3.20.2016 Ocean Drive
Marathon- Cape May, New Jersey
Background
Beth knows how to get me on board for a trip. She wanted to
go see her family in PA for Easter and mentioned that maybe there was a
marathon I could knock out as well. We already have PA but found that the Ocean
Drive Marathon in Cape May, New Jersey was logistically possible as an add-on
to the family holiday. I had already run and set a Personal Best in Houston in
2016 and had the OC marathon scheduled for the first of May but thought that I
could at the very least us Ocean Drive as a long run. Besides, it was a race I
had looked at doing when we lived in Maryland and had never gotten around to
running and Cape May looked like a fun place to visit even if the early season
weather could be a question mark.
Kidz Village
Travel and Logistics
We got into Newark airport without much drama- the kids are
pros at flying by now. The landing was a bit bumpy and I actually had the air
sickness bag at the ready but fortunately never had to use it. I had been
watching the weather over the week and it looked like it would be cold and
windy for the run at the least. There was also a late season Noreaster that may
or may not have an impact. We stayed just outside of Newark the first night
before heading down to Cape May. We chose this particular because it was
adjacent to a nifty indoor playground called Kidz Village. Mitch and Tasha
really enjoyed that place which was essentially a combination arcade, pizza
place, and play place. The highlight of our trip for Mitch seemed to actually
be the airport shuttles. He referred to the one on the ride to our first hotel
as a “couch car” and would talk about his ride in the couch car for weeks
after. Oh, the simple pleasures of being three.
We had a good time playing at Kidz Village and the hotel
stay was mostly fine with the exception of a late night (false) fire alarm that
had us waiting out in the cold for about a half hour. I took a shuttle over to
the airport to pick up the rental car the next day. “Make sure there is a
snowbrush in the car. We are expecting up to 10 inches tonight” said the lady
at the rental counter. Fun times lay
ahead for sure.
We had a Saturday drive to Cape May and eventually found the
convention center just off the boardwalk in Cape May. It was cold and extremely
windy on the coast but at least we hadn’t seen any snow. The hotel was just off
the course about a mile away from the starting line and about a block off the
beach. One I picked up my packet we headed back to the hotel to check in and
get dinner. At the expo I made the last minute decision to purchase tights and
was extremely glad I did on race day after seeing the red legs of those that
dared wear shorts.
My intended outfit- ugly yellow sweatshirt not pictured
The Race
I don’t have the splits from this race preserved but it
doesn’t really matter- my plan was essentially to use this race as a supported
Long Run and to both finish in the best possible shape that I could and without
jeopardizing my upcoming race in California at the beginning of May.
I got dressed in layers before the race with the tights and
three layers for shirt- a long-sleeved compression shirt, a standard long
sleeve technical shirt (courtesy of the Chambersburg half marathon) and an old
yellow sweatshirt that I intended to throw away once I got warm. I never got
warm so the shirt is now residing in Texas waiting, perhaps, for a future
opportunity to do its duty. I had an ill fitting cheap winter snow cap and ball
cap over it- again I had planned on maybe ditching the winter had but the
conditions never let me. I did, however, have to eventually throw the baseball
cap in a roadside trashcan as it kept getting blown off of my head.
The wind. That was something. The Ocean Drive marathon course
is a point to point so runners either always face the wind or always have it
constantly at their back depending on the conditions. On this day the wind was
not going to be giving us a nice push. As I walked to the starting line I heard
a scratching sound beside me and looked over to see the 1st mile
market blowing own the street. Yep, it was going to be a long day.
near the starting line
Official finish time was 4:34 and change. The scenery was
beautiful but I wouldn’t exactly call it a fun race to run. I hit the half
marathon mark in just a shade under 2 hours and then completely finished
fighting the wind. It didn’t really rain or snow much. I did get a little wet
but it was mainly from a bridge that where ocean water was coming over the
break wall. The only major hills were the causeway bridges.
This was my 20th marathon and I thought about
that quite a bit in the closing miles of the run. Twenty times I had stood at
the starting line since 1997 and twenty times I had crossed the finish. This
wasn’t one of my greatest days but it still gave me a good story to tell.
Wrapping up
As I neared the finish line I saw the family come into view.
I had thought about having the kids come out to finish with me if I was off
pace but Mitchell was clearly asleep and Tasha was as bundled up as possible
near the edge of the boardwalk. They had passed the time in the shops and on a
local playground and were ready to get in out of the cold and on the road.
Tasha loves the medal that has the “bird with real legs” although neither kid
was especially excited when I pointed out the snow on the drive north to PA.
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