2016 Pittsburgh Wild Half Recap

It was a long week of training that started Tuesday with a 15 mile run around Penn Hills. That kind of mileage on a workday meant starting the run at 3:30 AM. I took advantage of the late/early hour and ran a route that is too heavily trafficked with too little shoulder to otherwise run. First stop was the Hindu Temple and though the gates were locked up I still got a closer look at this amazing building. Then it was off to explore the Elementary school area before getting back to my familiar roads.

Wednesday was a rest day with a short walk in the Kenmawr Conservation Area and Thursday had a 10 miler in store. I slept in later than planned, but still managed to get the run in before work. More sleep and all the run = win-win! After work I stopped at Elite Runner’s and Walkers for packet pickup and headed over to Monroeville Community Park to test out my race kit which included new shorty shorts and a shiny new Hammer singlet. I ended up with 4 fast miles there that likely would have been speedier had I not eaten a 7″ Reuben sub and fries two hours prior. Ooops. Food happens!

Who wears short shorts?

Friday was another rest day and what a day it was. It was getting to the end of the workday and I got a killer migraine. Once it abated a little I drove home and started getting things ready for Saturday’s Wild Half race at Boyce Park. That is when my left arm went numb. Headache followed by numbness means one thing and one thing only to me. Seizure. I let Tara know and laid down in bed and rode it out. Fortunately, it was not the convulsive type, but it still wiped me out. I figured the race would probably not happen. After a few hours I started feeling a little better and was able to get some food down. As the evening progressed I felt a little better. I finished readying my race gear and went to bed early. I had planned to get 50k of training miles in with the last 13 being the race. Well I got a late start as you might imagine and was moving very slow and walking a lot. I was on trail by 5:00 AM. I ran and walked 6 miles averaging around 16 minutes per mile. The sun had finally come up and the park gates were open so I moved my car to the starting area and ran another 7.7. I began feeling a bit better as time progressed and my pace showed it as it improved to 14 minutes per mile. With around 14 miles in it was time for the race. I had planned to run it slow and hopefully finish, but all things considered I was ready to DNF for my first time if need be.

Race Time

Early on I ran into Keith and then Jamie and Mike from NPTR and Runderful. Jamie and Mike were running the 10k and planning to hit it hard. And that they did magnificently finishing 3rd in the both of their respective fields! Keith was running the half. I mentioned I planned to just take it easy and get to the finish. The best laid plans of mice and men….. The starting horn went off and so did my legs. I tried to hold back a little and motored along shocked each time I checked pace.

Smiling faces are for running races

The race start comes across the soccer fields and parking lots before turning onto singletrack trail. This gives time for the fasties to get up front. Keith and I tucked into the middle of the pack. Around 1.5 miles in I was feeling the need to run a little faster. As I announced I was passing on the left I made my move. I passed and in doing so smashed my arm off of thick cutoff tree branch. Yea..that left a mark! Coming down to the aid station at mile 2.25-ish there is a stretch of gravel road. I took advantage and picked up pace passing a few people before hitting the singletrack again. Soon Keith was behind me again. We took turns pacing for the first 7 1/2 miles before I could no longer keep pace with him. This was also the point where the hill climbs to the top of the ski slopes and to Indian Hill were. The course cuts across the top of the ski slopes and then descends straight down one before climbing right back up on grassy doubletrack. This climb to the top of Indian Hill was tough. Notably, Indian Hill is the highest point in Boyce Park with an elevation of 1360 feet. From here I picked up some speed again and enjoyed the winding singletrack. Along the way I saw at least 8 people who were backtracking after getting off course. The benefits of knowing the course beforehand certainly yielded both Keith and I higher finishing positions. Coming off the trails into hilly fields the course turns southeast eventually coming to an aid station on a gravel road. Then it was back to climbing a few hills before coming to the ski lodge and the final stretch. As I came down the hill toward Pierson Run Road I was expecting a right hand turn like last year. Instead the officer controlling traffic said head straight and turn left to finish. My Garmin read 12.2 miles. Now, I know that the course was longer than 12.2 simply because of all the tight twisty curves on the trail. When so many tight turns are packed in together GPS can’t get an accurate read and thinks you are in roughly the same location. Was there an additional 0.9 miles? I don’t know for certain. My feeling is the course is just a little short. I would have pushed harder at the end if I knew how close the finish was. That said, Keith finished about 3 minutes ahead of me and I would not have caught him no matter how hard I pushed there. The weather was perfect, the company great, and the trails at Boyce are my home field and I enjoyed the advantage of being the home team.

Pic courtesy of JL Photography & Design

Post-race

After the race I had my traditional Hammer Recoverite. Yes Endurance provided pizza, snacks, and a raffle. It is always great to hang out and talk with other runners and we all were feeling the endorphin lift making for a happy, but tired group. By the time of the raffle the remaining group was fairly small and almost everyone took away a prize. A number of items were laid out and if your number was called you could pick whatever item you wanted. I had plans to buy a bicycle the day after the race so when my number was called I happily picked out a Pearl Izumi sleeveless cycling shirt. Regardless of how mushy my brain felt and how awkward my body felt after the seizure I was a happy man!