Pirates on the Horizon
Pirates are definitely on my horizon. For this weekend, I am heading to the NC coast to run the Flying Pirate ½ marathon on the Outer Banks.
This will be my 2nd major race in 2 weeks. Last weekend, I was in Chapel Hill running the Tar Heel 10 miler and was fortunate to win the USAT&F 10 miler Master's NC Championship. This weekend, I will attempt to pick up the ½ marathon Master's NC Championship.
Yesterday evening, I was reading an email from the race organizers. At first, I thought I was reading the email incorrectly but on a 2nd reading, it confirmed what I thought.
The Flying Pirate race course uses the first ½ of the OBX marathon. For some reason, I had been working under the assumption that the Flying Pirate course would use the 2nd half of the OBX course rather than the 1st half.
This only made sense to me. Finishing a race in downtown Manteo was wonderful experience for the OBX marathon. With the Flying Pirate finishing in a small park surrounded by neighborhoods it just seems out of character. Runners will have to be shuttled to the finish parking area or if runners parked at the start, they are shuttled to the finish and then on to the starting area.
Also finishing a major ½ marathon with 2 ½ miles dirt road and ½ mile in single track trail was a surprise. But it is what it is.
I am familiar with the route so I don't expect any surprises. If my legs decide to show up, they took last weekend off after mile one. I should be able to run a decent time – in the 1:17 range.
On the runner front, I found out that John Piggot a Masters Runner from VA will be running this weekend as well. Looking at his times for this year, we should be pretty evenly matched. I am looking forward to the challenge.
Thoughts of the Cool Down Runner
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