She Runs by the Seashore

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Ocean City Running Festival to review as part of being a BibRave Ambassador. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Ambassador, and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

I went into the inaugural Ocean City Running Festival Half Marathon with a clearly-stated goal. I decided not to run a fall marathon this year, and instead to try to run a fast half marathon. Of course, “fast” is relative, but recently, I have been trying to run my fastest times since 2019.

My goal was sub-2:20, about a 10:41 pace. As the race neared and the weather forecast for the race, which had a 9:15 a.m. start, looked like it would be in the 70s, I was certainly worried, but I still tried to not give up before the race began.

However, the race, on Oct. 28, turned into more of a day of making it to the finish line rather than trying to shoot for a time goal. I didn’t track the weather precisely, but my Garmin logged 70 degrees with 73 percent humidity (I just Googled it — that’s the starting conditions). And of course, it was extremely sunny with little shade. According to Weather.com, the high was 80 degrees in Ocean City that day, just barely off the record high of 82 for that day. It was a race day that was more like a beach day — in late October.

The race was the day after my birthday, so on my birthday, Oct. 27, I headed to the expo at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center and met up with my friend Kimberly and my online friend Corinne, who I met in person for the first time. The expo was small, and it was easy to get my bib number and race premium, a 1/4 zip. I got a few photos and saw a bunch of other local friends.

Although the race didn’t start till 9:15, the half marathoners would take buses from the Ocean City Inlet to Assateague Island, where our point-to-point race would begin, so we needed to be on the bus by 7:50. The running festival also included a marathon (the marathoners would run to and from Assateague Island), 8K and 5K. Personally, I needed to arrive by 6:30 a.m. so I could set up the Eastern Shore Running Club tent. We were able to have a team tent because we got a large team together, and there were several friends already on-site at that time to help me set up the tent.

I also had run out of time the previous day and stopped at the Berlin Walmart that morning to get some snacks for our team, so I had quite an early start to the day.

In the morning, I got to meet Krista, who had traveled from Texas and was also running for BibRave; she was running the marathon. She had also just had a birthday. The marathoners took off at 7:30 a.m.

I rode the bus to Assateague with my friends Kimberly, Diana and Grant. Once we arrived, we got in the porta-potty line, where we waited for about 40 minutes. Thankfully, we made it to the porta-potties, and then, it was pretty much time to run. I was unhappy that it already felt kind of warm in the line, but obviously, no one can control the weather.

Even though I was skeptical about being able to run my goal time in the weather conditions, I figured I would give it a try. Because I have paced numerous half marathons and know that I usually don’t end up with exactly 13.1 miles on my watch, I printed out and wore a 2:20 pace band with cumulative mile times to use as a guide. I even tried to run a little faster in the beginning to try to bank a small amount of time when it was supposedly nicer weather out (something I’d recommended that a friend not do, because I knew it wasn’t a great idea). I still don’t recommend doing that.

For about five miles, I was on pace to meet my sub-2:20 goal. However, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to keep it up and that I needed to slow down.

I ran the first three miles, which included the Verrazano Bridge from Assateague, in 10:21, 10:16 and 10:26. At about Mile 3.2, I decided to switch to run-walk intervals, which I use all the time in training. I figured it would give me a way to break up the run and something to look forward to in the heat.

With the switch to that run-walk, I ran an 11:10 mile for Mile 4. Mile 5 would be my last mile starting with a “10” of the day — 10:51. Things got a lot more tough as the race went on.

Along the way, I saw Kristin; Joe, who got photos; and Yvonne. I saw Keith, who had run the 8K, I think three times. I also wore the Pen & Paces Yell My Name Race Bib Topper Kit that I received for free through BibRave, and got a few cheers from that, as well.

We were on the same road from the start of the race to the Mile 8 marker, where we turned on Old Bridge Road to head to Ocean City. There was not much shade, and at times, I could just feel the sun seemingly radiating my body. The sun was making it very difficult.

When I got to Mile 8, I was at about one hour and 29 minutes. I knew my sub-2:20 goal was long-gone, but I did the easy calculation that if I were to run the remaining miles in under 12:00 each, then I would finish under 2:30. That’s normally a reasonable pace for me for a half marathon. Then, I got to Mile 9 and saw I’d run that mile in 12:37. That was tough, because I didn’t really think I was going to speed up after that — and I didn’t.

Throughout the run, I changed the run-walk intervals I was using on my phone. I often do training runs with three-minute run and one-minute walk intervals, but since I’m not the fastest walker, I decided to start out with shorter walk intervals. I’m pretty sure my progression was four-minute run and 30-second walk, to four-minute run and 45-second walk, to three-minute run and 45-second walk, to three-minute run and one-minute walk. And toward the end, I just kept having to walk extra within those run intervals.

Once we crossed the Route 50 bridge leading into Ocean City, there was a large group of spectators cheering at the end, as if we were pretty close to the finish line. While we had made it to Ocean City and were physically close to the finish line, we still had to run about another 5K. It was around this time that I passed two different course marshals in different areas that both said “Take your time.” That wasn’t my initial goal, but I was clearly struggling, and I would tell anyone who I saw that I knew. There was also someone, who I later saw was Deb, who offered me water on the bridge. I did think about taking it, but decided to just keep using the water stops like I’d been doing.

The race was reminding me of the only time I paced and didn’t make my pace time, on almost the same course for the 2017 Island to Island Half Marathon. It was another warm day, but that time in late April.

At the Ocean City Running Festival, the water stops were about every two miles, which was frequent enough for a usual race, but it would have been nice to have even more with the weather. There also weren’t gels on the course, and I’d forgotten to bring mine because I did my training without gels, as I ran up to 10 miles. Because I felt like I should probably eat something, I did have half of a banana around the halfway point.

Once we got off the Route 50 bridge, we turned right, then made a loop and headed north on Baltimore Avenue, then entered the Boardwalk at the Boardwalk Arch. We had to go up to 15th Street, then turn around and head back toward the Inlet, going around the pier before crossing the finish line. These last few miles of the course were definitely the hardest for me, and I briefly talked to at least a couple other runners who were also struggling. I was in a tank and shorts, but because of the proximity to Halloween, some runners were wearing costumes — even onesies! — and they must have been so warm.

I did a lot of walking, but I kept moving forward, and I crossed the finish line in 2:38:34. I headed to the Eastern Shore Running Club tent and stayed there for a while, meeting up with various friends. I really enjoyed being able to have our own team tent and snacks, and the tent made it super easy to meet up with other ESRC runners. At the post-race party, there were some basic post-race snacks, as well as beer and other alcoholic drinks, and Jimmy Charles performed.

Afterward, a group of us went to Bad Monkey for our first meal of the day, even though it was after 2 p.m. by the time we ate. Even though it was a tough day, the race, or at least hanging out with friends, was a fun experience. During the race, I was not feeling so positive about it.

I thought about doing another half marathon to see if I can run sub-2:20, but I really just don’t want to spend the money and time right now, and I have other things I’d like to do this season. I might go for a half-marathon distance run on my own. Either way, I will continue to work on my speed and see what happens in the spring.

Splits

Mile 1: 10:21
Mile 2: 10:16
Mile 3: 10:26
Mile 4: 11:10
Mile 5: 10:51
Mile 6: 11:29
Mile 7: 12:21
Mile 8: 12:17
Mile 9: 12:37
Mile 10: 12:50
Mile 11: 13:36
Mile 12: 13:52
Mile 13: 13:53
Last bit (watch had .26): 2:30 / 9:34 pace
Final: 2:38:36 / 11:57 pace on watch; 2:38:34 / 12:06 pace on results

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