August 25
It is 4:30am on a Saturday morning in late August. It has been four and a half months since my right ACL was reconstructed by patella auto graft. My recovery has gone very well with no setbacks. Today, Amy (my 16 year old daughter) and I will run the Patrick Henry half marathon in Ashland, Virginia. We ran 11 miles together a month ago, and then she asked if we could run the half marathon. Not having any good reason not to, I consented but said it was only going to be a long training run. Her cross country coach concurred with this.
So, I am lying in bed wide awake, anxious for my first race of any kind since last December. I have only slept about five hours as my anxiousness is weighing heavily on me. Questions/thoughts swirl around my head. Will my knee give me any trouble? How is my conditioning? Finally, I am just plain excited to be in a race again, and I get to run it with my daughter. Amy and I discussed pace on Thursday and decided that we should be able to hold at least 8:30/mile.
We leave the house a little after 5:30am. The race starts promptly at 7:00am.
Mile 1 8:17
I am running as slow as I can stand. Amy is ready to run faster as well, but I know we shouldn’t let ourselves get pulled out fast by the crowd of other runners. The weather is relatively cool, around 68 degrees, overcast, and light rain.
Mile 2 8:18
Another smooth easy mile, as the crowd of runners begins to settle in. We pass by the first water stop, not even thinking about taking any fluids.
Mile 3 8:17
Our pace is very smooth and comfortable. We are now leaving the town limits of Ashland and heading into the country of Hanover County.
Mile 4 8:18
The second water stop of the race is manned by the PH Cross Country team. Her coach kiddingly tells us to pick it up. It is a huge motivation to see them all.
Mile 5 8:06
After getting cheered on by her teammates and coach, we increase the pace slightly.
Mile 6 7:59
Taking advantage of a slight downhill, we run our first sub-8:00 mile. I think to myself, okay let’s see if we can hold this sub-8:00 pace for a few miles. Amy looks good, and neither of us is really breathing hard yet.
Mile 7 7:55
Turning the corner onto Blanton Road, Amy takes a fall. I think this was helped by a runner who took a cup of water and then proceeded to start walking in front of us, right at the turn. Anyway, she quickly picks herself up and is no worse for wear.
Mile 8 7:22
After recovering from the fall, Amy is feeling frisky and pushes the pace. I have two thoughts: 1) Is she ready to hold this faster pace, 2) Can I keep up if she does?
Mile 9 7:34
We settle back down to a more reasonable pace as we are still over four miles from the finish. The rain is steady, but still light, and we are facing a slight headwind. The crowd of runners has definitely spread out, and we have been steadily passing other runners since we picked up the pace.
Mile 10 7:37
Another nice hard mile, and now we can really start to stretch our legs. I mention to Amy that the warm-up is over, and it is time to run. She says that she isn’t sure she wants to run faster, and I say that is fine. Then Amy picks up the pace.
Mile 11 6:52
Picks up the pace and starts really moving. Of course, we are helped by a downhill, but still this is quick. We pass Eric Winston, who is the dad of one of Amy’s teammates.
Mile 12 7:34
The 12th mile heads back uphill, and my legs don’t have the same strength that they did before my ACL injury. Therefore, this 7:34 mile is my split. Amy is about 30 seconds ahead of me as we start the last mile.
Mile 13 7:09
I have a decent kick at the end, and I feel great, except for the fact that my daughter has just dusted me in this race.
Official Finishing Time 1:41:51
144th out of 1,195 finishers, 22nd out of 126 Males, 40-44
Amy ends up finishing in 1:40:53, just under a minute ahead of me. Considering she made that gap in the last two miles, I would say she had a good kick at the finish. I believe her last mile was 6:33! And, she finished 20th among all females, and first in her age group (F15-19).
My recovery race is now out of the way, and I have some serious mileage to put in over the next 3+ months before Hellgate in December. Here’s hoping the recovery continues going well.
Never stop running,
Darin
