NODM, otherwise known as The North Olympic Discovery Marathon. Which is held out here on the Olympic Peninsula every June.
Was to be my first half marathon, but turned out to be my third. NODM is based here in my home town, so how can one say no to participating in something in their backyard?!? The time of year alone screams for you to get outside. The race is a large event for our town, and is organized and ran well by the community.
Another plus to this race, I have ran nearly the entire half marathon course a few times. As well as half of it close to a hundred times. This would be my first race, where I was very familiar with the course. Which turned out to not only relax me on race day, but gave me a def confidence boost.
The half marathon starting line began near a community soccer field, surrounded by a few houses and farmland…with a beautiful view of the Olympic National Park. There were shuttle buses that runners had an option to catch to the 10k, half and full marathon starting lines. Which was really nice to have the option to use, I was able to just hitch a ride into town, walk to the bus stop, get on and relax.
Starting line area, we all lined up, listened to opening announcements from race officials, then waited for the gun to go off. Waiting the few minutes for the gun/horn to go off wasnt to hard. Lots of friendly runners around to chat with, as well as HOLY VIEW. From the mountain range, to the farmland around us. The sun and fog beginning to lift…needless to say there was lots of distraction from wanting the start to just happen.
Gun went off and we started to run. The beginning of the course was flat and nice, twisting along farmland and near old olympic hwy. Lined with runner’s families, friends and our awesome community supporters cheering everyone on. After two small hills, the course turned and we began running on just the olympic discovery trail…lined with trees..no cars to see. Which I really enjoyed. Its nice to run along and see all sorts of birds, flowers etc.
By mile 4-5, most of the runners had thinned out, into a spaced out line. We all plugged along. I chose not to listen to music during this race. So it was kinda fun to run along, being passed or passing people and listening to various conversations, pep talks, grunts and cheers. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It also helped that nearly every few miles, there were water/aid stations. Volunteers stood around and lined the trail, cheering and passing out drinks as we passed. Even though I have my hydro vest on, and declined the drinks. It was still nice to get the five highs and cheers as I passed.
The day was fairly toasty as the morning wore on, so as we neared the water, I think a lot of us cheered! The last 5 miles of the race, runs along the water. So not only are you being cooled down by the sea breeze, but the view will distract you! From the seals, otters and bald eagles, to the ships in our port and Coast Guard helicopter flying by. Lots to keep your mind busy and look at as you run.
Nothing beats coming around the corner, seeing the crowd on both sides of the trail and the finish line. I think mentally I was telling myself “dont fall….dont fall! keep going, focus on the finish line, dont spaz out!”. Once across the finish line, you are surrounded by race volunteers handing you drinks, giving you a medal and walking you to the bag drop area to claim your bag. Honestly all of that was a blur, because I found for me, right after a long run, Im still fairly zoned out, my body still feels like its running. I remember being really thankful for all the volunteers to tell me what to do and show me where things were. That rocked!
Once medal and drop bag were claimed, I wandered over to the live music and food tent. The spread at the food tent was INSANE. From the basic bagels and fresh fruit, to assortment of muffins, croissants, nuts, pretzels, different cookies and spreads…as well as different drinks. So many choices! Which for this lady was not only fun, but helpful. I met up with my twins and husband and took the twins to get a few snacks from the tent. They loved getting to choose what they wanted. My family and I enjoyed the snacks and the live music was really fun and festive to listen and dance too.
My goal for this race was to keep a steady pace, so that when I approached a hill, I could slow, run up it, recover if needed, and then gain speed again. I knew there would be at least two points of the race where I would stop and walk the hill portion. I was ok with doing that, and planned on making up the time lost, during the flat parts of the race. My personal goal (because lets be honest, we all have them) was to cross the finish line at least at 2:30. My last official half marathon race I received the time of 2:35, so coming in at 2:30 I thought was a safe goal to have. This race I came in at 2:15. Looking back over my splits after the race. I saw that I ran the first 3-4 miles way to fast. And by mile 4-5, I was going a lot slower then I have in months. However from mile 6 on to the finish line I was able to recover and maintain an even pace. Lesson learned- slow down at the beginning! resist the urge to go with the flow of runners!
Looking forward to next years race…debating on if 2015’s race will be the full marathon race for me…it being my first, I think it could be a perfect fit 🙂
Seelife3D 