Quad Cities Half Marathon

Final time: 2:02:12 (PR)
10k split: 56:00

A lot of this marathon reminded me of the Flying Pig.  There was a marathon and a half marathon event that started out on the same course before the half marathoners turned off somewhere before mile 9.  There was also a relay component for the marathon.  They had a Pump N' Run event, and a shorter 5k event.  The course also traversed more than one state and ran across a couple of bridges and interstates.

We drove down Saturday afternoon and picked up my race packet.  Like the Flying Pig, swag included a poster of the Quad Cities marathon, but I declined the poster.  I was trying to give my Flying Pig one away to my sister even.  The shirt didn't feel like a dri-fit shirt, though the label claims otherwise.  It was soft, and made for a nice sleep shirt.  We also got a Quad Cities bandana. I chose a blue and green one to match the colors of the marathon.

All races except the kid's race started at 7:30am on Sunday in Moline, IL.  Our hotel was only a 5 minute drive away and AWAY from the race which meant very little traffic.  It was 42 degrees at the start, though expected to warm up to 50s mid morning and low 60s by noon.  I chose a sleeveless singlet to wear along with some capris, though I suspected I'd be too warm.  I got to the start shortly before 7am and was cold standing around, so I ducked inside a building until about 7:15am.  Then I lined up with the other runners and was surrounded by body heat.

It was crowded at the start.  Unlike Flying Pig which was strictly corralled, the Quad Cities allowed runners to line up according to what their perceived pace was.  Though there were pacers with signs, I felt they were spaced much too closely together.  The 2:10 pacer was really close to the 2:00 pacer, and I was planning to start between the two.  In the end, I chose to line up with the 2:10 pacer.  I find that starting with the 2:10 group and chasing the 2:00 group has worked well for me.  I crossed the start line with 1:20 on the clock.

The course is relatively flat for most of it, but there were bridges, and those bridges meant inclines to get up them.  It was unfortunate that we encounter one of those inclines in the first mile before any of us had a chance to warm up much.  The first bridge we cross was a suspension bridge that takes us across the Mississippi River over to Bettendorf, IA.  Running across a suspension bridge with thousands of runners is an interesting experience.  When I drive, I rarely notice the suspension part of the bridge, but running across it, I definitely felt the ground bounce.

I had caught up to the 2:00 pacer at this point, and the course was rather crowded.  I didn't have much choice but to stay with them.  The pacer yelled out midway across the bridge at the 1 mile mark that the first mile was at a 9:28 pace.  He also yelled, "don't worry."  I wasn't, but I also wanted to go faster.  Soon enough we were at the 5 mile mark on a bike path along the river.  At this point, the pacer yelled out, "we're back to a 9:00 pace."  Whoa, there must've been some sub-9:00s in there.  No wonder I was struggling to keep up around mile 3 and 4.  I hit the first water stop and then I skipped the next two or three.  I was feeling good but the fact that I should take water was nagging at me.  Around mile 6, I was feeling very good and picked up the pace and got ahead of the pacers.  I stopped at the next two water stops, walked through them without the pacers catching up to me.

Turned out that taking water was a mistake.  I could tell I didn't need the water, and the having to stop to drink the water made it difficult to get back into the running.  The 2:00 pacer caught up to me at mile 10, and half a mile later at the next water stop, I didn't bother trying to stay with him.  I knew in the back of my mind that this would be a PR regardless, but really, I just ran out of gas.  I was coming down with a cold Saturday night and I felt it by mile 10 and simply couldn't keep up the required pace.

The race itself was quite nice.  I disliked the hill at the end.  Though it meant a downhill to the finish, I rather it flat than an uphill followed by a downhill.  There were many things that kept the course interesting.  The second bridge crossing after mile 9 was on a grate like material.  The grate openings were sufficiently small for the cars, but not runners.  Despite them laying down some carpet, the ground felt uneven and I had to slow my pace. Other highlights of the course included the suspension bridge, the bike path, the harbor along the river in Davenport, and running through Arsenal Island.  Beautiful course, and I'd love to run it again.