Running the Sentara Colonial Half Marathon: A Review

The Sentara Colonial Half Marathon was preceded by the Colonial
 Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps (picture by Lisa Jahnke)

Before last fall, I had not heard of the Sentara Colonial Williamsburg Half Marathon. I was familiar with the Run for the Dream Half Marathon, also staged in Colonial Williamsburg later in the year. Turns out the Colonial Half was celebrating its 35th year. Not many races around have a lineage that goes back that far. I signed up and convinced a few of my Cornerstone Strider running pals to join me.

Kevin on his record setting pace! A PR by 3 seconds.
(Photo by Danny West)

As this race drew closer, I began to notice a disturbing trend. Unseasonably warm weather. After all, it was February 23rd. Thanks Groundhog! I say a disturbing trend, because lately, a number of my long races have been on unseasonably warm days: the Crawlin' Crab in Hampton was in the 80's in October, the Seashore 50K was in the upper 60's in December and yesterday it got into the mid-70's in February. Given the choice, I prefer a start in the low to mid-40's. Oh well, you can't pick your weather.

Andrea kicks it into high gear on the back half of the race.
(Photo by Danny West)

Let me say that this is a pretty course. We started on the campus of William & Mary and then headed out along England Street toward Kingsmill. We looped through Kingsmill on Carter's Grove Country Road and then headed back the way we came. A couple of spots in the course were trail and were a bit soggy, but mostly paved trail. If you run this race, be prepared for some hills. I had been warned about that and the warnings were on the money. You hit a hill less than a mile into the race and then regular hills throughout the course. On a seasonable day with temperatures in the 40's or 50's, this would have been a moderate challenge. However, with temperatures in the upper 60's to mid-70's, it really took its toll on your endurance. 

The Colonial Half Marathon course was hilly
including  the uphill after crossing  the bridge
(Photo by Danny West)

I would definitely run this race again, hopefully on a cooler day, but a couple of criticisms come to mind. First, the initial water stop was at Mile 2 and then not another until well into the course (perhaps Mile 6 or 7). Normally, that would not have been a problem, but with the heat yesterday, a more regular spacing of the stops would have been preferable. I was carrying a hydration belt, so I had my own source of fluids, but I saw more than a few runners without anything. Also, the water stops seemed to be just that, I have never run a half that did not have Gatorade or Powerade. Again, on a hot day, water is good, but an alternative would have been better. Second, more than a few cars ended up on the course during the back leg. Not sure if these were Kingsmill residents that could not be bothered to take another route, but the course marshals should have turned them around, absent some emergency. While a cooler day would have been better, the race organizers have no more control of the weather than I do.

Hank and Jeff managed to keep their sense of humor
despite the challenging conditions (Photo by Danny West).

 

Mara the Wonder Puppy

Mara the Wonder Puppy joined us for 14 miles
of our long run on February 16, 2014. She is in the middle left
of the photo behind Maureen.

You often hear stories about pets that do amazing things, but I don't recall ever seeing something like that first-hand. Well, not until this past Sunday during our long run getting ready for the Shamrock full marathon on March  16. 

We were scheduled to run 21 or 22 miles that day as part of our marathon training. Although it was in the mid-20's when we started at 6:30am, the conditions were otherwise nice. When we got to about Mile 6, we were greeted by two dogs. One was a mature, white Shepherd mix and the other a cute fluffy Golden Lab puppy that appeared to be about seven months old. They started to run along the side of the road with us. We kept hoping they would turn back, but they continued along undeterred. The puppy seemed to be following the Shepherd (she must know what she's doing), casting a glance backward every so often.

As the distance between their home and our location continued to increase, they showed no interest in turning back. We were worried about them, because there were occasional vehicles and we did not want one of them to be hit. We even tried to call Animal Control, but, on a Sunday morning, no one was picking up the phone. Also, neither of the dogs had any tags that would have allowed us to call their owner. Finally, at about five miles from their home, the Shepherd lost interest and took off after something else. Not the puppy. She continued to be our companion. While we took the occasional drink from a hydration bottle, she stopped, now and again, at a puddle to hydrate herself. I nicknamed her "Mara" (short for Marathon), because she had no quit in her.

We kept an eye on her and made sure she was not in the street. She kept pace with one of our runners, Maureen, who was out for her first 20-mile run. We finally made it back to our starting point with Mara close behind. When Maureen stopped at her car, Mara laid down, completely exhausted. She had completed a 14-mile long run. Maureen scooped her up and put her in the SUV. She was tired, but happy. Maureen returned her to the spot where the dogs had joined us and found the owner. I suspect that Mara spent the better part of the rest of Sunday recovering from her long run. 

Getting Motivated for the Shamrock Full

I have been pretty lazy recently in posting to my blog, but mainly because I didn't feel like I had much to talk about. It's always been my philosophy that if I did not have something meaningful to add to the blogosphere, I should just wait until I did. Having now set the bar at that height, guess I better add something to the ether.

Running the Richmond Marathon in 2012
with friends from Cornerstone Striders

Like many of you who are training for the Shamrock full or half Marathon, it has finally sunk in that it is a mere five weeks away. Along with my running friends from Cornerstone Striders, I have been dutifully putting in the long runs to get my endurance up to where it needs to be. Although it's been a cold and snowy winter so far, I always feel like training in the winter beats the pants off those hot and humid summer runs getting ready for a fall marathon. While I don't love either extreme, I will take cold weather because I can always add another layer. So, the question becomes - what motivates you?

The 2012 Richmond Marathon was
my first full marathon

If it's your first full marathon, then the challenge of finishing 26.2 miles is plenty of motivation. I was also motivated for my second full by the drive to show that my first was not a fluke. But, what if it's your fifth or your tenth? What gets you up on a Saturday morning to do a 20-mile long run? It's a question I have been struggling with recently. I'm not sure if I know the answer, but, for me, I think it has to do with the fact that I still have something to prove. For me, it's showing that I can break that 4-hour barrier. I know I will do it one of these days, but, so far, it has eluded me. And, perhaps, that is a good thing, because when that alarm goes off before dawn on Saturday morning, I know what motivates me!