Killer Courses and the Triple Threat Half Marathon

My first half marathon was this race - the Triple Threat - at just this time last year. It wasn't until I had run some other half marathons that I realized just how difficult a course this is. Looking back at it this year, the course almost seems designed to break your spirit. It's an out and back course, net downhill on the out and (naturally) uphill on return. It's rolling hills most of the way, and the final 5k is mostly uphill, including some very steep sections. And just when you think you have climbed the final hill, and make the turn for the last quarter mile back to Rockport High, what greets you but a final insult in the form of one more small hill to overcome. I have seen far more runners walking the hills on this course than any other, and I'm talking about runners who were on pace to finish sub 1:50. Here I am on the first half of the course before the beatings began:

Another unique feature this course has is a 100 yard stretch running through sand as you go past Pebble Beach at about the 3 and 1/2 mile mark. Of course, as an out and back course, you must run through the sand again just before you take on the final 5k. Thanks Rockport!

If you want more, the race is called Triple Threat because there are 1 mile and 5k races before it, and you are invited to run all three. The half is plenty for me, but even if you don't run the earlier races, their very existence pushes the half marathon start to later in the morning (10:15) so the weather gets a chance to become nice and hot - mid 80's in this case, significantly hotter than it was last year.

I normally don't take any water on half marathons, but given the heat, I thought it would be the better part of valor to take water every chance I had. I'll have to work on the technique, because I had trouble drinking while running and eventually just stopped briefly at the water stops and walked while taking water. That's something I'm going to have to work out before the Clarence DeMar marathon in September.

I ran a 7:50 pace on the way out, which put me about a minute ahead of a PR pace. I had no illusions about PR'ing, however, knowing what was facing me on the way back. One thing I was determined to do was to keep running up the final hills and not bail out and walk like I did last year. And I managed to do that, eventually finishing in 1:46:49, a couple minutes slower than my PR but more than 3 minutes faster than my time on this course last year.

Tricia came to cheer me on along with our friends Jeff and Dianne (who took the picture above). This race is well run with cheerful volunteers and a lot of spectator support along the course. At least three times I ran through sprinklers people had thoughtfully put out. And it certainly is a beautiful course. But the best summary is one an older female runner made as we were walking to the car and cheered her on as she passed still on the course. Her comment: "This course is harder than childbirth."

Sometimes, however, it's good to take on a challenging course rather than just looking for a PR course every time. If you can take on this beast and finish running, you can feel satisfied you slayed the dragon and your other half marathons will seem easy.