Inaugural Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon
Near perfect conditions greeted the 1500+ registered runners on the morning of the Inaugural Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon. Temperatures were in the mid-40’s with little to no wind. The 13.1 mile out and back, straight as an arrow course was never going to be the most interesting route, but actually it was kind of cool to run along the newly opened Dismal Swamp Canal Trail.
Going in to the race I had no hopes or thoughts of a fast time. The 4 weeks since the Shamrock Marathon have been very light in terms of training and mileage. My nagging right shin pain and left foot blister (which just won’t heal!) have seen me slide from running daily with tons of energy and enthusiasm, to just going through the motions and convincing myself that “rest is the key”. I have a feeling the balance is somewhere in the middle, and hoped the Dismal Swamp Stomp would help my future motivation.
Before the race I met up with old friend and fellow runner Charles Schindler. We both decided we’d start off at a moderate pace and see what happened. First mile was a nice gentle 6:45, but for whatever reason (and it wasn’t a conscious decision), I ticked off the next two miles at 6:10 pace. The plan for a solid, comfortable race was almost over before it started. To make matters worse I totally lost myself to the race atmosphere and rattled off the next six miles as follows: 6:07, 6:06, 6:04, 6:02 and 6:04. By now I was over halfway and starting to struggle. Looking at the long straight road ahead I knew it was going to be a tough finish. A 6:09 mile, followed by two 6:15’s still left me a couple of miles from home, and slowing all the time. On a positive note I had managed to work myself through the field and now found myself in about 30th position I guessed. The “elites” had probably finished a long time ago, so now it was just a question of concentrating on my form, staying as relaxed as possible and hanging on for the finish line. The penultimate mile was the slowest of the race (6:21), and with a huge effort in the last mile I was able to finish strong and happy for a 1:21:30 - 6:14 pace and my second fastest Half Marathon ever. I finished 2nd in the 40-44 division and 28th overall.
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April 28th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
[…] picking up a foot injury at the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago, I decided to run this year’s Chesapeake Bay 10k at Ocean View Beach […]
May 8th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
[…] of injury” statement quite interesting. My foot became painful a couple of days after the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon, but I don’t remember a defining moment of […]