I'm not perfect. OK, who is? But, can we be perfect in certain circumstances, situations, or activities? Yes. It has been a long time; many, many years since I can say that I ran a perfect race. It's not even about the time but more about the flow, the joy, and the effort. The Oak Island road half-marathon and the WTF (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) trail half-marathon was run one week apart resulting in perfect performances. Oak Island was run in perfect conditions - flat, 45 degrees, beautiful blue sky with sun cascading down upon the runners, one block away from the calm Atlantic Ocean. WTF was run in quite the opposite conditions - trail, hilly, cold rain, shoe-sucking mud, with a thigh-deep stream crossing. Both were awesome.
Both Cindy and I did Oak Island which is always a joy, to have her on the same course with me. We spent the weekend in Southport and had a relaxed, long weekend. The race is comprised of a marathon, two half-marathons, and a 5K. We chose the West course because it gave Cindy additional time although she would have been under the cut-off on the East course as well. The west course is pancake flat until mile 8 where runners traverse the Intracoastal waterway over a bridge. It is the only hill on the course and it is an out and back so the net elevation gain and the time should be zeroed out by the elevation loss. I found this to be true running 8:43 on the way out and 8:13 on the way back over the bridge.
We picked up our packets on Friday and the Moose Lodge. We also drove the course to know what to expect. Since last August I have not had the best of runs but have been consistent. My goal was to go sub-2:00. Cindy was going to walk the course but I thought that she could go sub-3:30 although I didn't tell her.
Morning came early at 4:45 AM. The logistics (i.e. parking) for this race are the best. We parked right beside the start/finish line and a stone's throw from the potties. The race started at 7:00 AM for us and 6:45 for the marathoners and the east half-marathoners. We cheered them on for their journey and then got ready to run. I warmed up a bit with some strides, a jog, and some stretching. I thought that I would run with the 2-hour pace group and then try for a negative split to go under 2 hours.
When the gun sounded, I ran 10 meters with the pace group and it felt slow so I just left and thought, "I'm going to run my own race and see where it goes." The brilliant sun was rising right in front of us but soon we would be turning to the west for a long straight-away, 6 miles to the turn to run back east on the next road over. The first mile came in at 8:36. I felt comfortable but thought that this might be too fast for the first mile. But, for the next 8 miles, I stayed around this pace give or take a few seconds here and there. At mile 9 going over the bridge, I ran 8:37 so one second more than my first mile. I knew at this point that a negative split was within reach and I was way under my 2-hour goal. The next four miles were a blur running 8:13 back over the bridge and then averaging 7:58 for the last 5K. Not only did I run a negative split but I ran a sub-8 minute 5K in the last 5K of the race. I thought that I had a chance at 1st in my age group but settled for 2nd, my highest age-group award. Yes, this was a perfect race. I never felt fatigued, ran a negative split and a negative last quarter split won an age group award, and had two beers afterward.
After I finished I got on some dry clothes and called Cindy to see where she was. She just passed mile 8 which was farther along than I had thought she was going to be. She was just starting to make her way over the bridge. So, I started walking out to find her and pace her in. When I met up with her, it was around mile 11 and she was still doing well, even mixing in some running. I cheered on the marathoners as they passed. She got in under the goal time that I had for her in 3:28. It was a really good race for her.
We had some BBQ at the finish and beers. I picked up my age group award which was a nice hand-painted coaster and cheered on other marathon finishers. We then ventured back to Southport for brunch at Cafe Koa and a couple of mimosas. The race and the weekend were truly memorable.
