Jamestown Half Marathon

 

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Jamestown, RI

First time running this race.  That I ran it at all was kind of a byproduct and silver lining of COVID.  With almost no races this past January, I had signed up the Hangover Classic on New Year's Day in Bristol, only to have it cancelled a few days before due to COVID.  There were no refunds, but the race organizer gave a full credit to be applied to any of their races.

The timing of the Jamestown Half fit well for a tune-up half marathon race for my Vermont City Marathon (which of course, subsequently was also cancelled due to COVID).  So by using my credit from the Hangover Classic, I was able to sign up for the Jamestown Half for only an additional $26.25 instead of paying the $70 fee.

Race start:  The race start was an early 7am, so it was an early 5am rise and shine in the Walker household, breakfast, and out the door by 5:30am.  In the dark.  (For some people, this may be their daily routine, but those days for me in the rear view mirror.)

We arrived at Fort Getty, Jamestown just at sunrise.  There was already a long line for the loo, but fortunately it moved quickly.  There was no line at all for bib pickup, maybe because they had pickup in Providence and Jamestown the prior days, so I had plenty of time for a warm-up.  A Def Leppard tune was playing as I checked in, which was pretty cool, but unfortunately the music after that was all ... well, I know taste in music is subjective, so let me stay positive and just say it was not my kind of music.  Went for just under two miles on the course, which was good for me.

Out (Start to Mile 7):  After the national anthem and a few words from the RD, we were quickly on our way.  My Strava post shows a start time of 7:01am, so I would call that a pretty punctual start!  As I took off, I heard someone crying loudly.  I recognized the voice, but I turned my head to look anyway.  Yep, sure enough, it was Brady and he was not happy at all that he wasn't coming all on the run.  He appeared to be pulling on the leash Jana was holding, and I heard him yelping for quite a while until I was out of sight.  Sorry, Brady!

Just a couple of minutes before race start.
Someone is very excited
(and soon disappointed that he isn't in the race).

National anthem.  My face is obscured by the
flag; I'm in blue singlet, black shorts, and
yellow racing flats.

We're off!  I'm on right (look for the yellow shoes).

I won't give a mile-by-mile account, but some of the highlights follow.  About a mile in, near Mackerel Cove, a guy goes past me and I'm thinking he could be in his 50s.  There are cones lining the entire course, but only giving you a 2-3' shoulder and often with sand on the side on the road, so except in busy spots, I run next to the cones but not necessarily inside them.  A couple miles in, a guy in a black singlet comes up next to me and says, "It is [effing] humid!".  That it is.  He and a guy in a gray singlet go past me, putting me in 7th place.  The first guy (in black) is quite young and definitely not in my age group, but the second guy has all gray hair, so he could be?  Why can't their ages be marked on the backs of their legs like in triathlons?!

Mile 1, at Mackerel Cove.
(You can see the young guy in black
singlet who will soon pass me.)
Neat that this race provides free photos!

Looking very serious.

For the next two miles, we run in a group of four (the original guy that passed me at Mile 1, young black singlet, and gray singlet).  We are running rolling hills, and on downhills I pass and go to the front of the pack, and on uphills I get dropped to the back of the pack.

At Mile 4 (toll booths for Newport Bridge), the dynamics change.  We turn onto North Road, run along the water, and will be on this straight road with undulating hills for the next three miles.  We will also be in a headwind for the next three miles, with the wind out of the North at about 10mph.  Our pack splits up here, with original guy dropping back and black and gray singlets going out together ahead of me.  I can see them but their gap increases on me over the next two miles.  At one point, I look at my watch and see a depressing 6:47 pace (lap pace for current mile thus far).  I'm fearing I will run a 1:28.  Or maybe slower?

Miles 3 to 7 are mostly unprotected, near the
water, in a headwind heading north.

Coming into Mile 7, we descend a 75' hill and I surprise myself by actually catching and passing both of them.  I know this won't last, and on the next uphill, sure enough, the young guy in the black singlet passes me back again.  But gray singlet doesn't.  Interesting.  And after a while, I can no longer hear the latter's footsteps.

Back (Mile 7 to Finish):  Finally, we're done with the long straight stretch of North Road, as we turn into a residential neighborhood.  (As opposed to what other kind of neighborhood?)  I take advantage of the 90° turn to glance back, and I can't see the guy in the gray singlet or anyone else for that matter.  Yes!  I can see the black singlet ahead of me, but his gap on me is growing.

Leaving the neighborhood, we have another 4 mile section of straight road before returning to Mackerel Cove and the final mile into the park at Fort Getty.  Along that 4-mile stretch, we will have three more 50' hill climbs, and I've memorized them and their placement, so while tiring me, they're at least not a surprise.

With about two miles left in the race, I go past Scott Mason taking pics at Zeke's Creek.  Not sure why none of his pics are posted yet (6 days post race).  At a downtown crossing, I hear a policeman say, "Nice job, guys".  Guys, as is plural form?!  Is someone catching me?  Or is just urban Rhode Islandese, as in "youse guys"?  I'm obviously hoping the latter.  

Finally, Mackerel Cove is in sight.  There are surprisingly a number of spectators here, as most of the course has been uncharacteristically devoid of any cheering of all.  One woman shouts out, "Good job, guys!".  Oh, no.  There it is again.  As we turn off onto Fort Getty Road, I glance and see it's the guy in the gray singlet, the one with gray hair that could be in my age group.  He's only about ten yards behind me.  Ugh.  3/4 mile to go and a 40' climb, which is not my strength.  I pick it up the best I can, as I'm running scared now.  He didn't pass me on the uphill, and now we have 1/2 mile left with a 40' drop in elevation.  This is my kind of territory now, but I take nothing for granted, and I dip in the high 5s pace with whatever fumes I have left, and finish my final and fastest mile in an average 6:03 pace.   

Finish line!

Impressive finish line setup for field of 440.

Final results:  1:23:43, average pace 6:23.  5th out of 440 overall; 1st out of 36 in age group.  Full results here.

I ended up finishing 16 seconds ahead of the guy in the gray singlet, and it turns out he's 18 years my junior, so not even close to my age group!  Oh well, if that was the impetus for me to push hard at the finish, it was worth it.

Changed out of my sopping wet race clothes
(even my socks were drenched!),
and went to pick up my award.
---
As a side note, I find the award distribution at races
where you can pick up your award soon after you finish
 to be more efficient than those
that you have to wait a long time for an
awards ceremony.

Pretty area.  Right near the start,
with Narragansett Bay in the background.

Age group award was the cutting board you
see here.  I don't really need another finishers
medal, but it is nice.

Now that's a bright orange shirt!
I guess this one will see some trail action
(once it gets cold enough to switch to
short sleeve shirts, that is).

Looking back at race stats (which is always fun), I'm initially disappointed.  If I throw out the first and final mile pace extremes, the range is 25 seconds (fastest mile 6:08, slowest 6:37).  But that's not entirely a fair comparison, given that this is a course of rolling hills.  So if I perform the same exercise using GAP (Grade Adjusted Pace - not perfect, but does factor in elevation changes), the range now is only 13 seconds (6:14 to 6:27).  That makes me feel better that I ran a fairly consistent race.

I find it interesting that I ran a negative split (by about a minute) as I almost never do it.  But factoring in that much of the first half of the course was into the wind, this becomes less impressive.

The final stat that caught my attention was when sorting the field of 440 by "Age Percentage" (how you performed based on your age), I was second overall, bested by a 60-year old woman from Westport, MA whose 1:37 finish not only destroyed everyone else in her age group, but also every female in the 40s and 50s as well!  (A quick Google search shows she's quite legit.)

Overall, I'm happy with my race performance here.  I certainly wasn't happy with my paces halfway through, but I'm glad I didn't give up and powered home to a pretty strong finish overall, especially given the rolling course.  Never give up!