Half Marathon Recap

I will probably also post this on my running blog, so for those of you that read both, if you read it here, there’s no need to move over to the other blog.

Anyways, it’s been a week since the half marathon, so I figured all the emotional stuff has passed and now I can recount the half a little more fairly.

First and foremost, Hope and Allison did awesome.  despite the questionable choice of Afghan food the night before the race (but it was so delicious!), they both finished in a respectable 2:32, only about two minutes from their goal (2:30).  I say only because it’s 13.1 miles and 2 minutes is easy to makeup or lose over the course of that many miles.

My race was OK.  I’ve been getting happier with it as the days have passed.  I ran 1:55, not a PR, and certainly not as quick as I’d have liked.  I’d like to run faster than 1:50 at some point, but considering the amount I’ve been able to run, 1:55 isn’t a bad time.  I only got two 10 mile runs in before the race also, and that’s just not enough to PR.  At any rate, 1:55 paid off in that I wasn’t so  sore.

This week I ran twice and got 11 in this morning for a total of 21 for the week.  Certainly a good recovery week with the exception of my running 11 today when it should have been more like 8.  What can I say, running is also a stress reliever.

Of course, immediately after the half, I was looking for another race.  I’m considering the OC half in april, but we’ll have to see what happens with school/thesis stuff.

Lake Arrowhead Triathlon

Well, I finished my first tri yesterday, and I think I may be hooked.  Competing against Scott definitely helped fuel this fire, and actually the true fuel may be the fact that he beat me really only because my T1 (transition between the swim and bike) was 50 seconds slower than his.  I will include exact race details later, but heck, I feel kind of robbed.  With that being said, triathlons are cool, really because of the fact that you have to transition between different disciplines and quick.  Anywho, the race actually went pretty well – I was 72 out of about 400-500 folks, and went a respectable 1:12:13.   Read more »

Falmouth Race Recap

Probably the best way to do this is just to go mile to mile with my thoughts and feelings. Al and I drove out from bourne, about a 20 min drive early that morning (5AM) to avoid any traffic because as with many coastal towns, there’s really only one way in and out, and nowhere near the total number of folks in the race (10,000) could be staying in Falmouth.
We shuttled out to the start line in woods hole at 8:15 with Jeff nervous that they’d already closed off all the roads. We made it to the start line no problem and hung out for about an hour and a half until the 10 AM race start. We attempted to watch the elite start, but got in trouble and sent to our start corral by no less than 3 race officials. After a quick bathroom stop, we got in our corrals with the other cattle and soon we were off.

Mile 1: Like in any race this large, the start was darn slow, but we were towards the front of the corral, things spread out within a minute or so. Jeff told me not to wait for he and Courtney, and as my goal time was a monte per mile faster than theirs, I obliged and took off at a comfortable feeling pace in the cool shade, not worrying about my pace and the fact that the first mile was mostly uphill.
Split: 7:23
Avg Heartrate: 161 (82% of max)

Mile 2: I started to get into a rhythm but I also felt a bit of a burn in my legs. That first mile had been a bit too quick especially with the hills. Mile 2 is also mostly uphill, but does have some downhill, all of it steep. I’m still feeling mostly good, though the way I’m breathing and any muscle burn is something to be concerned about this early in the race.
Split: 7:58
Avg heartrate: 173 (88% of max)

Mile 3/4: after mile 2 we pretty much emerge from the tree cover and are in direct sunlight. I know I’m going to suffer for blazing that first mile and the heat isn’t helping one bit. I decide that there will be no walking until mile 4, buy do slow my pace down a bit as I’m still breathing a little too hard. I walk through two water stations during mile 4 and pour the water down the back of my neck to prevent from overheating. I take my Gu at the beginning of mile 4 instead of at the end to try and prevent a serious bonk.
Splits: 8:36/9:11 – overall I’m still only a minute slower than goal after 4 miles.
Avg heartrates:170 (80%)162 (83%)

Mile 5: I suffer through mile 5 walking through a few water stations to try and get my engine to run on all cylinders, but my legs feel fairly blown out. I know the end is coming, so I try and rev myself up mentally to build miles 6 and 7.
Split: 9:42 (goodbye goal, hello pride)
Avg HR: 163 (83%)

Mile 6: I start feeling a bit better, bit just can’t get my legs going. My turnover has sucked for the pas few miles and my strides are way too short. I rally through with little to no walking thanks to Andy and a little Sweet Caroline.
Split: 9:19 (stride length is 9 in. Shorter than mile 1)
Avg HR: 168 (86%)

Mile 7: the last mile always passes by quickly and this one especially. I work on building through the mile
And try to accelerate up heartbreak hill and carry that into to final downhill and through the finish. It mostly works as I pass folks left and right across the finish.
Split: 8:44
Avg HR: 174 (89%)

Final official time: 1:01:57
Watch time: 1:01:49

+’s: nutrition mostly worked (but I need to eat beforehand), no pain, learned the course, no serious bonn.
-’s: missed goal healthily, splits were wacky bad, allowed stride to shorten too much too quickly, unconteolled first mile pace.

Overall I must admit, I had a ball. I think that my overall performance would have been much better had I not been training for a triathlon and as a result decreasing my running mileage to accomodate the increase in cycling and swimming. Also I was training to peak a week later (for the tri) so I really didn’t rest until the 2 days before the race.
I did have a ball and there’s always next year to correct my mistakes.