A race completed today in 1:28:36

R2R is a point to point race where you park at the finish area and are bussed to the start.  This always presents a quagmire for those of us who race by routine, like where or when do you warm up, stretch and that sort of thing.

Where big events are concerned I usually follow the better to be there early and bored than late and panicked way of thinking.  Well today I missed the first round of buses and the second round of them things must have stopped for coffee so I did not get to the start area until 8:11 (scheduled start was 8:30 - actual was 8:41).

This obviously had an effect on my warm up run which ended up being 1.63 miles with one stride, as opposed to the 3 miles which has come to define my races and speed work this year.  I was okay with it though as one of the things racing as frequently as I do has taught me is you have to be prepared to improvise or you will be a mental mess.

I arrived at the start area and immediately found myself surrounded by three dozen Hansons runners.  The elite men were using this event as a marathon pace run (5:05 - 5:10), while the B team hoped to hang with them for their half marathon pace.  I went out with the C team who are basically former B teamers whose better days are behind them.

Knowing I was 1.5 mile short on my warmup I decided to play it conservative out of the gate for the first 2 -3 miles then drop down into the 6:30's (where I initially hoped to start).  This proved a test of mettle as the guy in front of me kept slowing so I almost hit his feet a million times, the guy to my left kept blowing rockets, and the whole lot of them were just gabbing away like we were still standing at the start.

Eventually it got quiet and just after mile 3 I made my move and broke away from the pack into no mans land, where I always seem to be.

My splits tell the tale of what happened as I was just cruising along until just after the 7.5 mile mark when my legs suddenly felt like two cinder blocks.

01 - 6:47

02 - 6:48

03 - 6:41

04 - 6:34

05 - 6:38

06 - 6:36

07 - 6:38

08 - 6:45

09 - 6:45

10 - 6:49

11 - 6:57

12 - 6:56

13 - 6:47

I am unsure what happened there and I am not going to dwell on it much as otherwise I felt great.  My breathing was fine, my effort remained unchanged and I was not fatigued in any other way except my legs were heavy.

Mentally it took a little bit for me to kick up the effort to keep my pace from falling completely off the map but I did not want to dig too deep that way keeping this event and its placement in my marathon training in perspective.

This was simply an opportunity to run 13.1 miles as fast as I could on this day, while not trying to do anything crazy like blow a mental gasket by placing too much importance on this race and not living up to it.

As it is, it was a nice solid effort, one that I am content with.  Of course the competitor in me would have liked to have held that 6:30 pace for much longer and thus finished with a better time but overall I cannot complain...

For now it's back to the grind of MRT and a final push towards race day morning and that starting corral, the place I most want to be. With the theme from 8 Mile playing on a continuous loop in my head, a song that strangely I do not hear unless I am running.  It has come to define this training cycle, which I am hopeful will end well.

Thank you for reading!

Looks like you ran a solid fast race, even if it wasn't what you hoped.  Was it hilly?  How does this pace compare with your marathon pace?

How does this pace compare with your marathon pace?

For miles 4, 5, 6, 7 great.  For the rest, scary.  lol

R2R is for all intents and purposes flat, although there were several points where you could clearly see and feel that you were going up.

I didn't realize you do a full 3M warmup for even a HM - sounds like a lot...

Yeah I guess it varies runner to runner but I can jump right into race pace after a 3 mile warmup regardless of the distance, save for the marathon of course.

Having said that I do not believe it was a factor at all today.

Congratulations on your time considering the Hanson "C" boys" had you hemmed in during the first part of the race.  Hopefully as you were leaving them behind in the dust, you shouted "the Beast has to be unleashed!"

I have a pretty good idea of what happened from Mile 7 to the finish.  Our ability to put out a brutal effort depends sensitively on the importance we place on a race.  In a half marathon, if you are running even remotely close to the edge, you'll start feeling it by Mile 7.  Unless you place a lot of importance on the race, it's going to be impossible to hang onto a hard pace after that.  This wasn't a goal race for you so I think you just experienced exactly what I'd expect in a race that's not a goal race.

Great race LRB. I was telling myself that a lot of the RRs I read lately are PRs and excellent races. You just added another to the list. Enjoy the football and the beer!

Great job Rick!  Can't wait to see how your marathon goes.