Rock and Roll San Antonio Race Report (very long)

Let me first say this was a great experience for me. Humbling to see such great runners. Kenyans are FAST!   I went to San Antonio Friday to go to the Expo and get my race packet. Knowing there were going to be more than 30,000 runners, I didn’t want to fight the crowds Saturday at the expo. Got my packet and bought a new pair of sunglasses since mine broke and headed to a buddies high school football playoff game.   Fast forward to Sunday morning. I woke up at 2:30 for some darn reason I still haven’t figured out. I didn’t really have butterflies. I was probably just worried about oversleeping. I started hydrating right away with Gatorade and water. I waited till about 3:30 and I ate 2 bananas and had a cup of apple sauce. I got dressed and then went through my checklist (much shorter list than my tri list.) At about 4:30 I drove to the ATT center which is where the parking was. I then got on a shuttle and they drove us to the start line. There at the start line, I ate a ½ bagel while waiting. I also used the bathroom at least 8 times. A combination of too much liquids and nerves I am sure. I rested till it was time to get in my corral. It was a wave start and there were 33 corrals. It is quite an awesome sight seeing 30,000+ runners all on 1 street. After the playing of the National Anthem I started getting nervous and quite emotional. My wife and I have been having pretty bad problems and have recently separated and that was really starting to take its toll on me. There was a 90-120 second wait between waves. Then I was up and it was time to go.   My goal was to keep a 10:10 pace. I started out around 10:00. I have done several tempo runs at 9:30 and better so I decided to go for it. MISTAKE NUMBER 1.   At mile 2 we round the Alamo. My parents had brought my 2 daughters and one of my younger brothers went with his wife and son. I saw my brother, but unlike what I thought, when you have 30,000 runners, the field never seems to thin out. There were hundreds of spectators around the Alamo and with my adrenaline, I didn’t realize until to late that I was running a 7:40 pace. MISTAKE 2. I put on the brakes and got into my pace. I wore a fuel belt with 3 bottles of Gatorade and 1 botle of eater. I didn’t want to use the aid stations at all but especially for electrolytes. I don’t train with Cytomax so I didn’t want to try it out on race day. MISTAKE 3. My 5K split was  at a 10:02 pace.   I was feeling strong and kept going with my plan. My 10K avg. pace was 9:55. Should have slowed it down, but I felt amazing. No GI issues. Nutrition seemed to be working. 15K avg. pace was 10:05. Slowing a little, but that was more because of traffic at aid stations than fatique. The first 11.5 miles were great. Then…   Temperature was now in the mid 70’s possibly higher. I live on the coast and I am used to humidity, but 94% humidity in a race is ridiculous. I sure wish someone would have turned that humidity thermostat down. With 1.6 miles to go it hit me. I was dehydrated and not much electrolytes in me at all. 24 ounces of Gatorade is not enough for those cir****tances. Cramps in left calf and right hamstring. I tried to stop and stretch it out, but it was too tight. Every time I tried to run it hit me again. I had not walked at all the entire race till 1.6 mile left. Oh well, cramps or not, I was going to finish the race. I was going to Dare Greatly! I walked most of the time and jogged when I could. I also stretched, but that didn’t seem to help. With about .25 miles left, I said the heck with it and ran the rest of the way. As I crossed the finish line the emotion**** me hard. I was emotional that I completed this race, but sadness overcame me with the situation with my wife and I started to hyperventilate. I thought I was going to pass out. I got my breathing under control and made my way to my family. Everything got better and I realized that no matter what happens, I am going to be ok.   My official time was 2:27:02. Off of my 2:15 goal, but not bad for my 1^st running event more than a 5K. I said I made mistakes and we all do. But what those mistakes were were learning opportunities. I will definitely learn from this race. I run my 2^nd ½ here in Corpus Christi December 19 and then my 1^st full in Houston January 17. This race also made me realize that I have a lot of work to do before the full and a whole heck of a lot of work before my first 70.3 Ironman at end of April. I am up for it though.   Thanks for reading and remember to always Dare Greatly!

Great job Darrell! I am so sorry to hear about everythin that is going on in your life... It's these times that make us appreciate the happy times more when they eventually roll around, which they ALWAYS do. You are now a finisher and are on a great road to success... You are da man! Keep gettin after it...

Great job!  I did the Viriginia Beach 1/2 marathon a while back and it was fantastic.  Enjoy your success and get ready for the next one.  They just keep coming!
Rob

great race, good report.  i got butterflies thinking about my upcoming half.....

i'm bummed about your personal issues, i wish you the best of luck sorting them out, keep your head up and keep doing what your doing, you're doing great.

Congrats Darrell,

I'm glad you were able to push through the discomfort both physically and mentally.
Congrats on finishing your first 1/2 marathon.  It sounds like you did awesome.  Your times were great until the cramping issue, you have everything to be happy about with this performance.

I bet you crush the next one.

I'm sorry to hear you have been having some personal issues, I wish you the best and hope you are able to overcome those issues and continue to succeed in all your endeavors.

Scott

Way to go Darrell.  Great report.  Nothing beats the feeling at the end of a long race even if it isn't the most plesant subject causing the emotion.

Congrats! Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sorry about your marriage. I admire you for pushing through with your goal. Best wishes to you!

Congratulations on your finish.  My friend reported a similar experience with the heat and humidity in San Antonio.  She cramped up at the end after holding on to a nice 10:00 average pace.  The weather is always one of those things beyond our control.

My thoughts are with you as you work through the struggles with your family.

Cassie