Taking It Easy: Mackinac Island Great Turtle Half Marathon

The “book” says that runners are supposed to take a bit of a break after a marathon. Of course, I don’t read as much as I should, and I have a bad habit of demanding way more of my body than I probably should. Given the rather nasty condition in which I found my right foot after the Detroit marathon, I didn’t run again until Thursday. I had an okay 3-mile run; it wasn’t really anything spectacular, but I got through it.

22 October: 3 miles, 28:58, 9:39.2/mile

The next day, I headed off to Mackinaw City to get ready for the Mackinac Island Great Turtle half marathon. The weather was miserable all day, but I still made fairly decent time. Along the way, I picked up another bottle of hand sanitizer.

Remember how we talked about hand sanitizer in a previous blog entry, and I told you that it didn’t do much good, and that you would learn more about that soon. Just wait for it.

The weather was so bad in Mackinaw City that I couldn’t get a ferry out to the island to get my race packet. So, I settled into my room, picked up dinner at BC Pizza, and rested up for the next day’s race.

I got to the ferry dock early on Saturday morning and enjoyed an easy trip out to the island. Once safely ashore, I walked down to the Mission Point Resort and waited for the opportunity to pick up my bib and my friend Kenzi’s. After bibs were got, and while I was getting my number pinned to my shirt, Kenzi arrived with her boyfriend fiancé Jon close behind. Kenzi then showed me the reason why I’m able to use the fancy feature to strike through earlier text in this paragraph.

Dear Kenzi and Jon,

Yay! Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Darrell

After getting a snack, we chilled out for a while before meeting up with Kenzi’s family and then hitting the course. Our races started in different places, so I stayed put while everyone else moved to the start line for the 5.7-mile race. I didn’t stay put for long, because the race got underway. The first 2.5 miles or so were super easy. The course was nice and flat, and I was cruising. When we turned left to enter the middle of the island, we started uphill. We kept going uphill, too, for the next 33 miles.

*sigh*

Okay, I lied. We didn’t go uphill for the next 33 miles, as the race was only a half marathon, and we had already covered 2.5 miles when the climb began. It just seemed like 33 miles, for several reasons.

1. I had run a marathon 6 days before this race.

2. I think I had inadvertently been taking my old blood pressure medication for a couple days.

3. I felt really, really tired, and not in the “I ran a marathon this week” sort of way.

Think about the hand sanitizer sub-plot.

Somewhere around the 5-mile mark, there was a rather sharp incline. After pondering how it was possible that the climbing could become more intense, I asked myself what I thought about running up that hill.

Darrell: What do you think? Do you want to run up that hill?

Darrell: No way.

So, I didn’t. After all, I was there to enjoy being on Mackinac Island, to celebrate my marathon by going to a resort community (in less-than-ideal conditions), and to formally put paid to my 2008 hamstring injury by finishing the longer version of the race I missed. In other words, I was there to have fun. Running up that hill was not going to be fun, so I didn’t. For the next 4 miles, I ran when I wanted, and walked when I wanted, and generally enjoyed myself.

Around the 9-mile mark, my race strategy changed. I encountered Kelley, a runner who was working on her first-ever half marathon. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to be having the best race day. She wasn’t feeling quite so well, and the friend who had been running with her had left her behind. Since she wasn’t feeling well, and I was in no hurry, I told her that I’d stay with her for the remainder of the race.

And I did.

Those of you who know me know that I have a bit of a competitive streak, even when I’m not in competition. It’s one of my blessings and one of my curses. Even though I wasn’t really racing, it had not been my original plan to make it a leisurely stroll, either. Sometimes, though, things are more important than finishing a race in an acceptable amount of time. What’s the real benefit of my finishing a half marathon about which I don’t care if someone else perhaps doesn’t finish that same race? For the record, there is only one right answer to that question. Whether you’re bringing up the rear, running away with the race, or somewhere in the middle, no race, and no time, is so important that a runner having a potentially serious health problem should be left to cope with her/his problem alone.

Kelley turned out to be a lot of fun. I think we would have enjoyed the chat way more if one of us hadn’t been feeling pretty blech. We took a break at the last water stop, 2.6 miles from the finish. After the break, we stretched and made our way to the finish. I stayed with her the rest of the way, crossed the finish line with her, and then ensured that she got to her parents. When it was all said and done, I could honestly say that it was the best race result I had ever enjoyed.

Dear Kelley,

Not that many folks are capable of finishing a half marathon. Be proud.

Sincerely,

Darrell

The rest of the day was a blast. I met another first-time half marathon finisher after the race; she and I had both traveled alone, so we decided to have dinner together. We traded contact information, and then headed to our respective rooms to shower and get warm before dinner. I walked back to the ferry dock and decided to go ask the staff when the next boat would leave for Mackinaw City. As I approached the staff, one of them picked up the microphone and announced the following:

“Last call! The 3:25 special for Mackinaw City will be leaving in two minutes!”

I happily scurried to the ramp and entered the boat. Much to my surprise, Kenzi’s family were on the ferry, so I had friends with whom to visit. Another very nice group of folks sat closer to each other so that I would have a place to sit. Kenzi’s family told me that I had something delicious to anticipate, as Kenzi had picked up some fudge for me.

Dear Kenzi,

That was awesome; thank you!

Sincerely,

Darrell

I got to my room, showered, noted that Alabama were winning against Tennessee, then headed back out to wander a bit before having dinner with Tracy.

Dear Tracy,

Congratulations, you ran your first half marathon! Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Darrell

After dinner, I stopped at the hotel front desk, where I had a package waiting for me. If you suspected that it was the fudge Kenzi had picked up for me, you should pat yourself on the back. While I was at the front desk, the manager’s  daughter was talking about her anticipated Halloween costume; she planned to be a zombie fairy. Unfortunately, she wasn’t entirely well versed on the proper method of walking like a zombie. I gave her a couple of lessons. Eventually, I went back to my room, only to hear a knock at the door a few moments later. When I answered the door, it was the manager’s daughter. She had been nice enough to whip up a little gift bag for me to thank me for staying. She had put a bag of lollipops in a nice canvas tote for me.

By this time in the evening, I was starting to feel a little bit under the weather. By Sunday morning, I pretty much knew I was sick. I had a nasty case of influenza, and ended up missing a few days of work. I guess my body really, really wanted to get some rest, and it made sure I didn’t have a choice.