2016 Double Bridge Run - Race Report
The first "race" of the season is always a good one. It is very telling to what you have coming towards you, and how much you have slacked in the off-season. If you have been lazy, you will severely overestimate your abilities and fall way short, but on the other hand, if you have been working, yu may exceed your expectations. The latter would make it a win-win in my opinion.
Fortunately for me, I didn't take much of an off-season. I didn't focus on endurance workouts, but I did stay in the workout mindframe, at least until the Christmas season. My focus was mainly on dropping some post-race weight, while not gaining much once I stopped. I kinda met my goal, and then I kinda fell short. Post-Miami, I gained about 7 or 8 pounds, bumping my weight up to about 231lbs. By the time January 4th rolled around, I was at 233.9lbs. So, I did good, but not really at the same time. That Christmas/New Years holiday gets me every year. However, January 4th started training, and I knew I would get into race shape before the first race of the year, the Disney Dark Side Half Marathon in April.
But what about the Double Bridge Run? Yeah, that was a late addition to my schedule. Like, 3-4 weeks out I decided I was actually going to run that race. I wasn't ready, nor was I prepared. I hadn't really started running yet, but being the competitor that I am, I signed up and set the goal of runnning the race in under 90min.
So, what is the DBR? The Double Bridge Run is a 15K race that starts in Downtown Pensacoal, crosses over the Pensacola River (Bridge #1, 3-mile bridge), through the town of Gulf Breeze, and then over the Pensacola Beach Sound (Bridge #2, Bob Sykes Bridge), ending at Pensacola Beach. Doesn't sound too intimidating, does it? Well, it almost wasn't, but kind of was.
Saturday morning (Feb 13th), we got downtown to line-up. The temps were a brisk 39 degrees, and the winds were a gentle 10-15mph blowing from the North. Before the sun rises, that is COLD. My wife had to drop me off and head down to the beach to see me at the finish line, so I couldn't wear my hoodie and give it to her, she was gone. I don't throw away hoodies, so I was forced to find ways to make my body warm up. Not so easy with a waterfront wind. Luckily I was not the only one experiencing this.
I ingested my Gu about 10 minutes before the start of the race, after spending 35min in line for the bathroom, and then found my group. We decided to line up with the 10min/mi group simply for the ego boost of passing a bunch of runners during the first mile or two. It kind of worked.
Before long after the start of the race, my group was off. The pace was slow at first, the typical congestion at the start of the race. I managed to keep a slower than average pace for the first mile. That's about when the Gu kicked in, and I felt a nice burst of energy. My running partner, Bill, started off side by side with me, but once that energy kicked in, I passed some people and never saw Bill again.
It wasn't long before we got to the first bridge. The amazing view of 3-mile Bridge. The only difficult part was the middle hump, but it wasn't really a challenge. I honestly barely felt that part of the run. The best part of the bridge was the miles of cars facing us and recording the runners on their phones. I think I waved at 15 people and got high fives from about 3 kids sticking their hands out the windows. It made the bridge fairly simple to cross.
The other side of the bridge marked the 6-mile mark. I was feeling good. Just had to run through town, and over the 2nd bridge and I was done. I kept pushing, and for safe measure, I ingested another Gu at a water station. I figured when I was getting tired, this would give me that boost for the 2nd bridge.
As we approached the overpass to go towards the beach, I had forgotten that we were on the other side of the road. That meant we had to take the on-ramp that went up and over the road. Basically a 3rd bridge. NOT COOL. It wasn't a steep incline, it wasn't even a difficult part of the road to travel that made me not like it. It was the fact that it was angled as we were running in the opposite direction of traffic, so while the cars needed the angle to make the curve, we had to run against it. My right knee has something to say about that, but we'll leave that for another day.
Finally, off of the overpass, and the dreaded Bridge #2 is in my sight. That clumb looks dreadful, but with the wind slightly at my back, more of a cross-wind at this point, I lowered my head and pushed on. The only goal was to make it to the top without walking. For some reason, running up a hill is like that scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The knight is charging the castle, and he just never looks like he is going to get there, until all of a sudden, he arrives and kills the guards. This was the same way. I could see the peak. I could see the goal. I could see others going over the crescent and heading down, but I felt like I never was going to arrive, until all of a sudden, I had the greatest panoramic view ever. Pensacola Beach at 9:00 am. The sound looked amazing, the beach and the gulk looked calm. It was an amazing sight, but the race wasn't over. I had to get down the bridge and to the finish line.
Once I could see the inflatable finish, I gave it everything I had, which unfortunately wasn't much. I just didn't stop running. Finally, I crossed the finish line, even heard them say my name. The clock time was just under 1:30:00, and I made sure it was under.
I didn't stick around long. I was cold, sweaty, and hungry. That was the LONGEST run since October 25th, so I was kinda sucking wind. Remember, my goal was 1:30:00, and when I checked my Nike+, my time was 1:24:46. I was elated. I made my goal pretty easily. Officially, my chip time was 1:24:06, so even better. Now, back to the grind, and looking towards the previous first race of the year, Disney Dark Side Challenge. I have a 10K and a 1/2 Marathon in the same weekend, so that will be fun.
