Reno's Biggest Little Half-Marathon (Washoe County, Nevada)

Early in the year, I was excited about running and I still am, but I may have over-committed a bit. I had signed up for six half-marathons over the first five months of the year. The fifth one, Reno's Biggest Little Half-Marathon, would be held just a week after I ran the Silicon Valley Half-Marathon in San Jose, CA. Add to that, the fact that some friends and I rented a 'party bus' to attend Moonraker Brewing Company's 3rd Anniversary party yesterday and we have all the makings for a very poor Half-Marathon time. So, my expectations of my performance this morning, were not high.

I woke around my normal time and proceeded to get ready to run. The race starts under the Biggest Little City arch in Downtown Reno, which is only six or seven miles from my home. I arrived downtown and parked in the city lot. I got the starting line about ten minutes before the gun and started my stretching routine. As I've gotten older, I've learned that failure to stretch will result in very tight and uncomfortable achilles tendons the next day. So, I always try to get some level of stretch in before I run.

At the appointed time, we the half-marathon runners lined up (approximately 500 of us) and awaited the countdown. With a "3-2-1" and a gun, we were off. The first part of the race runs through downtown Reno. The streets were closed off for the event and so it was a nice run through the cityscape. Quickly leaving downtown, the route follows the Truckee River, which is raging from the Tahoe Basin's melting snow, before settling into the residential areas southeast of town.

I started out feeling okay, but after just a few miles, I could tell I wasn't in great shape for this race. I really did drink too much yesterday and I'm feeling it now. As I approach the intersection of Mayberry and Ferris, a steep hill rises in front of me. The next fifty yards are so are probably at an incline of 30 degrees, and then it mellows down to about 15 degrees for the next half-mile or so. I make it up the steepest part in a trot, but I'm forced to walk a bit during the half-mile section. I really hate hills. They are so good for a runner, but they tear me up and just siphon away my energy. Approaching Virginia Lake, we follow the park paths nearly all the way around before making a 180 and returning the way we came.

The final three or four miles are just agonizing. It's getting hot, my knees are aching, and my stomach is reminding me how much beer (amazing beer though) I drank yesterday. I persevere and keep moving forward, painful as it is. Finally reaching the finish line, I see my official time of 2:26:15. Considering I ran a 2:02:xx last week end, this time is pretty pathetic. I could make excuses about the higher elevation or the hilly-nature of the course, but the truth is, it just wasn't my day. It was still fun though. My friend Chris, who took 3rd place overall in the 5k event, meets up with me at the finish line and we decide to go have some breakfast.