Donna Finish Breast Cancer Half Marathon

February 26, 2018

My race shirt, medal and bib

My third half marathon was one I had looked forward to for some time. I had learned that the Donna Finish Breast Cancer races were the largest Breast Cancer in America for raising funds for research and victim support. My wife had suffered from breast cancer for 14 years before going to be with the Lord eight months ago, so these type runs are a priority for me.

My last two half marathons left me with extremely sore knees, on the outside and back. I could run 10 miles with no issues, it was the last three that did it. But I could recover almost completely in 2-3 days. So I kept looking for advise on how to prevent this and had advise from a sports Dr. who recommended strength exercise for my hamstrings. So for the 4-5 weeks before I tried a routine of a couple of exercises and hoped it would help. I flew to Jacksonville, Fl three days before because I have two brothers there. We went to see Manatees one day and then went to the race expo.
The Donna Finish Breast Cancer Marathon weekend consists of five races; 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon and an ultra. The expo is said to be the largest expo in the country. I took advantage of an opportunity to be examined by a sports physiologist who after I explained how the 13 mile distance had affected my knees, did a strength assessment of my legs, hips and joints. He proclaimed that I was in better shape than most he examined and especially someone who was 54 years old. He thought one hip is slightly weaker than the other, but that was the only concern. His thinking is that since I train by running three times a week for 5-6 miles twice and 7-10 miles once per week, that I may be getting tired starting at around 10 miles and make running adjustments that hurt my hamstrings, leading to the knee soreness. His advice; do the strength training and log more runs over 10 miles.

Well, race morning, my brothers dropped me at the starting line with 7000 runners who were doing the half and whole marathon. They rode a bus to the finish line to wait on me. I joined the first wave of runners who were trying for an under two hour pace for the half an under four for the whole. The start included confetti canons with pink confetti and large crowds of spectators. A local channel covered the whole race with reporters at several locations and drones and even a helicopter.
7000 people running in pink clothes makes quite the spectacle. Watching a replay of the coverage, I spotted myself four times.
The first part of the course was through several beach communities and the crowds were amazing. Many people cheering, lots of kids with signs and unofficial water and snack stations. The crowds were in force almost the whole distance. It was a flat course but, rather cruelly I thought, at mile 11 we turned onto a larger road with a couple of serious humpback bridges and on-ramps. The weather had gotten very warm and humid and I was unsure if I could finish under two hours as I had on my previous half. I had really hoped to be at 1:50 or so and had a good start but the heat and humidity got me. One week before, I was running in a few inches of snow, so the heat was a big factor.
I finished at 1:59:30, so I met my goal but more important, the leg exercise must have payed off because my pain was a lot less this time and mostly my left knee. It cleared up in a couple days and I am back running 5 miles at a time in the week after the race.
I will keep up the leg strengthening and will be looking for another half this summer, if I find a really cool one. I am also getting the full marathon distance tickling the back of my brain. I will probably