Summary

My final time was 1:45:58. I finished 283/4665 overall and 24/235 in age group.

Training

I was having a great training cycle going through mid-October. I had 9 long runs of 10+ miles including 4 of 13 miles. My easy pace was around 8 and was getting ready to hit the final stretch in my training and nail a new half marathon PR. My training came to a stop though after my long run on October 13. I had a jabbing pain in the middle of my left calf. I thought I strained a muscle. I took two weeks off and try to start again on the 29 because the pain seemed to almost go away. These runs never seemed to feel right. After a few very short runs that week which totaled 7 miles, I stopped again on November 3. This time I went to doctor. First, they tested me for a torn calf muscle. It came back negative. Next, they tested me for a blood clot. I, reluctantly, did the test because it came back negative in July. This time it came back positive on November 14. I had a blood clot since July. They sent me to the emergency room where I was given a blood thinner shot and a prescription for blood thinners. I asked when I could start back running and the ER doctor said I could what I felt capable. I ran 2 miles the 14thand 2.5 miles the 15th. At this time I felt like I could do the 5k in Tulsa. I had already given up on the HM. There was no way that after running only 11.5 miles in 30 days that I would be up to 13.1 miles. The calf seemed to be almost completely healed by the 18th. I turned a planned 4 mile run into 6. On the 20th I turned a planned 5 mile run into 7. They both felt good and I decided that I could probably gut it out and finish the half.

Race

I went into the race with a revised goal of 1:45. Honestly, I was expecting closer to 1:52. I knew I could hold an 8:00 pace for around 8 miles, but I was thinking I would have to slow it down to 9:30 for the final 5 miles. I lined up a little behind the 8:00 marker in the corral. I wanted to make sure I didn’t start out too fast. I knew that most people run the start faster than they should so I started out a little farther back that my goal. The first mile was downhill and felt very easy. The first mile to 7:52 I was right on target.

Miles 2 – 7. These miles were full of small rolling hills. I am not used to dealing with this type of run. I did the best I could. There were small and the biggest one was a little over 100 feet on mile 5. Although there were a few times I wanted to slow it down, I refused to lose the mental battle here. The uphills felt a little tougher than they should. It was probably because of my lack of training. I would pick up the pace a little and rest on the downhills. My left calf got a little tight at about mile 3 from the ruminates of the blood clot, but it stayed manageable throughout the race. My paces in this section were 7:53/7:58/7:53/8:11/7:50/7:45.

Miles 8 – 11. This second was near the river and very flat. It was slightly downhill. This part was very tough for me. It was not only beyond my training for the last month, but it was so boring. There was nothing to see. There also seemed to be fewer bystanders to keep me going. Mentally, I had a hard time trying to avoid slowing down too much here. I did slow a little starting in mile 10 and had to start gutting it out. Mile 10 is about where I felt like I reached the wall. I just started thinking there was less than 3 miles to finish I could do it. Miles 8 – 11 were 7:56/7:59/8:12/8:10.

Mile 12 – 13.  A hill which started at mile 11.5 miles and lasted until 12.5 nearly broke my spirit. There was a steep hill going into downtown. I had nothing left to give. About half way up the hill some of the people started walking. I wanted to join them. After going about three-fourths up the hill, I started thinking “I bet it will be downhill once I reach the top of this baby. Just keep it going. You can finish strong.” Mile 12 was my slowest mile of the day at 8:20. I also know while heading up that hill that 1:45 wasn’t makeable. I just wanted to finish at this point. After I reached the top of the hill, I ran easy long enough to regain my spirit. Then, I ran a little stronger towards the finish. I also started focusing on trying to catch people as opposed to the pain. Mile 13 was 8:04.

File .25 miles per Garmin – I didn’t kick much at the end. I tried to catch a few people, but I wasn’t in any time of shape for a full kick. I passed about 5 or 6 people and actually got “chicked” right at the end. My pace for the final .25 was 7:12.

Results

My final time was 1:45:58. I finished 283/4665 overall and 24/235 in age group. Considering the fact that I missed a month of training, I feel like it was a very solid time. It wasn’t close to my original goal of 1:35, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. I am just lucky the blood clot didn’t move and cause serious problem. I was also lucky that it was diagnosed in time for me to run the race. This trip was as much about having a good time with my running friends anyway, and I had a great time in Tulsa.

A) It was 23 degrees. First cold front of the year. My training runs were all 70+ degrees.

B) That is not a sweatshirt, but a running jacket.

C) If I were doing race pace, then I would have dressed a little lighter. I was basically running at my easy pace; therefore, I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

I gotta start with this.  How in the world were you not completely burning up wearing a sweatshirt?

Dan, I'm glad they figured out what was ailing you and that you're well on the way back to your old self.  Great job with that HM, especially given the greatly reduced training and time off.

What a comeback! Nice run, Dan, and welcome back. Glad you are well.

Sounds like you planned and paced that perfectly, which is quite a feat with your reduced training! Most importantly, though, I am glad that you got retested and that they found and treated the clot.

Coming back from such a long layoff is tough. It's interesting, because I too was off for a few weeks (8) due to an injury, and I finished 6.5 minutes away from my most recent HM PR. Quite similar to you... Patience, and humility, are qualities we must develop as runners if we want to last in this sport. You'll be fine, now that you are healthy again. You will be breaking those old PRs of yours in a few months, you'll see. How long do you have to stay on the blood thinner? I was on coumadin for 18 months and I hated every minute of it, but it probably saved my life. Congratulations on a great come back!

A) It was 23 degrees. First cold front of the year. My training runs were all 70+ degrees.

B) That is not a sweatshirt, but a running jacket.

C) If I were doing race pace, then I would have dressed a little lighter. I was basically running at my easy pace; therefore, I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

 

That makes sense.  I'm running a 5K tomorrow and it's supposed to be 18 at the gun.  I'll be wearing less than I would if I was running the same distance at an easy pace.  Now to the race.

I think you did a terrific job of adjusting based on your fitness level of the day of the race.  I had to do the same thing once when I missed six weeks due to an Achilles injury and it's tough to pull back like that but it's the reason you weren't one of the folks walking at the end.  While we'd all like to toe the line in perfect conditions having had perfect training, that's not always the case.  Nice.

Thanks all.

Lily - I am not sure how long I will be on the medicine yet.

LRB - She wanted it more than me. I hit the finish very nonchalant. Part of it was because I just wasn't willing to put the extra effort in the end.
I've been wearing Nimbus 14 for about the last year.