St. Paddy's Half Marathon

Have you ever done back-to-back St. Patrick's Day-themed races?

Fresh off of the Leprechaun Chase (RECAP) from a week ago, I dressed in green and ran another race this past weekend.

This was my first time running the St. Paddy's Half Marathon. Not only would it be the longest distance I've run since the R'n'R Las Vegas (November 13th), it would also be the earliest I have ever done a race of this distance in the spring.


As much as I was looking forward to this event, though, I just couldn't seem to "bring it" to the race course. My mind, body, and sole(s) (see what I did there?) were just not in the game on race day.

I should also mention the weather. We'd had rain all day Friday (and all through the night), and it was STILL raining when I woke up Saturday morning. My weather app showed colder temps than previously forecasted, leaving us with the threat of a cold rain or potential ice.

I picked up Barb just before 7:00, and we drove through constant rain, sleet, and snow the entire hour en route to Des Moines. YUCK. We'd already decided this race would be more like a 13.1-mile training endeavor than an actual race because of the weather conditions.

Afraid to get out of the warm car

As we arrived at the grounds of the Iowa State Capitol, near the supposed staging area, the precipitation had tapered down to a fine mist.  The race starting time was 8:30, and we arrived on the scene just after 8:00...but didn't see the usual tents/canopies or hear any music or announcers firing up the crowd. It took us awhile to find parking, and then the staging area was not easy to spot either. We just followed other people (dressed green with matching race bibs) and eventually found the start line staging area.

Dressed in green (again)

Although the precipitation had pretty much halted, the air was still damp and the temps were chilly. Then, we stood around for a good 10-15 minutes past the supposed start time. All of a sudden, we saw the runners towards the front start to go. Ummm...where was the announcer briefing us on the delay, and why did no one say (out loud) to GO?

None the less, the race had begun.

The first mile was on city streets, then the route merged onto a paved trail that ran along the river. It was right near the 1.5-mile mark that the 5K participants turned left (to head back to the finish line) and the half marathoners turned right (and headed towards the trail that would lead them around Gray's Lake).

The temps were tricky to dress for. With the threat of rain (or snow), I wanted to be warm. I had a fleece-lined base layer and originally was going to wear a light layer over that with arm warmers and a thin puffer vest on top. On a whim, I changed out of the light layer and replaced it with an (additional) fleece-lined layer, and kept the vest. I had a fleece headband to keep my ears covered, and thin gloves. Also, let's not forget the fleece-lined tights (with lime green compression sleeves).

I started to feel a bit warm near the third mile, but didn't know of a quick way to shed a layer (I had pinned my race bib onto my vest). Momentarily, I considered trying to shimmy out of the top thermal layer (which was UNDER the vest), but that didn't seem possible. I contemplated removing the arm warmers, but they were wedged pretty securely between both layers of sleeves. I could have unpinned one side of the race bib, removed the vest, and pulled off the top fleece layer.....but that would be a lot of maneuvering while in motion (and I'm not exactly the most coordinated person). I didn't really want to stop and lose several minutes wrestling with all the clothing....so I just left everything as it was. **Spoiler: I actually felt fine a short ways later, as we rounded the west side of the lake, when the SE wind was in my face briefly.

Anyways, I had brought along two Honey Stinger gels, and was planning on "gelling" around the third/fourth mile (and later, around the 9-mile mark), except I didn't see any water stands. There had been a water stand at the 2-mile mark, so I assumed there would be another one eventually (hopefully near the 4-mile mark). About halfway through the fourth mile, I decided to do the gel anyways and sipped it a little at a time until the 5-mile mark, where I saw a random trash can (and tossed the gel wrapper).

It wasn't until the 6-mile mark where there (finally) was another water stand. There also was a porta-pot, so I pulled over and took a potty break as well. I walked for a few seconds with the water, and resumed running, feeling recharged.

The next part of the course took us into Water Works Park, which is a relatively boring trail around another small lake. I have run this trail many times (in the Des Moines Full/Half Marathons). Even in the fall, with all the leaves turning, it's kind of dull. But in the late winter, with no vegetation and lots of mud, it's even more mundane. Did I mention there was ZERO crowd support?  Thankfully, I had my music to keep me entertained.

Anyways, it's an approximate 3-mile lap around the lake. After circling the lake, we had the same water station coming out (this time it was around the 9-mile mark, though), so I sucked down my other gel. I could tell things were slowly starting to go downhill for me. My body was feeling a little fatigued, but it was my mind that had almost completely checked out. Also, we now had almost a straight 3-mile stretch ahead of us, into the wind. The wind wasn't strong, but it was cold and damp.

Even though the wind was annoying, I still felt comfortable with my layers of clothing. I had to keep playing the "gloves-on-gloves-off" game, though, because my hands kept getting over-heated or cold. I took a few brief walk breaks in the final miles because my hips were starting to feel strained (and I really didn't care about my finish time at that point.

I finally made it to the finish line, and was relieved to be done. My official time clocked in at 2:13:08, definitely not my fastest, but certainly not my worst either. My stats showed I finished 104 (overall) in the field of 147 half marathoners (the 5K had 507 participants). I finished 51st (out of the 78 women), and I was 5th out of the five gals in my age group (ha!).

What's interesting is the lead gal in my age group finished in 1:46:22, but the 2nd (2:12:19), the 3rd (2:12:46), and the 4th (2:13:06) all were pretty close. And, did you see the 4th place gal was two seconds ahead of me? TWO seconds! How's that for a buzz kill! Had I not walked so much in those final miles, I probably coulda/shoulda/woulda finished in 2nd place. Oh well, onward!

Another 13.1 done (with the Iowa Capitol in the background)

This was a race where I just really struggled to keep my head in the game. I don't know if  (1) my body was under-trained, (2) the icky weather put a damper on my attitude, or (3) if it just wasn't my day. I've had other races that were more mentally challenging than physically, and this race certainly was one of them as well. 

Some final thoughts:
I didn't realize it until afterwards, but the St. Paddy's Run is actually a national event with local venues. With that knowledge, I would have expected a little more. The limited number of water stations was disappointing. Although it was not run in the heat of summer, runners still need to stay hydrated. Also, although the medals are nice, there is no "local" insignia on them, not even on the ribbon.

The event shirts (pictured at the top of the page) are nice, though. They're hoodies (a nice change from the usual shirt) and those do designate Des Moines as the locale. We also got glass pints designating the event (but no local reference on those either).

The race course, although mainly on paved trails, was very boring. There was ZERO crowd support (and some of that may have been due to the weather). Granted, this time of year is not ideal for a scenic tour of green grass, vegetation, or trees in bloom, but had there been something along the course (like random people or more water stations) to break up the monotony, it may have been a little more interesting.

Am I glad I did this race? Yes! Even though it was not an ideal scenario or a fabulous race experience for me, it was another 13.1 finish line. I was really feeling beat-up and exhausted at the finish, but I am ever-so-grateful for the ability to do races of this distance. That said, I will classify this a "once and done" endeavor.

So....talk to me! Have you ever done a half marathon this early in the season? How about a St. Paddy's Run elsewhere?  Ever run a half marathon with only a couple of water stands?

 **I'm  linking up with Marcia and Patty and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.  

**I'm also linking this with Debbie and Rachel and Lora for the Running Coaches' Corner.

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