Mobile Half-Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 20; 1st Edition
13.1 miles run in 2025 races
Race: Mobile Half-Marathon
Place: Mobile, AL
Miles from home: 1176 miles
Weather: 43 degrees, 76% humidity, windy

Took 3 tries. But I got Alabama done.

In December, I was scheduled to run a half-marathon in Alabama as I attempt to run a half-marathon and a marathon in every state before I turn 50 (in May of this year.  Egads.)  As I am on the tarmac to fly to New Orleans to then make a drive to Alabama I get an email telling me the race is canceled because of flooding. I land in NO, get right back on the flight I flew in on, and went back home. They rescheduled the race for two weeks later. I booked my flight. Then on the Tuesday before the race they rescheduled it again for January because they did not have the police to handle the traffic for the race.

First one is on Mother Nature. Second one is on the race. They had to know this wasn't going to work. So I bailed on that race altogether. That meant I was going to have a busier than expected 2026. Fortunately, I found a rare weekend open and booked myself the Mobile Half-Marathon.

This race used to be called the First Light Marathon and benefited an organization where people with disabilities live and work in a home with those who don't. It just so happened to be the organization that I raised $43,000 for in 2006 running 52 consecutive weekly marathons. I ran it again in 2010 as I ran back to back marathons on the same weekend. And then I haven't been back to Mobile since. Life is funny like that.

Fortunately, this time the weather and all associated traveled to get to Mobile went smoothly and I arrived in Mobile with time to spare. That allowed me to indulge in a little bit of driving. You see, along with my goal of trying to run a marathon and a half mile in every state I have other little side goals that I’ve been working on that I incorporate to my travels. Namely, I’m trying to visit every county in the United States. So when I get somewhere with a little bit of time to kill, I usually take the less convenient but more expedient way to drive through as many different counties as possible. I didn’t want to spend an entire day in the car the day before this race, but I knew I could knock out a few counties with a little hour and a half drive. So I called my aunt to wish her a happy birthday and had two more counties under my belt by the time I got back home.

 

Then I had an extraordinarily stressful evening watching my favorite Chicago Bears somehow pull off a miraculous comeback victory, which kept me up later than I would’ve liked and well into the night as I continued to think about it. But I got some good sleep, and found myself ready to go.

Race Morning:

 

I had the foresight to find an Airbnb that was just mere blocks away from the start and finish. It was so close in fact that I left there with 15 minutes before the race got outside decided to use my own bathroom in the Airbnb again. I did my business before once again heading to the starting line. I still got there with plenty of time to spare, but interestingly ran into a guy on the way who said “Do you know where the marathon start is?” I pointed in the direction we were heading and he said "Are we supposed to register for this beforehand?”

 

I told him that he might still have time, but he would have to hurry. I looked at my watch and it was 7:18 AM. He had 12 minutes to register and get ready. That’s cutting it close! It boggles my mind people who will hopefully put in the correct effort to train for a race, but not know when they have to sign up for it!

I sauntered down to the starting line and was happy for the chilly weather, even if it was a bit windy. I had designs on running a 1:36:14 half-marathon because that would be my 99 fastest half marathon ever. After starting running again in June, I have been patient with my recovery and building strength and slowly getting faster. But at the same time I have been impatiently wanting to at least get my finish times to be in the double digits when it came to overall personal times. Wasn’t quite sure I had that in me just yet as that would be a nearly four minute drop off my previous personal best for my new knee, but I was going to give it a go.

First 5K:

 

One of the many inconveniences of my knee surgery and recovery is, I have lost a lot of my ability to

know exactly the pace I am running and whether it is the pace that I want to be running for that race. I used to have a metronome inside me that would tell me what was going on. Now I don’t know if I’m running too fast or too slow. My first couple of half marathons back my first mile was way too fast and I could kind of tell, but I didn’t know how fast. This one felt fast but felt controlled. It ended up kind of being in between what I was usually used to running and what I wanted to run today, which was 7:20 minute mile. It did take a little bit of energy and I was hoping it was a little faster, but I rolled with it when I saw a 7:12 on my watch. The next mile was even a little bit faster at 7:11. That mile felt good as I felt like I wasn't working too hard.  But I immediately slowed down, trying to get back closer to my goal pace, not wanting to blow up later in the race. 

The wind was swirling, and it was hard to tell which direction it would be blowing at any given time. You’d turn a corner with the wind directly in your face, and it somehow would still be hitting you head-on. Nothing too bad, but not helping. We rounded the corner near a cemetery and ran under some moss- covered tree-line streets, which were absolutely lovely. There were a few spectators out in this neighborhood and their involvement was appreciated. I hit the 3rd mile in the 7:28 which was disappointing because I felt like I had slowed down, but not that much. 

 

To the 10k:

 

As we continue to do a couple of little out and backs in the neighborhood, I was appreciating that we had a lot of long straightaways in this race. I really like being able to just sit into my run and not have to think about turns or anything. I knew the longest straightaways lay ahead so I was bidding my time waiting to get to them, I felt like I was working but not too hard. My fourth mile gave me a 7:24 which felt reasonable.  In the next mile, I began to hear the loud WHOMP WHOMP of a runner behind me.  As I haven't raced much in the past few years, I was unable to prove what I had heard about may of the new super shoes that are out there.  Not that they help performance, which they do (and who cares) but rather that they were so damn loud. I couldn't shake the guy behind me and right after the fifth mile, which I ran in 7:25, I let him go bye. Sure enough, super shoes.


But now I was on the long straightaway of Government Street and I was ready to turn on the jets.  If that meant I ha to run with SuperWhomper, than so be it.  But in spite of my desires, nothing happened with my leg.  My 6th mile was a 7:37, my slowest of the day.  Determined not to let time slip away, I gritted my teeth and quickened my pace.

Onto 10 miles:

This drive to run faster netted me a 7:26 for my 7th mile and I felt like the ship had been righted. We left Government Street onto OLD Government Street (this just made me laugh) and I could see the Super Whomper had put no more distance betwene us.  I also hadn't closed the gap. We turned a little bit later onto a slow small uprising of a hill and I could feel myself slowing.  Sure enough by the time I hit me 8 I had run a 7:40.  Right here is where we can see the fast fast runners heading back towards us. Knowing I will soon be heading in the direction of the finish almost ALWAYS lights a fire under me.  A 7:35 for the ninth mile wasn't a fire per se but I knew if I pack at my pace for the 10th mile, I would have a shot to really turn it on in the last 5k and still eke out a 1:36:xx.

We did a little one block circleback and then began heading home. Not long after this I noticed an older woman who was not too far behind me. Sure enough, 62 year old Mary Trufant set a new state record for 60 and older with a time of 1:42:28! Holy crap!

 

I figured this would spur me on and as it hit the tenth mile, I looked t my watch: 7:46.  My slowest mile of the day. Drats. 

 

Bring it Home to Finish:

That's ok. I have had lulls before and made up for it. Today would be one of those days. Since Super Whomper, who I can barely see in the distance, had passed me at mile 5, I had neither caught anyone or had anyone else pass me. As we ran down Dauphin Street, which was ridiculously desolate of both traffic, spectators, and any other noise, I was all by myself. No one to contend with. No one to draft off of. No one to drag me along. No one to chase. No problem. So many of my races have been like this. I try my best to rely off internal motivation. And that netted me a 7:41.

 

Finally, I heard some footsteps and a runner passed me.  Someone had a sign that said "Run Like You Stole Something" and I pretend to steal their sign.  Sill things like this usually spur me on. But as a few other footsteps came into my ears, my effort results in another 7:41.

Most of my time goals were now out the window so I just wanted to make sure I didn't twist an ankle, get a cramp, or trip and fall. A few runners did indeed go by me but more than half of them were running the marathon.  (The course for them was two loops of this course I was on. Right now I can't imagine doing another 13 miles.) 

 

I passed the 13th mile at 7:40 and laughed. I basically had run the exact same time for six miles. I saw the finish clock ahead and although it was disappointing, I realized if I hoofed it, I could beat my previous new knee PR by a minute.  

 

So, I did.

I finished 21st overall in a time of 1:38:55. This is only my 112th fastest half-marathon, nestled right in amongst a bunch of times where I was doing something silly which would make times slow (like six in six days in six states). But it was a new PR, nonetheless.

Now I don't have another half-marathon until March.That will be after my final state marathon on February 28th in North Carolina. Right now, I feel massively under-prepared for 26.2 miles but I still have 7 weeks to go and a 30k race in between now and then.