ODDyssey Half Marathon Recap

Greetings from rainy New Jersey, my home base for two weeks.  What started as a "runcation" for the ODDyssey Half turned into an extended visit stretched out between the race and my week at Penn State.  So I'm enjoying quality time with Jackie and Jon and their kids (OMG toddlers love taking selfies. This is my new favorite "make it stop fussing" activity. Thank God for the Otterbox!).  And since I have some quiet time, I thought now would be a good opportunity to recap the original reason for this trip.

The Expo was held the day before the race, on Boathouse Row.  This was fascinating for me, since you see the boat houses from the opposite side of the river any time you take the Schuylkill Expressway out of Philly.  To actually be over there... I don't know - I thought it was kind of awesome!  I was able to get a close parking spot, and after two days in the car genuinely enjoyed the short walk to Lloyd Hall.  I picked up my bib and t-shirt, got a quick photo in front of the race banner (thank you random stranger -- yes I will hand you my iPhone for the sake of my own vanity!), and then headed out.  The expo was small, and I didn't really have a whole lot of interest in shopping.  I found a bench under a tree facing the water, and hung out there waiting for Nicole, who arrived about 20 minutes later.  Once she got her bib and shirt, we made our way from Fairmount Park to Center City to check into our hotel.  I got us lost, circling all those one-way streets trying to find the parking garage, but we got there eventually.  We carb-loaded for dinner, I got some homework done, and we got to sleep nice and early.

Pre-Race mornings are always mildly stressful, especially in a hotel room, double-especially when you're sharing that room with someone else!  But Nicole and I got ourselves fed, dressed, and out the door in plenty of time to walk the four blocks to the shuttle stop.  Because we waited until the week before to book the shuttle, we ended up with the earliest time -- 5:30.  As a compulsively early person with a desire to use the port-a-potty before it gets completely horrid, this suited me just fine.  The bus ride from Center City to Fairmount Park was quick and easy, and I have to say I kind of like the Mega Bus.  With outlets over every seat and free wi-fi, I think maybe it wouldn't be the worst way to travel long-distance.

Nicole and I both rocked the pink & blue...
completely unintentionally!

Anyway, we found ourselves in "hurry up and wait" mode once we arrived.  We took some photos, stretched, I got to see Lynne (who was running her very first half -- and did so faster than my own PR -- I'm so proud of her!), and then we lined up in our corrals.  The start was disorganized.  The PA wasn't loud enough to be heard in the back of the field.  I think someone sang the National Anthem, but without speakers further back we couldn't hear any of it.  Pre-race announcements?  I dunno -- maybe there were some.  I heard the "womp womp womp" sound of Charlie Brown's teacher over the speaker, but couldn't actually make out any words.  They also set us off in waves, which I guess worked out ok because I never really thought the course was crowded.

The race, once we got underway, was lovely.  We started and ended at the Please Touch Museum, and wound through Fairmount Park.  The smell of honeysuckle was absolutely distracting for me.  It turns out that's up with jasmine and orange blossoms on the list of smells that link me instantly back to my childhood.  But I digress... It was a beautiful course.  Unfortunately, it was also brutal.  There were two monster hills during the run.  The first, a steep climb around mile 5, led to the Strawberry Mansion Bridge.  I was actually able to maintain my intervals for this one, though certainly not my pace!  The second, which felt like it lasted a half mile, was after mile 12.  I vaguely remembered reading recaps from other years, and knew this hill was a spirit killer, but I was feeling cocky.  After the causeway bridges at Melbourne and Sarasota, I thought I'd have no trouble here.

I.  Was.  Wrong.

I walked the whole hill.  My legs absolutely refused to even pretend to run until I was at the top.  Luckily, once I reached the top of the hill, I think I only had 1/4 mile to go on flat ground to reach the finish.

After crossing the finish line, I was handed my medal and a Philly soft pretzel and I set off to find Nicole.  Strangely, it wasn't until we were waiting in the beer line that I realized I didn't see anyone handing out water.  Nicole said she had gotten a bottle, but they were being stingy with them.  They also handed out chocolate-peanut butter Kind bars.  I would've liked to try it, but it was so melted and gross that it went in the freezer at the hotel and then just looked like a rock-hard mess.  Chocolate: not the best idea for a race in June!

The line for beer (and commemorative pint glasses) was long, but moved quickly.  We sat in the shade enjoying the fermented fruits of our labor, and then headed back to the hotel and a post-race brunch at Reading Terminal.

My Race Stats:
Chip Time: 3:14:55 (my second-slowest race of 2014)
Pace: 14:52 min/mile
Overall Place: 2800/2881
Gender Place: 1674/1741

My Splits:
note: RunKeeper thinks I ran 14.47 miles at a 13:30 pace, and I don't know why it was so far removed from reality.  So I'm mostly including these for S&G's
mile 1: 12:16 min/mi
mile 2: 11:55 min/mi
mile 3: 12:51 min/mi
mile 4: 12:55 min/mi
mile 5: 13:35 min/mi
mile 6: 15:13 min/mi
mile 7: 14:10 min/mi
mile 8: 12:47 min/mi
mile 9: 14:18 min/mi
mile 10: 13:45 min/mi
mile 11: 13:58 min/mi
mile 12: 14:04 min/mi

mile 13: 13:55 min/mi
mile 14: 12:55 min/mi
mile 15: 14:17 min/mi

Up until that last hill, I really felt like I was doing very well.  I felt happy and strong into the end, which I hadn't experienced in a long run since I adjusted my intervals.  And I think on a flat course this would have been an easy PR.  I enjoyed this race, though I certainly wouldn't travel up from Florida for it again.  This was my ninth half-marathon, and although I'm disappointed by my time I'm proud of how far I've come.

I had considered running the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut race this coming Saturday, but I'm going to let common sense prevail.  This means my next half marathon isn't until Lake Nona at the end of October.  My only other races for the fall season are the Space Coast Half and Divas Half.  The rest of the time I'll be training for the WDW Marathon.  And although I haven't registered for it yet, I think my first post-marathon race will be Gasparilla.