Urban Wildland Half Marathon - August 6, 2011

The Urban Wildland Half Marathon in Richfield, MN was my first race in preparation for October's Chicago Marathon.  I intended on running a 5k and 10 mile race race in July, but the weather was dangerously hot and humid for racing all month, so I stuck to training runs only. 

I've also been dealing with a nagging injury since Grandma's Marathon.  My lower back has been bothering me, causing nerve pain down my legs.  I should have addressed it weeks ago but thought it would go away on its own.  Now the IT band across the outside of my right knee is swollen and acting up as a result.  I will begin Chiropractic treatments on Monday to get my back realigned and allow me to run pain free again.

I ran the Urban Wildland back in 2008 as well.  It's a fun race race and the course is unique in that it's a street course that includes a mix of nature trails -some paved and some dirt.  The course is relatively flat but miles 3-4 require some strategic running through very narrow nature trails where it becomes difficult to pass runners.  There are also a number of relatively sharp turns to navigate in this 2 mile section.  As a result, it's important to start fast over the first 2 miles to get ahead of slower runners before entering these narrow trails, or you could get hung up for several miles until you hit the streets again at mile 4.

With my recent nagging injuries I have not been able to train effectively.  My up-tempo runs have been anything but up-tempo and I wasn't sure I would be capable of running my normal 6:50 half marathon race pace.  In fact I wasn't sure if I would finish the race at all.  I didn't want to injure myself worse than I already was and so I was prepared for the possibility I would need to drop out after a couple miles if things didn't feel right physically.

The first mile went surprisingly well.  I ran the first mile in 6:50 and felt comfortable striding out and running relaxed.  Same for the second mile, although I started to feel some familiar discomfort on the outside of my right knee.  During my training runs the pain was very sharp at times, but I would describe the pain I was feeling in the early stages of this race as soreness, not sharp pain.

I haven't touched on the weather conditions yet and need to at this point.  It was 73 degrees, cloudy and calm, but the air was thick with humidity.  Sweat quickly saturated my clothing and I made the mistake of ignoring the first water station at the two mile mark thinking there would be another at the four mile mark.  I didn't realize the second water station wasn't until mile six.  I fought my way through the twisting dirt nature trails (miles 3-4) but with no breeze it felt like a run through a hot sticky jungle.  I stayed close to my 6:50 race pace but as we exited the trails and made our way back onto the Richfield streets I realized the humid conditions were going to make it impossible to maintain this pace throughout the race.

By mile 6 I finally reached the second water station (my first) and eagerly guzzled down a cup as I ran by.  The next mile marked the halfway point in the race and it also marked my last sub 7 minute mile.  The good news...I was still running.  I didn't have to drop out as I thought I might.  However the news was not all good.  My IT band was bothering me.  The pain factor wasn't bad, but my right leg began to get tingly and numb from my hip to my knee.  This kept me from striding out with confidence as the numbness made it feel like my right leg may not support the weight of my body on some strides.

My splits continued to slow with each mile and so I gave up trying to push the pace.  It was just too humid and I also needed to protect my right leg.  It felt strange as runners began to pass me over the final 3-4 miles.  Normally I would compete with them rather than simply let them pass, but today I had to let them go.  I just wanted to get to the finish line in one piece.  My shorts were so saturated from sweat and water, they felt about 5 times heavier than normal.  My feet also became sore as my shoes/socks got soaked from cups of water I poured over my body to stay cool. 

As I made my way through the last winding trail to the finish line, I was just glad it was over and I was able to complete the distance.  My time was 1:33:59, the slowest of my 4 half marathons this year and almost 5 minutes off my best half marathon time which I ran just 2 months ago.  I finished 53rd among 982 finishers and 3rd among 79 in my age group.  I was surprised to earn a 3rd place age group medal considering I was off my game and not able to physically compete as I normally would.  But the thing I am most happy about is that I didn't have to drop out of the race.

Next on my race schedule is the Minneapolis 13.1 Half Marathon in two weeks.  I really need to heal up by then so I can properly train for Chicago which is just nine weeks away!  Off to the Chiropractor on Monday to let him do his magic.

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=218&race=433