was perfect.  I even had no problem keeping my cadence right at 180 (thanks to Terri's super annoying app she had us train with).  I just had no umph, no push, in my legs. I decided to slow down and adopt one of my mantras from Wild Hare (no, not THAT one), "do what I can."  If I could keep a pace that'd get me across the finish line before 1:45, then great.  If not, just do what I can and do my best to not walk.
It was in the low 60s at the start and it only raised a few degrees during the race.  However, it was just wet enough to make the road slippery.  As my legs got more tired, I noticed my feet slipping more.
Then there was mile 7.  Tiredness did not matter at mile 7.  It was the "Wear Blue" section of the race.  First we passed pictures of military members that have died.  After that, there were family members of the fallen military members lining both sides of the road holding American flags.  All of them were cheering us on and it was very inspiring.  Shortly after I went through the tunnel of flags, I got a bit more inspiration.  My old supervisor and mentor, Stephanie, and my old chief were on the side of the road yelling at us.  Honestly, I don't really know what they said, I just heard my name and smiled and waved.  It was a nice surprise though.  Shortly thereafter, we got hit with some rain.  I don't know what it is, but getting rained on somehow always energizes me.  I was halfway joking later when I told Larry that it was because I feel epic in the rain, but maybe that's it.  I got into a groove from mile 7 on, running in the mid 8s.
Life was good.  I talked to the volunteers, waved at random people and even smiled.  Enough to make Anne and Ceci proud.  If I wasn't so cheap, I would buy the proof from MarathonFoto.  I mean, I wasn't as smiley as Blanca, but good enough.
 Whoever dseigned the course is a mean person.  The first 11 miles were incredibly flat.  I knew we were going to go by the zoo but I at least expected to hit the hill up Tuleta that has been on the course for years, but that wasn't even included.  Mile 11, therefore, was an unpleasant surprise.  The course took us through the Dignowty Hill area.  Yes, hill.  They weren't particularly steep, but they certainly slowed down the field.  I'm glad that I had given up on finishing at a certain time.  I was able to just put my head down, enjoy the mariachi band, and chug up the hill.
It was also cool seeing the UTSA runner by me stop in his tracks when he saw the traditional Mexican dancing girl (Jarabe Tapatio-style) on the overpass above us.  He stopped what he was doing to snap a couple of pictures. 
Mile 11 ended up being my slowest by far, coming in at 9:25. 
The last mile and a half felt a bit better.  We ran by the convention center and I was able to finish strong enough.  Again, I was just "doing what I can" and not walking. 
Blanca came across some of our Team RWB San Angelo members
after the finish, Jennifer and Jann Jann Jurado Great job guys!
In the end, I finished in 1:48:17.  My second half was maybe 7 minutes slower than the first half but I felt good.  I didn't stop to walk, and I was able to finish proud of my effort and with a smile on my face.  My results ended up being 557/10,494 overall and 67/512 in my division.  The Olympians Stanley Biwott and Desi Linden got me!  In some really awesome news, the E-Dragon himself, Erik Burciaga won the marathon!  Great job Erik!
Mila snapped this happy looking pic post race
I've been taking this week off but tomorrow (December 10th) starts my training for the Cowtown marathon on February 25th.  Have a great holiday season everyone!




The obligatory post race medal pic.  SARL shirt inspired by Dennis Hall





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