2009 South Carolina Half

2009 South Carolina Half Race Report, by Jeff Caplan
October 4, 2009 — Greenwood, SC

This year marked the third straight year that I have done the SC Half.  Timing-wise, it hits the calendar at a perfect spot in prepping for Ironman Florida.  Additionally, it is a wonderful event that features a beautiful course and a strong group of volunteers.  I have PR’d there the last two years, but was not headed into the race with significant expectations.  I have had a number of business obligations this year that have kept me from training and racing to the degree I have the last few years.  My guess going into the race was that I should expect a time about 7-8 minutes slower than last year. 

On race morning we awoke to conditions that were very favorable for racing– cool (but not cold) temps and a lot of clouds.  The swim was a wetsuit swim in beautiful Lake Greenwood, and it went off without a hitch.  The course design provides you with quite a bit of room to operate, and even though it always seems a bit longer than 1.2 miles, it is really enjoyable.  I finished up the swim in 37 minutes, went through transition quickly, and then hit the bike course.  The bike course is truly rolling with few flat stretches but there are no major climbs.  Unless you want to stretch your legs a bit there are no reasons to get out of the saddle.  There were some decent ‘head breezes’ on the course that did seem to slow the bike pace over last year – my time was about a minute slower although my watts were higher.  I achieved my goal of increasing my watts in the second half versus the first half, and increased my pace as well.  By taking this approach, you typically give your body more time to absorb nutrition in advance of the run.

I finished the bike in 2:38 flat and moved through transition fairly quickly again.  I was excited to see that it was overcast on the run course, and took advantage of this as did the other race competitors – there were some people who were flying out there!  The sun did break through by mile four and the conditions quickly heated up, but by then I had gotten in a groove.  I managed to keep things rolling and by the time I had crossed the finish line in 5:13:29 I had a 2 ½ minute PR and a 7^th place finish in my age group.  It was very happy ride back to Atlanta!

As always, the SC Half had excellent organization.  Runners benefit from some of the best-stocked aid stations I have seen in a half, with gels, fruit, pretzels, and Endurolytes.  The race was quite a bit smaller this year due to its close proximity on the calendar with the new 70.3 race in Augusta, but that doesn’t change the quality of the event.  I look forward to being back in 2010.