For the third consecutive year, I was blessed to lace up for the Seaside School Half Marathon. I’ve related before why I love this particular race but if you didn’t read last year’s Race Report, I’ll happily repeat myself! This has to be one of the most beautiful areas to run and I’m fortunate to be able to train in this area often.
The course runs an out and back route between the town of Seaside and Gulf Place. Along the way, you’re running on pavement over five coastal dune lakes with picturesque views. The road is closed to traffic and well supported by spectators and aid stations. The course is fairly flat but there are a few hills that will challenge you briefly before offering a reprieve on the downhill.
But the race is about so much more than the time spent running. The race supports the local charter school, the Seaside School. And, thanks to an area built on hospitality, the race weekend is full of experiences and entertainment. Beginning on Friday with the ‘Taste of Race’ in which local restaurants offer up some of the finest food around, the race weekend starts off strong for runners and family alike. Saturday is a host of activities centered around packet picket at the race expo. And, finally, Sunday is race day! At any time, the entire area of CR30A is the perfect setting for exploring coastal living, enjoying time as a family, and even hiking or biking along trails.
As a runner, you can look forward to a fantastic race atmosphere on Sunday. Parking is convenient whether you pay for a VIP pass to be in Seaside, use the race provided shuttle parking, or go to your favorite local spot and bike on in. Despite hosting as many as 4,000 runners and their families, there is sufficient room to stretch out, warm up, and get loose. Even better, there is complimentary bag check!
As the countdown to the races begin, you’ll find a relaxed corral of runners with a front pack typically pushing 5’40″/mile pace all the way back to walkers and hobby joggers. With ceremonies involving the school kids and a rotating cast of entertainment, the party atmosphere begins up to and beyond the start of the race!
On return, you’re welcomed back through the finisher’s chute with a nice medal, water and snack, and a Vera Bradley bag. It’s hard to argue against this being one of the best swag bags you’ll see for finishing a race. It’s certainly a selling point I use every year with Lauren when it’s time to sign up 😉
Possibly the best finish line food to be found at any race! 
For last year’s race, I narrowly missed out on being sub 1h30′ finishing 14 seconds over the magic threshold. This year, in the middle of a training build to Ironman Texas, I had high hopes that I would put in a sub 1h30′ and set my goal time to 1h25′ based on my training load and runs.
Race weekend began for us with the Saturday trip to pick up the race packet. We parked in Watercolor and made the short hike to the race expo. Despite having a large number of runners, packet pick up is always a smooth process in Seaside and filters through the school house. After a couple quick chats with local friends, we packed up and made the most of the day on 30A by visiting the splash pad and playground in Alys Beach. After an evening in Rosemary, we were back at home and packed up for race day.
Race day arrived Sunday morning with an early wake up at 4 AM. Having already laid out my necessities the night before, I grabbed my De Soto Sport Transition Pack full of gear, racked up the mountain bike, and made the trip. One of the benefits of being a local to the area is as simple as knowing where good parking is and where the best bathrooms are. I took advantage of both on the way in and wound up back in my familiar parking spots. A brief bike ride was all it took to be passing off gear to the bag check and readying up for the race.
The race itself started after the usual announcements and I began what I hoped would be my new personal best. It was here that I consciously could not stop myself from making the mistake that would end up defining the day for me. Having lined up at the front of the corral, I found myself tailing into the lead group at 5’40” pace… As I checked my pace, I was consciously yelling at myself to slow down and cruise but, somehow, I would pick the pace back up as soon as I took my eyes off pace and onto the lead group.
Suffice it to say, I ran the first half mile at 5’50” pace and managed to slow myself down to 6’05” for the first mile. Still, the damage was done at this point and my pace steadily declined from there. Despite running the next three miles more towards target, by mile five I was watching my pace fall off to 7’05” in the hills near the turn around.
By the halfway point, having coaxed myself through the rollers around Blue Mountain Beach and Draper Lake, I was hoping that I would be able to make the turn and perhaps drop the pace as I was still on target to be under 1h30′ at the turn. As I slowed to make the turn, though, I faced back down the stretch and realized it wasn’t to be that day. With a sudden sharp pain in my left calf, I decided to take the first of what would turn out to be several walk breaks.
The next couple miles were mostly a head space of, “What now?” Since I was off my 1h25′ target and certainly not going to recover enough pace to be sub 1h30′ I spent some time cruising and trying to set a new goal other than “just finish”. Thankfully, I was soon caught up by a fellow runner name Frank who chatted for a bit and told me he was having a bad day too. We talked about the previous year, which had been a PB for him as well, and it pulled me out of the headspace doldrums.
Still lacking a definite goal, I mostly decided to try and use the remaining five miles as to practice taking in Gatorade at water stations. It sounds ridiculous but I’ve never gotten the hang of taking in water at aid stations without slowing way down or walking. So I made that my new goal: figure out how to do this magic trick of drinking. Along the way, I felt surprisingly depleted and ended up taking several walk breaks. However, with the encouragement of fellow runners and some brief conversations along the way, I was back at the finish area and done!
I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed with how I ran. I didn’t have any significant issues coming into race day and felt primed for a good race. The day was overcast, cool-ish, and misty. It was very humid but that’s not unusual for Florida, perhaps a little warm for distance running. But, I can only take full blame for myself here. For whatever reason, I did not control my pace at the start. As a result of going 30-40″/mi over pace at the start, I wasn’t able to maintain form or keep my heart rate down. I was also the recipient of the “catch-up” effect. Instead of catching runners who were tiring, I was now the one being caught. And each new pass was a bit deflating. So, to learn from my own mistakes:
- Run your own race, pay no attention to the fast people;
- Start slow and build in to a tempo;
- Learn how to drink water while running for goodness sake; and,
- Stick with it even when the going is tough.
All-in-all, I still had a great day! I was stoked to learn some lessons the hard way, meet some new people, and be part of a great race atmosphere 🙂
After the finish, I grabbed my bags, skirted the massage tent line and headed straight for the free food! I kid you not when I say that you won’t find finish area food better than this. A pesto chicken salad with a serving of shrimp and grits was provided by Bud & Alley’s Restaurant and a free beer from local brewery, Grayton Beer rounded out an excellent fare. After finishing off my post-race treats, I loaded back up on the bike, schlepped back out, and made the journey back to the welcoming arms of my loving family 🙂
A little disappointed by my lack of self control but otherwise stoked to have another great year running in Seaside.
I’m excited for next year at the Seaside Half Marathon! I hope that the lessons I’ve learned this year will stick with me and show through with a new effort at going sub 1h30′ in Seaside. Until next year!
John Fielding 