Race Report: Sanspo Chiba Marine Marathon 2017 (Half)

I ran Sanspo Chiba Marine Half Marathon 2017 this past Sunday. I finished at 1:41:15 gross, and 1:39:29 net.
Gross-time-wise I renewed my PB.
Net-time-wise I fell 15 seconds short of my PB from the same event two year before.

The Laps are as follows:
0~2K: 12:13.91
~3K: 4:50.42
~4K: 4:32.17
~5K: 4:37.75 / 26.14.25
~6K: 4:38.16
~9K: 14:15.55 (avarage 4:45.00/K) 
~10K: 4:42.35 / 49.50.31
~11K: 4:33.58
~12K: 4:41.07
~13K: 4:38.95
~14K: 4:46.42
~15K: 4:43.18 / 1:13.13
~16K: 4:36.69
~17K: 4:42:61
~18K: 4:41.99
~19K: 4:44.48
~20K: 4:45.07 / 1:36.44
~21.1K: 4:31.24 / 1:41.15 

Overall it was a good race, though. The pacing was well under control. My breathing was steady except in the last one kilometer where I mustered up all of my power to put on a spurt that led to a strong finish.
It was one of the most memorable races in my athletic life.
I would like to write a brief report of how I ran the race.

<Morning>
I woke up at six to have a very light breakfast. I hardly ever eat a lot on the morning of any race. Much of the energy needed during the race comes from the meal on the previous night. I had a very good dinner that was both filling and nutritious. So there was no need to charge myself with so much energy. Plus, too large a breakfast would only make you heavy, and want to go to the men's room before the race. When nature calls shortly before the race, and all the toilets are occupied, you get to panic. I don't like it. So I eat lightly.

My breakfast is miso soup, a few cuts of fruits like apple, orange, and persimmon. I almost never drink coffee before any running races. It only makes you want to pee more.

<Travel>
I caught the 7:24 express train to get to Tsudanuma, where I changed to Keisei Chiba Line. I got off at Keisei Makuhari Hongo, one stop from Tsudanuma. Direct buses were available from the station to the race venue. I took one to reach the destination around 8:10 am.

<Registration>
ZOZO Stadium where the race started was packed with runners and cheerers when I arrived. I picked up my number tag and a small gift from the organizer. It was a white running cap with a green lining. It was so unfashionable that I was left wordless...

<Warm Up>
Some of my friends were also running the race, and I was soon joined by them who arrived at the stadium one after another. An opening ceremony was going on while me and my friends chatted with each other while waiting for the start. We had been most concerned with the weather because the race had taken place in the worst of weather conditions last year with strong winds. But this year the sky was cloudless, and day time highs were expected to reach 13 degrees Celsius. There were a few contradicting forecasts about winds that morning. One said mild southwestern winds later in the afternoon, and another predicted fairly strong winds. There was almost no wind in the early morning, and I hoped it would hold, but mentally I was prepared for the worst.

<Race>
The gun went of at 9:50 am. There were almost 10,000 runners. The crowd didn't dissolve easily at first. I was in Block G, which was way behind the start line. It took me exactly one minute and sixteen seconds to finally reach it. But once I got there, runners around me slowly picked up the pace, and in no time I was in a stream of runners flowing into the ocean competition!

On the previous night I did some math and knew that to finish under 1:40:00, I had to keep a 4:44/K pace. In the first 2 K I was significantly slower mainly due to congestion. But once the runners spread wide, easy passage through other runners enabled me to catch up. I passed the 5 K mark in a fairly good condition, with no major discomfort in any part of my body. I hydrated at the first water station. Distance marking was rather irregular between 5 K and 10 K and I was a bit worried if my pace was right. But I just followed my gut feeling and decided that I was at the race pace. There was another water station before the 10 K mark, but I ignored it and moved on. Near the 12 K mark Sydney Olympics Women's Marathon Gold Medalist Ms. Naoko Takahashi known by the nickname of Q-chan was giving high-fives to passing runners. I received one, saying thanks Q-chan.

Shortly past the 13 K mark, the course took a left into the Inage Kaihin Koen Park. From that point on for almost four kilometers you ran a winding road inside the park. Some parts of the road went though small woods, which gave runners shades. Last year I felt so cold in the shades. But this year I felt relieved running there because they provided a brief escape from the heat. It was increasingly getting hotter.

Near the 15 K mark there was the last water station. I took a small gulp from a cup and moved on. In no time I was out of the park and back on the main road leading straight to the goal. Four more kilometers to go, and this is the highlight of the race. Four kilometers probably sounds like nothing to most runners. But there's a lot to think about with these remaining 4 K. If you increase your pace too quickly, you can run out of gas before a final surge. The risk is especially high with this course, because there is a bridge around 2 K before the finish. It's almost 400 meters long. The incline is not so steep, but it's 200 meters uphill, and another 200 meters downhill. It's not easy for tired legs that have already put up with countless shocks of landing. I decided to delay my surge at least until I got over the bridge. In fact, I was overtaken by quite a few runners while running the bridge, but I didn't care. I stuck with my pace. Soon I found myself on the other end of the bridge. The 20 K mark sign was in sight.  Here came the deciding moment. I mustered up all of the remaining energy in my body and shifted my gear. My strides got slightly wider. My legs turned over faster. My arms swung much more strongly. There was no one around me who could keep up with my surge. A powerful female runner who overtook me on the bridge didn't seem to have the same sort of explosive strength. She was soon left behind. I overtook one runner after another who put on a spurt a little too early. The course took a quick left into the driveway leading to the stadium. There was a wall of cheerers on either side. One of them shouted, "Less than 1 K to go!" I tried to overtake more runners, but as I approached the stadium, the road got narrower, which made difficulty my smooth passage through runners before me. I tried to look for the best passage through in a blurred vision, but it wasn't easy. 
Suddenly two runners right in front of me seemed so slow. Trying to avoid bumping into them, I almost tripped over my foot and fell down. But I didn't. I was so relieved. And a moment later, there opened up some free space on my left. I quickly sneaked into that space and got ahead of the struggling runners. A quick turn right got me on the home stretch leading to the finish arch. Once inside the stadium, the roar of the spectators was suddenly so loud. And the hard concrete road was all of a sudden replaced with artificial lawn. I lost repulsive force. But now it was more comforting than of negative influence on performance. There was only 50 meters left. I swung my head right and left with my eyes half closed, and ran, and ran, and ran. Several seconds later, I was on the other side of the finish line. The race was over. I looked up at the sky, which all throughout the race had never ceased to exist a single moment and kept on watching all the runners,  but which I hadn't paid much attention to, looked so dramatically cloudless and blue. I felt so glad that I ran such an exciting race on such a beautiful day.

<Party>
Later my friends who finished the race came back one after another. We excitedly exchanged comments with each other. One of them finished under 2 hours for the first time in his life. Another renewed his personal best in his late fifties. Others were just content that they ran and finished the race. There were so many woos and wows among us, which put a big smile on my face as well as on others'. Later we went to a Hub and partied. We had fun conversation over good beers. Food was mostly fried and shockingly oily, but we all agreed that it's ok after burning more than 1,000 kcal in the race.

<Coda>
It was only after I left everyone and check my database that I learned that I renewed my PB (Gross) by one second. I was very happy. My next race is this coming Sunday. I am running a full marathon in Tateyama, Chiba Pref. I want to run in my split-toe running shoes MUTEKI. But I'm not sure yet. This half marathon slightly hurt my second toe. It wasn't unbearably painful, but certainly discomforting. What'll happy when the distance doubles? Well, I'll give myself a few days before making my final decision.

For my personal half marathon record progression, please see below. It will shed light on how a man can strive athletically in his late 40's to eary 50's.

<Personal Record Progression (Gross/Net)>
[Age 45]
2012.01.15 The 31st Frostbite: 1:49:41 / 1:45:02
[Age 46]
2012.12.02 The 31st Hadano Tanzawa Minasegawa: 1:42:33
2013.01.20 The 37th Sanspo Chiba Marine: 1:54:03 / 1:50:52
[Age 47]
2013.12.01 The 9th Hadano Tanzawa Minasegawa: 1:41:58
[Age 48]
2014.12.07 The 10th Hadano Tanzawa Minasegawa: 1:43:25 / 1:42:49
2015.01.18 The 39th Sanspo Chiba Marine: 1:41:16 / 1:39:11
[Age 49]
2015.12.06 The 11st Hadano Tanzawa Minasegawa: 1:49:36 / 1:49:17
2016.01.24 The 40th Sanspo Chiba Marine: 1:43:54 / 1:42:30
[Age 50]
2016.12.04 The 12nd Hadano Tanzawa Minasegawa: 1:42:45 / 1:42:16
2017.01.22 The 41st Sanspo Chiba Marine: 1:41:15 / 1:39:26