Half Marathon - June 7, 2009
After developing iliopsoas tendinitis doing a half marathon last weekend, I decided to skip this one. I planned my training around skipping it - did a hard weight workout on legs on Friday, did 35 miles in a stiff wind on Saturday, did a barefoot beach run on Saturday. But then, Saturday night, maybe under the influence of Saturday's endorphins, I changed my mind and told Ferrell - "OK, I'm in". ...BIG mistake! This was the most painful race I've ever run. I suffered from start to finish, and sit here now with icepack on my operated left hip bursa typing this up. I've never quit a race, and so my last chance to bow out gracefully was before the starting gun, which I didn't take advantage of. The result was that I finished in N-th place, where N=no. of participants. 3:17:03 was my time. Ouch.
Ferrell, on the other hand, was prepared and had a great race. He'd done this one 13 years ago in his prime, and to do it again this year and only lose 9 minutes, is awesome staying power.
At this point, I'm still all smiles |
Collecting shirt... |
...and number |
By adding up the climbs here, I estimate 2280 ft of climbing, and the length shows 12.8 miles. But for the 2011 course (did it change??) this link has this runner's GPS reading claims the length is 17.3 miles, and 1399 ft of climbing. |
The course went up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and... |
The course was on asphalt for the first mile and a half, then steep and often rocky trails which were steeply up or steeply down most of the time, and finishing the last 2 miles on gently rolling hills of asphalt for the last two miles. Midway around the course it's advisable to wear ear plugs as shotgun blasts are incessant. Afterwards, I'm a mess...
pretty much everything below my mid-back is hurting big time, here. Note the icepack |
Pull it together Nolt, and smile for the camera |
Ferrell's 2nd place medal. Nice work! |
A bit of socializing before heading to the nearest Taco Bell for some protein refueling |
After getting back to Santa Cruz, we head to the Spa for some hot tub / cold plunge therapy. The rest of the day I spend pretty much on or in bed, with icepack and snacks, watching the finals of the French Open. .
