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Race report: New River Half Marathon (Read 81 times)

zonykel


    I ran the New River Half Marathon yesterday, May 4, 2013. It was a tough, hilly course. The chip time was 1:50:42, which was a little bit slower than my PR back in January, where I ran on a flat course in 1:50:20. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to PR in this course, so it was good to see this result.

     

    Below are the mile splits (I pressed "lap" on my GPS every time I hit a mile marker):

     

    <colgroup><col width="82" /> <col span="2" width="64" /></colgroup>
    Mile Marker GPS Split
    1 1.17 9:54
    2 2.15 8:48
    3 3.09 8:24
    4 4.09 8:36
    5 5.15 9:32
    6 6.09 7:56
    7 7.15 8:19
    8 8.13 7:52
    9 9.11 9:23
    10 10.10 7:52
    11 11.05 7:35
    12 12.08 8:06
    13.1 13.21 8:24

     

    Below, you can see the elevation of the course (I didn't realize were already at nearly 3,000 ft above sea level at the start. To be honest, I don't think this type of altitude had an impact).

    Elevation

     

    And for those who want to see the grade, here is the picture:

    Grade

     

    Mile 1: It was relatively flat. I didn't want to start too fast, since I knew there were some hills up ahead. The mile marker was poorly placed, since the GPS read 1.17 miles at this point. Split 9:54.

     

    Mile 2: We had over 200 ft of elevation in this mile. What a rough intro to this race. Split 8:48.

     

    Mile 3: Part uphill and mostly downhill. Still taking it easy on the pace. Split 8:24.

     

    Mile 4: Mostly downhill and trying not to shred my legs on the downhill. Split 8:36.

     

    Mile 5: I hit a rough patch mentally at the end of this mile. The hills are getting to me and I start questioning my preparation. I walk for a few seconds to catch my breath. Split 9:32.

     

    Mile 6: This mile has some up and downs, but it's mostly downhill. Something happens mentally at this point. I stop feeling sorry for myself, and unconsciously, start going faster. Split 7:56.

     

    Mile 7: More up and downs in this mile. I'm starting to settle down. Split 8:19.

     

    Mile 8: Another difficult mile with ups and downs. Split 7:52.

     

    Mile 9: Probably the toughest mile for me in this race. I had to walk 3 times in the steep uphill to catch my breath. Another runner close to me is doing the same thing. We're leapfrogging each other as we progress. Split 9:23.

     

    Mile 10: Once we're done with the last hill, I decide to go as fast as I can, but with something that I'm comfortable. This mile was mostly downhill. Split 7:52.

     

    Mile 11: As I get closer to the finish line, I just target the next runner ahead of me to pass him/her. After that one, do it again. Split 7:35.

     

    Mile 12: I continue to go as fast as I can. Thankfully, I didn't mess up my legs in those downhills. Split 8:06.

     

    Mile 13.1: I pass as many runners as I can and finish as fast as I can. Split 8:24

     

    Overall, there was much to be learned from this race. For one, I shouldn't really target hilly races if I don't have access to hills in training (I live in the "Low Country" and this race was in the "High Country"). Second, I didn't mentally prepare. I was kicking myself early in the race. The good thing is that I was able to get past that low point before the half-way mark.

     

    And for the goodies: I though the t-shirt (it was cotton) was pretty good. The medal, if you can call it that, was a magnet (many people expressed their disappointment with it). Below is a picture with both:

    Tshirt and medal

    old-runner


      Good job on the New River Half Marathon! I ran it in 2011 and 2012. I ran 18 half marathons last year and it was the toughest of any of them.

       

      It's pretty amazing you were able to run it about the same as your PR... I was about 10 minutes slower than on most other courses. It probably means you're quite a bit faster than you were in January!

      GinnyinPA


        That is a pretty shirt!  Nice.

         

        Congratulations!  Running hills in a race is different from running hills in training.  You did really well to complete the race at a pace similar to your last, flatter race.  I hope you're not hurting too much afterwards.

        heelgrad92


          My coach ran the full, and he took a video of the hill at mile 16 that is just brutal.

            Nice work zonykel! You're way fitter than in January, that's for sure...now will you cash in on it with some shorter distance pr's?

              Nice work on handling the hills. Your slowest split was the first mile and not on any of the uphills. (recognizing there could be errors in the data) Looks like most of the course was less than 5% slope. That should give you some decent learning experience for racing on hills. Congratulations.

              "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog
              runnerclay


              Consistently Slow

                Congrats. Great time on a hilly course. I ran the full in 2011. How weill I remember the unexpected gravel hill.

                Run until the trail runs out.

                 SCHEDULE 2016--

                 The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                unsolicited chatter

                http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

                zonykel


                  Nice work zonykel! You're way fitter than in January, that's for sure...now will you cash in on it with some shorter distance pr's?

                   

                  Not sure. I'm starting another training cycle next week, so it depends on what races are available (not this weekend, but maybe the one after). We'll see how I feel.

                   

                  Nice work on handling the hills. Your slowest split was the first mile and not on any of the uphills. (recognizing there could be errors in the data) Looks like most of the course was less than 5% slope. That should give you some decent learning experience for racing on hills. Congratulations.

                  The first mile was an aberration because the mile marker was poorly positioned (the GPS read 1.17 miles. The error is larger over this mile than over the entire course when compared to the GPS reading. The actual pace for this marker was about 8:27 min/mile).

                   

                  You're probably right about the max slope. I know from the treadmill that once I hit 7-7.5% uphill, it's too much for me to handle for a prolonged period. I don't think I hit that kind of slope during the race.