30 Apr 2016 - Kentucky Derby Half Marathon

Have you ever been to the Kentucky Derby?  It is probably the most famous of all the horse races and if you haven't been I'm sure you've heard of it. They call it the fastest two minutes in sports.  Each year it kicks off the journey to the elusive triple crown and is an event people all over America schedule to watch.  They dress up, wear fancy hats, place bets and gather to watch horses make history.  When I heard there was a Kentucky Derby half marathon where you get to run on the infield of Churchill Downs, it was an easy choice for my Kentucky race. I don't know if my eyes will ever grace the track during the actual Derby so I thought this would come a close second. 

We arrived in Kentucky on Thursday and drove to our condo that was booked through Homeaway. The condo was in downtown Louisville and a short walk to where the race would start. We have learned that we enjoy staying at a condo or house instead of hotels and the price is usually cheaper or similar in cost.  They are typically quieter and it is nice to be able to cook our own food if we want to.  This condo was perfect for our stay.

  
Friday we visited the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. Seeing how the bats are made and watching a 90 mile per hour fastball were a couple thrills from the museum. It was also fun to test my speed at pitching a baseball (51 mph) and to hold the bat that Charley Pride used.  Charley Pride is one of my favorite singers.  Seems he was also a pretty good baseball player at one time.

Next we visited  Churchill Downs and took the barn and backside tour. It was impressive to see how big the facility is and to learn about all that goes on behind the scenes. We also visited the museum and ate at Wagners, a restaurant across the street where all the jockeys and horse trainers eat their meals. 

The race Expo was held at the Louisville Convention Center and was fun and well organized. In fact everything about this race was well organized.  This was one of the larger expos we've attended so plenty of bargains could be found among the vendors. After the expo we went to dinner at Olive Garden and I enjoyed my favorite pre-race meal; pasta in olive oil with chicken, salad and breadsticks.  

Race morning came early as we arose a little before 6am, got dressed and started the 15 minute walk to the start line. The weather forecast predicted thunder storms starting about 9am but the temps were in the low 60s so I figured shorts, short sleeve shirt, and a hat would do the trick. Julie wore a raincoat and Derby hat since she would be walking the course. The start area was well laid out and there were plenty of portapotties all over the place. This was a larger race with about 20000 participants. 

We were broken into corrals (A through ?) based on our expected finish time. I started in Corral B and was expecting to finish under 2 hours but mostly just wanted to enjoy the race and see the sights. I was especially excited to experience running through Churchill Downs.  I was also looking forward to seeing a little bit of Louisville Kentucky. 

The race started on time at 730am and the weather was nice but a bit humid. I sucked down a Clif shot mocha gel right before the start and felt good. I knew my first mile was good but I was shocked when I looked afterwards and saw it was at a 7:58 pace. In fact I ran the first 7 miles much faster than expected but wasn't really focusing on my pace. It just felt good to be out running in a race. It also helped that there were so many enthusiastic people cheering us on along the entire course.  In the first part of the run, we saw the Louisville Slugger Museum, a very large statue of Michelangelo's David and other sites in downtown Louisville. About mile 6 it started to rain. The rain felt great to me as it washed away the humidity and made running easier. 

Around mile 7, I started to slow down a bit. I'm not sure why other than it was raining and I was trying to just relish the race experience. Just after mile 8, at the water stop, I stopped and sucked down a Clif shot mocha gel. Once I started running again, Churchill Downs came into view and I started to get excited about running on the infield. We entered the facility and ran under the track and then out onto the infield. The views and excitement did not disappoint!  There were horses on the track and the large screen was all lit up. What a thrill it was to run and see all this. This was obviously the highlight of the race for me. Before I knew it we were headed back into the tunnel, under the track and back out toward mile marker 9. 

By now it was raining pretty good but I didn't care. I averaged about an 8:45 pace on miles 9 through mile 12 and wasn't really pushing the pace.  I don't really remember much of the scenery after Churchill Downs.  The last mile I pushed myself and ran my fastest mile of the race (7.54). After I crossed the finish line they hung my medal around my neck and state number 14 is in the books. My official time was 1:52:15 which makes this my second fastest half marathon. 

The finish area was great. They had plenty of after race snacks and a bluegrass band playing. I grabbed all I could carry, exchanged my beer coupon and stood under a bridge in the rain waiting for Julie.  It was actually fun to just stand there watching people coming in from the race while listening to the band. Julie accomplished her goal of making it to Churchill Downs and walking through the infield.  At about mile 9 she caught the sag wagon back to the finish area.  Considering she has a bad knee, I was really proud of her for going that far.  After the race we spend a couple days in Cincinnati visiting family.  It was great to see everyone and enjoy some Skyline Chili!

Here are the details and Strava link for my race:

• Finish time: 1:52:15
• 14th state I have completed at a half marathon in
• Age group (Men 55-59): 48th out of 348 [top 13.8 percent]
• Men: 983rd out of 4,217 [top 23.3 percent]
• Overall: 1,345th out of 10,428 [top 12.9 percent]

 


What's next for me:  We are now into triathlon season so half marathons are on hold until later in the year.  Here are my tentative race plans:

June 26 - Boulder Sunrise Sprint Triathlon
July 24 - TriBoulder Olympic distance triathlon
August 13 - USA Triathlon Nationals Omaha Ne - Olympic distance
August 27 - Boulder Sunset (distance TBD)