Race #574 - Rocktoberfest Half Marathon - Rock Hill, SC - 10/12/24

Earlier this year, I decided it would be fun to run 26 half marathons for the year, one every two weeks. I had started the year off recovering from hernia surgery last November 30th, which was followed by six weeks with a Foley catheter. Two weeks after the catheter was removed I ran my first half marathon and felt great just to be somewhat back to normal. At 72, I'm slower than ever, so I felt the need to challenge myself to stay motivated, and I thought it would be fun to at least try to run more half marathons than I've ever run previously in a year. In 2015, I ran 16 half marathons, the most I'd run in any year.

This was my 16th for 2024, and I'm registered for two more, so I should surpass my previous record, but the goal of 26 has recently hit a snag. Hurricane Helene devastated the North Carolina mountains, where my next two half-marathons were scheduled. We're not in the mountains but are close enough that the hurricane affected us, and on the morning my Davidson half marathon was scheduled, we didn't have power at home. My wife has a disease called Multiple System Atrophy and is no longer able to care for herself. Although I can leave her alone for short periods, I didn't want to leave her alone without electricity in the house, so I also decided to skip that race.

Now, in the middle of October, I decided to rethink my goal. I'll possibly run the other two half-marathons I have scheduled and be happy with my total for the year. On the other hand, if the weather is good (I hate cold weather!), I might do one or two more.

There was a Rocktoberfest Half Marathon in Charlotte a few years back that I ran a couple of times, but that one is long gone, and this race in Rock Hill is entirely unrelated. It was the inaugural year, and there was a good turnout, with about 400 runners in the half marathon and 300 in the 5k. 

The temperature was 43 degrees at the start, so I was bundled up with long sleeves, tights, and gloves. I once ran a race at about the same temperature with shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and I froze the entire race, so even though I get some snickers about "overdressing," I know my own heat tolerance and dress according to that. I ditched the gloves a couple miles into the race, but I never felt overheated as I ran. 

Bob Nelson, who's been a good friend and my chief competitor since I began running, was there, and it's always good to see him even when he beats me, which is more often than not. We started the race together and jockeyed for position for the first couple of miles. After a while, I pulled out ahead and got far enough away that he couldn't see me, but at the turnaround, I saw that he was only a minute or so behind me. That inspired him to try and catch me, and it motivated me to try to stay ahead of him, but I was already running as hard as I could, knowing that I was being stalked. 

In my last race, a 5k, I saw that my "Heart Rate Zone" was Zone 5 (Maximum) for 62% of the race. I intended to keep it under that in my next race, which would have kept my heart rate under 156. I tried it in training, but the result was that I ran slower and seemed just about as tired, so I decided to run the way I felt instead. As you can see from the graph below, I ended up in the "Maximum" zone for 96% of the race! I don't know what to think, although I didn't feel much different than usual. Maybe I'll revisit trying to stay in the "Threshold" zone (138-155) in some of my training leading up to my next actual race and see if it helps. 

For all the inspiration Bob and I provided to each other, when the dust settled it was Bob who came out ahead. The last 3 miles of the race were predominantly uphill, and when I looked back (they say you shouldn't do that, but I do), I could see Bob's bright orange racing singlet getting closer each time I would sneak a peak. I was walking more often, maybe due to the maximum heart rate and possibly because of a lack of training for longer races. Whatever the reason, my pace was about a minute slower, and Bob kept the same steady pace throughout the race. He passed me about 11.5 miles into the race, never walking or looking back. Each time I walked, he would gain a little more on me until he was out of sight. I rationalized that I'd rather have him beat me than somebody I don't know and that losing by a couple minutes is better than losing by 20 or 30 minutes. Also, my 2:10:55 was normal for my half marathon times this year, which usually fall between 2:05 and 2:15, so I'm satisfied with that. 

Race Name:  Rocktoberfest Half Marathon & 5k

Location:  Rock Hill, South Carolina

Date: October 12, 2024

Course:

Note: The 13.03 distance needs to be corrected. I didn't get my watch turned on at the start and noticed it after running a minute or two.

Run/Walk Detection:

Run/Walk Graph:

The graph shows that my walks were spread out quite a bit in the first couple of miles, and in the last couple of miles, it appears I walked almost as much as I ran.

Splits/Elevation by Mile:

Weather at Start:

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My Stats:

Time:  2:10:55    

Pace:  10:00

Age Group:  2 of 5

Overall:  199 of 424

Age Grade Percentage:  63.12%