An amazing race

WOW! I can't believe I just did that. All of the training and all of the work this year produced an incredible result. I was 2496 out of 10378 finishers, in other words amazingly in the top quarter of all runners this year. Again, WOW! How did I do that?

The experience at the San Jose Rock n' Roll Half Marathon was truly surreal and something that I will never forget. The wife and I left on Saturday to drive to San Jose. When we got there, we checked into the Crown Plaza hotel for the weekend and took off for the health and fitness expo to process in, pick up my race packet and number, and generally get excited for the race.

I'll be honest, the anxiety of the race has been almost unbearable all week, but I was pretty calm and collected at this point. I picked up my number, shirt, and goodie bag, and then proceeded to the expo.

The health and fitness expo was great with a lot of vendors handing out a lot of samples. However, It was really tough to not try everything as I didn't want to try something that would cause me problems during Sunday's race. Needless to say, the pantry is now full of many tasty sample items for us to try soon!

In the packet attached on the top of the race number was the timing tag for the race. This thing was really cool, it was like a thin strip of plastic that had no weight at all. Not what I expected a "timing chip" to be. It apparently worked as an RFID tag that would register when we crossed certain sensors on the course at 5K, 10K, 10 miles, and the finish.

The tag was attached by looping it around the shoelaces. I was really surprised at how invisible this was. I was a little worried that a "timing chip" would be a hasle but it really was not.

Basically, it was like a piece of paper attached to the top of the shoe. On really cool thing about this timing tag is that there was a service (for a $2 fee) that sent my family at the race text messages when I crossed the timing points with my time for that point as it happened so they could follow my progress. They really liked that.

OK, so it was finally race day morning. The night before I had laid out my running outfit, attached my timing tag, and pinned my race number on the running shirt. I was ready. Still, race morning was really exciting. I was in a state of awe when I was putting on my running outfit. I was still having a hard time believing that I was actually doing this.

I left the hotel about 45 minutes before the race start and mingled with the crowd of 10,000 plus runners and spectators. According to the final results, there were 10,378 runners but during the morning they were announcing there were 12,000 of us. No matter how may people were there, it felt like there were hundreds of thousands of people there. We took over the streets of San Jose, every one of us overcome with excitement about the upcoming race.

I proceeded to my corral area to get ready for the run. I was in corral 6 out of I think 16. The corrals were basically cordoned off sections of the street where the race staff had divided us up according to predicted finish times. That way, the faster runners would not be stuck and unable to stretch out and get a good time. There were so many people that the corrals stretched over a city block around a corner.

THE START

The start was great. I was really excited and when the horn went off, I was ready to go. But, I couldn't. The group of runners started to walk - slowly. We walked toward the start line and, after more than a minute had past, I was really worried. I was then about 20 yards from the start line and still walking. Would I be walking after I crossed the line? When do we start running?

Well, just like magic, as soon as we all crossed the start line everyone started running. It was very crowded at first, but the corral system had really worked. Everyone around me was pretty much pacing about the same. I was going to run with the 2 hour pace team at first so I wouldn't overdo it, so I just settled in behind the 2 hour sign pacer.

THE FIRST 5K

The course is pretty flat. We ran about a mile straight east before we took a turn to the north. The turns were still pretty crowded at this point. Unfortunately, my GPS wasn't tracking the satellites like it should have been. When we crossed the 1 mile mark, I heard a chorus of GPS beeps from the other runner's GPS devices, but mine told me I was only .78 miles out. I think it may be time for a new GPS. Anyways, the timer still worked and that is what I needed to keep pace. I just stuck behind the 2 hour pace team.

We hit the second mile and the first aid station. The ground was littered with cups. I stayed in the middle of the path and just kept going through the aid station, I was carrying my Powerade Zero and was planning on being as self sufficient through this race as I could. I stuck with the 2 hour pace team and kept going.

We ran through Japantown before taking a turn to the south, back towards downtown San Jose. On the way back downtown, just before the 5K mark, I noticed that I had passed the 2 hour pacer. Part of me though I should slow my pace, but I ended up deciding to just go with it and pace myself, a decision I paid for later in the race.

FROM 5K TO 10K

I crossed the 5K mark in 28 minutes flat and was doing pretty good and feeling pretty good. At this point, we were about a mile from downtown. We ran down San Pedro square then turned right at about 4.5 miles out. We were now running the opposite direction down the street towards where we started the race. The wife was right there and go a picture that I think is the best one of the weekend and will likely be framed.

Like I said, I was feeling good and my pace was quick. The adrenaline of the race was helping me run faster than I was planning on doing. We ran down past the HP Pavilion and headed towards the west side of the bay. There was an under crossing here that really sucked. When you are on a nice flat run and suddenly have a steep downhill followed by a steep uphill, you really feel it. I was starting to look for the favorite of the race, expecting to see him run past me going the opposite direction towards the finish line. Then, there he was, flying by at his 13 MPH pace heading towards the finish. That is superhuman. I kept running and hit the 10K mark at 55:13, a very respectable time.

FROM 10K TO 15K

The run through the "Rose Garden" district was a really nice run. Tree lined streets, nice homes, a rose garden, and even a Rosicrucian museum. We passed through the rose garden district at headed northwest, even further away from San Jose. We reached a major freeway and had another under crossing. This one was three times as bad as the last and took a lot of effort to keep running the whole thing. I wanted to walk, but I haven't walked yet in my training and I wasn't going to start while in the race. I kept running and we hit the 8 mile mark and about then made a turn back towards town. I was starting to wear down a bit at this point and it was about here that I started to realize I had gone out too fast. Oh no. This last part was going to be tough. I kept going, hoping I could just keep one foot in front of the other.

FROM 15K TO 20K

I crossed the 15K sign and I was dragging. Still running, but knowing I had gone out too fast and trying to keep my pace up as best I could. Runners are a great community, they will cheer for you no matter where you finish. There are a few who only care about beating others, but they are the exception. Most of us out there are competing against ourselves only and will unhesitatingly cheer others. I think the runners out on the course knew I was struggling a little, several of them would run up and congratulate me on the weight loss. The back of my running shirt had the "1 YEAR - 100 POUNDS - 1 MARATHON" logo on it and I was getting a lot of support for it.

This part of the course was the toughest, winding through neighborhoods on the way back into town and with me felling like I was running out of gas. The encouragement I received on the course by the other runners kept me going. I crossed the 10 mile line at 1:29:35, still on track, but running out of gas. We finally emerged from the neighborhoods just after the 11 mile mark for the long road past the HP Pavilion and back to the finish line. I had kept the pace up and was still tracking my 2 hour finish and started to get a fill up in the gas tank. I started to think "I'm almost there - I can make it!"

It was tough and I was pushing. I saw the HP Pavilion about a mile away and focused on getting to that point. I made it and then ran past it. Only a little over a mile. I crossed the 20K mark and was so close, tow turns left. All the runners were encouraging each other. "Were almost there!" "Less than a mile!" "Keep going!"

TO THE FINISH

We made one of the turns with about .6 of a mile left to go. My family was there at that point cheering me on and I was still going. One more turn and there will be the finish line.

I kept going, putting one foot in front of the other. We started to make the final left turn towards the finish line and the woman next to me said "you're going to finish under two hours clock time!" I looked up and saw the clock. The clock time is not my official time, but rather the time from the official start of the race when the horn went off. When I started the race shooting for a 2 hour finish I never thought I would be anywhere close to a 2 hour CLOCK time, but there it was, the official race clock reading 1:59:05.

I pushed it, started to swing my arms and extend my stride. I was going to make it under 2 hours clock time. It wasn't pretty. I was hunched over and grimacing, but I was going to make it. You can find the video of me crossing the finish line on the San Jose Half Marathon's site. You have to search for me by bib number, 11051. It is not a pretty finish, but it is a finish. I kept the stride as long as I could and kept swinging my arms to keep my feet going (it really works!) and I reached the finish line, crossing under it and the clock at 1:59:40. The chip on my shoe told the faster story though - 1:58:21 from start to finish. I made it, albeit very tired. It was everything I could do to keep it together at that point.

I kept going through the paddock with the other runners. The race did a great job here of processing us all after the run, immediately handing out water and sports drink.

Then, we kept walking and I saw it, the medals being handed out:

My fist finishers medal. This was just too cool. And this wasn't some cheap plastic thing, it was heavy and metal with a place on the back to engrave your name and time. We kept going through the runners paddock and the race kept up the great job, handing out lots of food and drink.

We got out of the secured runner's area and I found my family. I saw my wife and, in a rare moment for me, I was overcome with emotion. I grabbed her and cried some tears of joy. I don't usually do that and I can remember the last time I cried, but I freely admit I did that on Sunday. The realization about how far I had come had hit me. I know I was shooting for 2 hours, but I didn't think I would make it. I really thought I would be a little over, but I pulled it off. After 9 months and 91 pounds, I just finished a half marathon in under 2 hours. On top of that, I was in the top quarter of all finishers.

After the race was over, I went back to the finish line with my family. There was something I wanted to do. I had brought along my favorite pair of jeans from my 325 pound days. I had a couple of photos snapped of me holding those up. It is always important to remember where you came from and never forget it. I have really come a long way and it feels great. I am now one of the elite few who can say they have run a half marathon. Life is good.