Detroit Free Press 2013 Half Marathon

The motto for this year's Detroit Free Press Marathon/Half Marathon/ Relay/ 5K is "You Can Do This!" While I appreciate the encouragement from the race organizers, I'm still panicking- especially because there is a freaking COUNTDOWN on their home page until the start of the race. We're looking at... 5 months, 25 days, 21 hours, 26 minutes and 2 ...1 second... you get the picture.

I'm really hoping that I can survive this run- especially since it looks like I'm doing this one alone (note: if you're reading this, PLEASE COME WITH ME!!). I can't sucker any of my running friends into doing this with me, and Jim just laughs and changes the subject when I ask him about it (fair enough- that's my reaction when he starts talking about molding).

Race organizers "strongly discourage" using headphones or personal listening devices during the race, but it's not prohibited. My iPhone will be strapped to my arm- and kept at a reasonable level, of course. How can you run without music?!

Also on the race's website, there is a section dedicated to what every person wants to know, "How long do I have to complete the race?" People, they have this paced out- if you can't keep up, you're toast- or at least told to hurry up, or have the race end on you before you cross the finish line. Now, for the half-marathon, they're giving us 4 hours. That's 3 miles an hour, or an 18-minute mile. I'm currently running my 2 miles in just over 20 minutes, at about a 11:30 mile. I think I should be ok, but again, that's only 2 miles. I have to keep up for 13 long-ass miles. There's a chart of what your time should be by landmark:

• At Mile 1.9 (Bridge Entrance)- hit it by 7:57 AM
• At Mile 4.1 (Bridge Exit) - hit it by 8:39 AM
• At Mile 6.9 (Tunnel Entrance)- hit it by 9:26 AM
• At Mile 8.1 (Tunnel Exit) - hit it by 9:52 AM
• At Mile 10.8 (Mexicantown)- hit it by 10:41 AM
• At Mile 13.1 (Finish Line)- hit it by 11:24 AM

 No pressure, just hit those landmarks by the assigned time, and all will be just peachy. Holy crap.

Last year's map, which is apparently the same for this year's course.

And as you continue reading the website, you learn or remember that the BRIDGE IS UPHILL- at least one way. And the tunnel entrance/exits are uphill, too.

Things that I've learned about the Ambassador Bridge that I could have done without knowing:

• The bridge is 7500 ft. long (1.43 miles long).
• The bridge rises to 152 ft. above the Detroit River.
• Throughout the span of the bridge, there is allegedly no more than a 5% grade at any given time. I say allegedly, because many past runners argue this and say that the grade has to be worse, as this portion of the run blows.
• Many runners say that you reach this part of the race as the sun is rising over the water, and it's the best view of the entire day. I hope I make it to the bridge before sunrise..!

Things about the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel I learned which surprised me a bit:

• The tunnel is 5160 ft long (just shy of a mile)
• At its lowest point, the tunnel is 45 ft under water.
• The tunnel is only 22 feet wide, so its going to be crowded as hell.
• There are 574 lights in the tunnel. I bet only half are working on race day.
• 1.5 million cubic feet of fresh air is pumped into the tunnel every minute. So that's a plus.
• My GPS will likely cut out during this portion of the run, which sucks. OK, this one didn't surprise me, as I've driven through the tunnel before, but it makes me a little frustrated.
• The only frequency that can be read in the tunnel is a Windsor AM station (CKLW 800), and a Detroit AM station (WJR 950). Both stations ran dedicated lines in the tunnel to ensure drivers could hear their stations. 
• The entrance/exits to the tunnel are cited as "very steep" and "worse than the bridge" in degree of grade and difficulty. Awesome.

In addition to training to run 13.1 miles, I have to train for periods of hills, crowds, and of course potholes- Detroit is famous for them. I'm not quite sure if I'm more excited or more scared of this course.