Half Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 1729 times)

TxDiverMom


    Bryan College Station Half Marathon

     

    Short version:  Finished my first HM.  It was really hot.  My time was 3:12:55.  I'm pretty happy with that.  Not quite my goal, but with the heat, it will do!

     

    Sunday was my first half marathon.  Drove up to College Station (it's about an hour from my house) on Sat. afternoon and picked up my packet and my swag.  Looked around at the expo and bought a spibelt.  I've been wanting one of those.  We met up with the rest of our group and then left and attempted to drive the course and find where my hubby would watch for me during the race.  We were quite unsuccessful at driving the course.  Parts of the course went through the A & M campus and weren't driveable streets.  No biggie...head home and have pasta dinner and attempt to go to bed early.  I wasn't reasonably successful at that!

     

     

    Of course, I didn't get the finisher shirt and the medal until I actually finished!

     

    Drove up with my hubby Sunday morning.  We got there about 6:15.  I wish we'd been a little earlier.  Luckily, parking was great.  This was a very well planned and small event.  The start line was right beside a big mall, so there was tons of parking about 1/4 mile from the start.  We took a bunch of pics and then I hit the porta potties.  This is my daughter and I before the race.  She's a pretty kick-ass athlete.  Look at those thighs...that's not fat!

     

     

    Unfortunately, I waited too long to get in the porta pottie line.  Live and learn!  The line moved slow and before I knew it they were singing the Star Spangled Banner and the race started.  I just went ahead and went to the porta pottie.  I was one of the last ones across the start line.  There were probably 50 people behind me.  I wanted to catch the 3 hour pace group and maybe see some of our group.  In hindsight, this was a BIG mistake!

     

    Around mile 1, I caught the 3 hour pace group and passed them.  They were running 2 minutes and walking 1.  I was running at about 13 mm.  I think the 1st mile was 12 mm.  BIG mistake!  LOL!!!  See a theme here!  Also, did I mention the weather?  Well, it was hot and humid.  Thankfully, it was totally overcast and a little windy.  I really don't like the wind much, though.  It was right at 70 degrees when we started and I think about 73 when I finished.  80% humidity or somewhere around there.  I skipped the first water station.  Probably a mistake here as well.  I usually carry a handheld and sip as I go.  I'm not a gulper and probably should have taken a little at every station.  There was water and gatorade every 1.5 miles. 

     

    Around mile 2, I caught up with my daughter's 2 friends who were walking/running. One is in good shape and wanted to run.  The other, not so good and wanted to walk.  I think they argued most of the way.  LOL!  I saw them periodically for about 5 miles.  I continued on at 13 mm for around 5 miles.  I slipped down to 13:30 for mile 6.  By miles 5-6 I was with the 3 hour pace group and stayed with them through about mile 9.  By then, I was getting a bit tired and was looking for my hubby in a park where he was supposed to be watching. He had been in the park earlier, but he and our group of watchers had to leave to see the first of our group finish.  I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't there.  I really needed somebody then to tell me it would be ok and that I'm amazing.  I was so surprised at how much the supporters along the route meant.  I really wasn't expecting that some random person could mean so much to me!  Also, miles 1-5 were mostly uphill.  Small inclines, but still uphill and the wind was a headwind.  It made it kind of hard.  I certainly went too fast.  LOL!  Oh yeah...Big mistake.

     

    At about mile 10, I knew I would miss 3 hours and really wasn't surprised.  The heat was just too much along with my inexperience in racing and starting out too fast.  Around mile 10, the toes in my right foot began to cramp.  I have issues with cramping toes quite often.  Not when running...just when sitting around.  They can cramp at any time.  Sometimes it seems like when I'm doing something.  Sometimes it's the shoes (heels).  Sometimes it's that they are cold and won't quit till my feet get warm.  I've had toe cramps my whole life and wish they'd go away.  So at this point, I finally started walking more than running.  Around 6-9 I still mostly ran, but walked a little.  However, not long after the cramps began, I came upon a Veteran who was running on a prosthetic limb.  They had announced him before the race.  The timing for me was perfect.  I thought..."Suck it up, Buttercup!  If he can do this, so can you!!!"  I tried to relax and by 12.5 the cramps were going and I was able to run about a 1/3 of the time, but slowly.  And when I say slowly, I mean SLOWLY!  LOL!!!  I think my pace for the last 3 miles was about 16:30.  It's pretty much what did my time in. 

     

    My daughter texted me at about mile 11.5 and asked me to text her when I got to 13.  (I carry my phone and listen to music in one ear.)  I started running near 13 and finished strong.  She met me before the finish and gave me a big hug.  She told me I was crying (happiness and overwhelming emotion) but I don't remember that.  She said go finish and I ran in.  I was AWESOME!!!  It was an amazing experience and I will definitely do it again!  I was only 12:55 off my goal time and I felt that was great with the heat and humidity.  I think I'll make it next time!

     

    BTW, my daughter finished in 2:36.  She did one run of 7 miles and otherwise ran about twice a week for 2-3 miles each.  She was with the 2:15 pace group till about mile 10.  That's what youth and being in good shape overall does for you!

     

    I've run a couple of easy runs this week of 2.5 miles each.  I feel pretty recovered now. 

     

     

    Me crossing the finish line.  Note to self:  Get running clothes that fit better.  Clothes that are too big make you look fat!

     

    This was a small race.  2,750 half marathon limit and 900 marathoners.  The whole event was extremely well organized.  It gets great reviews.  It was so much fun!!!  I think they had everything one could expect out of a race.  Later stations had medical aid (bandaids, vaseline, advil) some had gu, some had orange halves.  Loved it all!!!

     

    After I finished running, I got very dizzy.  I was seeing spots and held onto my hubby.  I think he was a little worried.  After a couple of minutes I felt a little better, but still not quite right.  I got in the food and drink line and started drinking the water right away.  I started eating the pizza roll immediately too.  I think I need nutrition and I also think my blood pressure dropped.  It seems it's really common to get dizzy afterwards if you just stop.  I should have walked around for a few minutes.  I will know better next time and hubby will be waiting with OJ!  But I was never dizzy while running.  Only after I stopped.

      Great reports you too Congrats on your races.

      Vege - as already said, a great result! However, reading your report I did not realize how much you may have had left in the tank? More to come next year.

      TxDiverMom - Well done for gutting it out and getting round. Sounds like a bunch of lessons learned for next time (even thought all of us are guilty of going out too fast from time to time). Nice work on the first HM! Congratz to your daughter too!

       

      By the way Vege - I went and looked at the course for Kiawah... how did you ever know where you were? All those out and backs!!

      2017 Goals
      1) Run more than 231 miles
      2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

      HappyFeat


        This is my report for the Fishline 25K run from last Sunday. I really don't know how to log it. Since it wasn't measured exactly to 25K (RD said it was 16.4. miles), I don't know about listing it as a 25K. Since I didn't "race" it, I don't know about listing it as a race.


        They hold these races on former timber company property that is currently pending sale and possible developmentCry  The property is about 7000 acres and so far all of the races I've done have been completely "new trail" to me. No race is ever the same. It's very entertaining in its unpredictability - I never know where I am or how far I've come or how far to go or how much longer I'll be running - but this time was all that to the Nth degree!  My friend who I usually go trail running with went with me for the first time to run this race. It was so nice to have a buddy, being out there so long and hardly ever seeing another runner. It was a very challenging course with lots of up and down (7660 ft elevation gain and 7640 ft elevation loss), but no monster hills (like the one they threw into the 10K last year). There was a 50K as well, and a number of runners dropped out after they completed the 25K loop because it was so challenging they didn't want to do it twice!

         

        I haven't mentioned "finish time" because I fell so far short of my 3 hour goal, it's hardly worth mentioning. It took me and my loyal friend over 3.5 hours. Sad The last 45 minutes of it were agony for me, but I persevered with searing pain in my right glute after catching my left foot on a root, saving myself from falling with my right leg, yanking on my already tight painful hamstring, throwing my already iffy back off kilter and fanning the fire in my glute into a real blaze. For awhile I felt I couldn't really lift my right leg over obstacles very well. It calmed down ever so slightly as I went on - temporarily anyway. After icing throughout the afternoon and evening, I ran the next couple days pain-free; so no real damage done. I felt it a bit today in my last mile, which reminds me...where's that ice pack?....

        Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

        Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

        hog4life


          RR, hog4life's PR

           

          Short Version:

          Time - 1:51:33, pace 8:31/mile (PR of 9:54)

          AG - 37 of 148 in male 50-54

          Gender Place - 509 of 1593

          Over All Place - 707 of 3570

           

          Little Longer Version:

          Here's a little background. I've been running for about 4.5 years, I've had a few setbacks, as we all have, mine were shin splints, hernia surgery, calf tear, and my most recent was that I survived colon cancer with a resection back on August 28th, 2012. I was maintaining about a 28-30 mpw week base prior to my surgery, and post surgery I was hoping to increase to 35-40. My 1st HM was 2:08:20 with a very loose training plan, suffered an injury and really just hoped to finish. My second was better at 2:01:27 with a much better cycle(used Ryan Hall Plan), but I struggled with worn shoes that gave me some shin and calf issues. For this 3rd, I also used the Ryan Hall plan, and I was much smarter with all the speed work the plan called for.

          I had a very good training cycle using the RH 10 wk HM plan again. For this cycle, I opted for the long plan, versus the short plan that I used last time. I wanted to bump up the LR's, and get higher weekly mileage. I achieved this on week 7 of the plan getting a 15 miler, and a peak of 45 miles mpw. I also wanted to run more intervals, I did all my recoveries at 1/4 mile instead of time for these intervals, it was just easier for me to do it this way. The last 2 weeks of taper went a little overboard due to life, week 9 was 18 miles and the last week was 14.5. My tempo runs were in the 8:15-8:30 range, interval runs were in the 6:50-7:15 range, LR's were in the 9:20-10:10 range. I done all my running outside, except for one TM interval run. I bought 2 pair of tights, payed attention to all all of the people up north on how they dressed/layered. I chose to do this because the half I was about to run had an 18 degree start temp last year. I did runs in the cold rain, wind, and temps in the feels like range of 21. This had me prepared more than one can think.

          Race: I woke up at 4:00 am, had some oatmeal and coffee, then drove about an hour and 10 minutes to Birmingham. I drank a can of Gatorade, had a bottle of water, and ate half of a power bar on the ride down. Found easy parking, got dressed and mingled around, porta potties, maybe 1/2 mile warmup, found my corral, and talked with the 3:45 and 4:00 marathon pacers. The starting temp was around 24 degrees with a temp of 37 degrees 2 hours later for my predicted finish. I chose to wear a LS tech, SS tech over that, LS and SS cotton throw away over the tech shirts, throw away neck gator, throw away cotton jersey gloves, baseball cap, and shorts.

          I had a bit of a dilemma a couple weeks prior to the race, so I asked a few questions in some threads about my pacing. I had 3 goals; first was sub 2, second was to beat 1:56:27, and third was to beat 1:52. I also had this super secrete goal to break 1:50, but I knew that was a stretch. After getting some advice and opinions, I decided to run with the 3:45 pacer for a goal pace of 8:35, and boy ole boy, I'm glad I did!

          So I lined up behind the 3:45 pacer, and we were off. A couple miles in, I started peeling the extra layers, got rid of the 2 cotton shirts, but held on to the neck gator and gloves. The first 10k seemed to pass quite effortlessly, I crossed the mat at 50:57, which is a 5 1/2 minute PR. I run through all the water stations until mile 7 or 8. Took a GU that was handed out on the course and it seemed almost frozen, I also took some water. The next station I took some Poweraid, and that stuff about made me choke, they had it mixed way too strong. At mile 9.5, I started losing the pacer, I kept looking at my watch and I was still running around the 8:35 pace, I got a bit concerned here. This little event started playing mind games, you know, the mental demons. I kept telling myself to trust my training, and I kept moving forward. Around 10.5-11 miles, I started hurting, my legs were getting sore, my feet were aching, calves getting tight. I chose to walk the next 2 water stations, but it was only for a few seconds. Somwhere in this 10-12 mile range I tossed the neck gator, and then the gloves, damn, should've kept them. My hands were really cold by the time I finished. Finally!, I could hear the band and announcer at the finish line, and this gave me a big boost to keep going strong to the line. When I got close enough to see the clock, it was on 1:51:38, and I kicked my ass into the highest gear I had left, Garmin showed a best pace of 5:15 during that last surge.

           

          Here are my splits;

          Mile 1 - 8:35

          Mile 2 - 8:45

          Mile 3 - 8:18

          Mile 4 - 8:17

          Mile 5 - 8:44

          Mile 6 - 8:31

          Mile 7 - 8:38

          Mile 8 - 8:47

          Mile 9 - 8:12

          Mile 10 - 8:39

          Mile 11 - 8:19

          Mile 12 - 8:48

          Mile 13 - 8:54

          Mile 14 - (.1) - 6:12

           

          I did fade a little in the last 2 miles, but not much. I was going to post a pic of the bling, but tinypic didn't issue a URL, I'll try later. Some of you have seen it on FB. Thanks for reading.

           

          Mitch


          Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k

            Dang laptop crashed last night and I lost my race report! So here goes again.

            Lost my shout outs to TxMom & HR (Mitch) - great race reports you guys.

             

            Austin Livestrong Half Marathon: official data here: http://www.wetimeraces.com/RacingSystems/Results/2013/AustinMarathon2013/AustinMarathonResults.htm#/results:&AthleteSearch=15188&Division=All:1361194917164

             

            Finished 29/35 in age group. 1st three places taken by 65yo young'ens! I'll have to out live them to improve placement! LOL Overall pleased with the way it went even tho I missed PB by 2 min. Did make it under 3hrs so it was all good! So starting with lessons learned:

            1. Use the porta potties as soon as you arrive in starting area! I arrived to try get with a meetup but parked farther away than I thought and missed the picture opportunity. Returned to my car to drop warm up pants and by passed the potties. As I left my car I heard my name called and one of the young ladies I train with was there with her hubby, so we walked to the starting area together and I never got to use the pottie. Didn't want to lose time so waited until mi 8 and no lines, took 30 sec or so to be relieved. I should know better with my overactive bladder issues! Stupid!
            2. Cut/trim that dang right pinky toe nail! it started cutting into 4th toe abt mi 5 and I had to listen to it the rest of the way! I know better since it did that on a long run last fall. I had trim toe nails last week but forgot to get the corner of that toe close to race day!
            3. First race with bargain 405CX - should have locked the bezel when adjusting clothing when that issue arose. It somehow went into menu mode and I couldn't get the workout displays back w/o ending and restarting workout, so lost overall timing data. Am still learning the dang thing. 20-20 hind sight says - use the old 301 on race day! 2+ weeks of 405CX use wasn't enough to develop good race day habits.
            4. Do a long run wearing race day gear! I've been using my bottle belt for a number of years, but have lost 15lbs in the last 2 months and didn't think clothing/belt behavior might be different. AND I didn't use the spibelt as bib holder for the first time. Had the bib on the bottle belt and it kept crumbling up which was a distraction. Phone clped to belt then shorts kept pulling them down and phone fell into street at one point. It took a couple of miles of adjustment to get things where it worked and I could pick up speed. Settled on wind breaker thru the left side of the belt (didn't want to throw old dependable away), let extra strap dangle, and held phone. Added lt wt Pearl Izumi thru the left side of the belt. Letting the extra strap dangle kept the bib from crumbling and made it easier to tighten the belt when it slipped, as it always does.

            My Race: Was wearing running shorts, LS Bolle zippered mock turtle neck, Pearl Izumi light wt vest, wind braker, gloves, Bondi band as ear mutts and running cap for when the sun came out. Having run into Jackie we started together. This being her first half she asked for advice as we approached the mats. I told her to just run her race and not let it get away from her. She was doing r/w of 3/1 I was doing 2/1 so she was soon out of sight. I was doing fine but as the sun rose it warmed up faster than predicted so abt mi 2.5 I started removing layers which started  equipment/clothing issues. I tried to tie the wind breaker around my waist as I have done before. Well it caused belt to slip and covered bib. The spibelt always hung lower below the bottle belt and does not get covered by anything tied around my waist. So experimented and finally had it thru the bottle belt, which then proceeded to loosen and be pulled down by phone. So moved phone to being clipped to shorts pocket - where it proceeded to pull shorts down and fall on the ground! Picked it up on the run and focused on getting back on track. finally realized to leave extra belt dangling and holding phone was way to run most comfortably (until right bicep complained, then moved to left hand and back as needed), and returned to PB pace I had started with.

             

            Based on displayed gun time it looked like I might be on track to beat PB by a min or so. My bladder wanted to be emptied at the start of the race, it having been an hour since leaving the house. Well I wasn't going to wait in lines and didn't have any no line porta potties until the mi 8 water stop. Took abt 30 seconds to void then back out. Going good until we ran thru the Livestong Team Cheering gauntlet at mi 9! Super exciting to have hundreds (well it felt like that many since they were strung out 2-3 deep for 100 yards or so) cheering and giving us high 5's, so stay erect and move out to pay them back right? Wrong! Was gasping for air as I cleared the last one and realized I had sped up to the point of being almost at max HR. Spent to much energy at the wrong place in the race. Nothing left to get me up two steep hills. The last 3 mi of this course are hilly with some steep long ones in as the challenge. I wound up walking up the first couple as I recovered, but was able to run the last two, especially the last one so felt good about it. I think this is where  I fell behind PB. My coach met me abt mi 12.5 and cheered me on and talked to me, let me know how Jackie had done (2:33 - not bad for first outing). She told me how strong I looked. Felt good, needed that. At 1000 meters signs displayed meters to finish. I thought about when to sprint and decided to take it on at 400 meters. I sprinted hard passing everyone in front of me and finished strong and gasping for breath of course. Looked at Garmin as I walked and saw it showing HR=145 which is higher than what Cardiologist measured in 2009. Am wondering if actual max HR is higher now with some tweaking we have done to medications, but no change in beat blockers which I think have the major effect on HR. Will send message to current cardiologist to see what he thinks.

             

            I was beat but happy, so much more fun than the ugly Decker Challenge back in Dec. Glad to break 3hrs again and not blowing it all on potty breaks as I did at last years 3M half. Not to look for another half before it gets to hot for me to handle!

            bob e v
            2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?

            Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full

            Break the 1000 mi barrier!

            History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.

            Snickers1230


              Awesome job on your halves Mitch and Bob!

               

              I ran the Sugar and Spice half marathon yesterday.  It was an all women inaugural half.  Overall it was a great race, with one little hiccup (more on that later).

               

              I was feeling pretty deflated after my half in December.  Out of 3 halves, it was my worst with a time of 2:54:40.  My training before that half had not been good so I was determined to do better.  I did the Ryan Hall plan for the first time.  I did tweak it some.  I figured I shouldn't go from 0-1 hard/speed workout a week to 3-4.  So I trimmed down some of the speed work.  And aside from a couple weeks, it was some of my best weekly mileage.  I was averaging in the low 20s for mpw.  I am trying to work on getting that higher and I know if I do that will help me too, so that's something I am going to work on now.  My goal for this year is to run a half in under 2:30.  I knew that might be a bit much for this race, so my B goal was to PR (under 2:43:50) and my A goal was to come in under 2:40.

               

              The race started at 6:30 and the plan was to wake up at 4:40 and leave my house by 5 (I had everything already put aside that I needed).  Unfortunately my alarm did not go off.  But luckily my internal clock did and I still woke up on my own at 5:05.  So I was a little frantic getting dressed and getting my breakfast, but I made it to the race by 6.  I got my chip (they didn't use disposable chips so they weren't in the packets), went to the bathroom, and got ready to start.  I was running this with a friend and our plan was to do run/walk 5:1.  I prefer to run a little slower and just run without stopping and starting walking all the time which is the strategy I will try in my March half.  The temp at the start was 35 and projected end temps were in the mid 60s.  So I wore running capris with a singlet and a long sleeve shirt over it.  Ended up removing the long sleeve shirt around mile 8.

               

              After some announcements, we were off.  Everything started out fine.  Ran 1 mile out to a turn around and grabbed some water at the 1.5 mile aid station (ran this half for the first time without carrying water so I planned on drinking some water at every station).  I didn't really think anything of it, but I never saw the mile 2 marker.  The course hits a main road (Bay Area Blvd) and goes right so when we hit Bay Area, we turned right.  But it was so weird that we were having to run on the sidewalk and none of the street was coned off for us.  I was also thinking at this time that I thought I remembered that we run through a neighborhood for a little before getting to Bay Area (it's the same course as a previous half that I had done).  After running on the sidewalk of Bay Area for a while, we come up to this cross street and Bay Area is coned off after that for runners and the cross street also had cones.  This confirmed that somewhere a turn was missed and we had gotten off course (most if not all participants had done the same thing we did).  The turn was not marked very clearly and there were no volunteers there.  The race director has already said they will make sure this is corrected for next year.  When we got to the mile 3 marker, we realized we had already run an extra .7 miles and that it was going to be longer than a half.  My hopes were dashed at first because I knew there was no way I was going to PR with almost a whole other mile of running.  But then I decided I would just keep trying and at least see what my time would be at 13.1 miles since I had my garmin on.  I was right on my 10K PR, was about 5 minutes better than my 15K pr and 10 minutes better than my 10 mile pr.  It's been a while since I ran a 15K or 10 mile race, so I assumed I would blow those away, but I was pretty stoked to hit the 10K point at my 10K pr time.  Other than the missed turn, the race was pretty normal.  I did lose some time hitting a porta potty and I also stopped to pet a dog (she was cute!) and my friend stopped to take a picture of the space shuttle replica as we passed the space center.  When I got close to 13.1 miles I was paying attention to my watch so I could see what my time would be and it was... 2:39:40!  So while not an official PR, I know that I hit my 2 goals for the first 13.1 miles of the race.  The total distance ended up being 13.9 miles and my official time was 2:49.42.  So even though I ran almost a mile more, I still beat my December half by 5 minutes! And just about a minute off my first half time.

               

              So it's disappointing to not get an official PR, but this race definitely helped me get some of my confidence back and I'm looking forward to getting an official PR in March!

               

              I haven't even uploaded my garmin info to the computer yet.  I'll try to do that tonight and add my splits later

              Formerly Jackie_601 on RW

               

              Next up:

              4/27 - Green 6.2 10K

                Great job, all of you!

                PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                    10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                 

                Zelanie


                  Executive summary: 27:54 on a long course with surprise muddy grass for most of the second mile.  Not a PR, but faster overall pace than my 5K PR.

                   

                  Background: Today’s race was a fundraiser for one of my coworker’s sons.  His school is raising money for a trip to Washington DC.  It also ended up being a very good day to run for another project I’m working on.  It turned out to be a very informal race, maybe 50 people, no clock, no awards, but they did have a lady with a clipboard and stopwatch at the end.  Unfortunately she was also in charge of making sure everyone went past the finish twice at the end, and I’m not sure she was able to manage both jobs.

                   

                  I am in the middle of training for my first HM, which will be in April.  I’m following a Pfitzinger HM plan which has been great but also challenging for me.  Every week for the past several weeks has been a mileage PR, for example, and this week was my first 13.1 mile LR.  I used this race as the 4-mile time trial that the plan calls for next week.  I didn’t alter anything about this week’s plan other than moving the V02Max intervals that would have been this week into next week.  Well, that and I am just a tad short on the overall mileage compared to the plan.  This week will be 44 instead of 46, for example.

                   

                  I woke up this morning to pouring rain and high winds.  It was supposed to keep raining all morning and get windier, but miraculously it had stopped raining by the time I got to the race site!  The sun even came out for a bit.  There was still some wind, but not as much as had been predicted.  I got checked in and ran my 2-mile warmup along the course, finishing with some strides.  The plan was to go out at 8:00 and try to hang on.  My current PR is 26:03, but I have easily hit the fast end of my training paces lately so have felt like I could probably do more.

                   

                  Start: We lined up on the track, heard a few words of encouragement, and then we were off!  Everybody took off like a bat out of hell.  It was crazy.  My Garmin said we were running like a 7:00 pace.  I doubted that since it can be jumpy at the beginning, but decided to put on the brakes and let everybody go.  It was a good move.  I did not get passed again after that first wave at the start.  In fact, I spent the rest of the race picking people off one by one.

                   

                  I settled into a comfortable pace, and just worked on running evenly and passing people as I came to them.  I knew I was a little slower than my goal pace, but it felt right and also like a pace I might be able to gradually improve on as I went.  There were quite a few twists and turns, but I have to say the course was really well marked and they had volunteers out at every turn.

                   

                  Mile 1 completed in 8:09

                   

                  The second mile started off pretty well.  I was still feeling good and the plan was to gradually gain a second or two on my pace from here on out.  I had passed a bunch of people, and came up on two women.  I swear one of them kept moving over to block me from getting by!  But maybe she was just fading and running ragged?  Or maybe she was trying to go with me as I passed the other woman?  I decided to give myself a little bit of a breather and run with them for a few until I found a good spot to pass.  I’d go around eventually if I had to.

                   

                  Instead, the bark chip path we were on ended and we came to a grassy hill.  I was thinking we were going to run up the hill and then the path would continue at the top, but I was wrong!  I passed both women on the hill, got to the top, and there was nothing but muddy grass up there!  No path.  I had a moment of silence for my almost-new white Kinvaras, and then kept going.

                   

                  The grass was long and muddy, and took a lot out of me.  We were running along the top of an embankment that divided a large parking lot from the road.  But every time there was an entrance to the parking lot, we had to run back down and then back up again.  Squish, squish!  It was very tough going.

                   

                  Mile 2 took me 8:42 to complete.  But it was a tougher effort by far than the first!

                   

                  By the end of the grassy part, I had left the two women in the dust (er, mud) and had closed the distance on a guy who was the last person in sight.  I passed him and he faded badly after that.  Or maybe it’s just that I was sort of able to pick my pace up again.  I was faster, but I had lost a lot of time in the second mile and just couldn’t seem to find that killer instinct to get up and go.  This mile returned us almost to the start of the race, back along the path from the beginning, but this time we took a different turn towards the track.  Again, it was well marked and the volunteer there steered me correctly.  I had been running all by myself since the start of this mile.

                   

                  We got to the track, and the directions said that we should go around 1 ½ times to reach the finish.  There was one guy there who was on his second lap as I came on.  I made it my goal to gain some ground on him, and I did.

                   

                  Mile 3 complete in 8:15.  So I hadn’t made up as much time as I’d hoped.

                   

                  Here is where it was a good thing that I didn’t have total distance on the watch screen I was on- I did not have one thought about the course being long until after I’d finished.  I knew where I was, I knew where the finish was, and I was just looking at my average pace and at least trying to beat my average pace from my December PR.  I knew that the sub-25 I had hoped for was not an option, but figured I could still PR just based upon my pace.

                   

                  I picked up the pace on the track, but not as much as I probably could have.  I did manage a solid kick, but only for the last 100m.

                   

                  Final 0.34(!) complete in 2:39 (and then apparently it took me 4 whole seconds to stop my Garmin, haha!).  Average moving pace for that stretch was 7:41, with the kick at 6:13.  I went to the clipboard lady to check my time, but she said she wasn’t sure she had it since I hadn’t yelled my number out to her as I went by.  I didn’t realize we were supposed to, but suspect my watch is more accurate anyway.

                   

                  Afterwards: I got a bottle of water, talked to a few people who all were reading the course as about ¼ mile too long (meaning the first time we crossed the finish line must have been pretty much right at the 5K distance!), then went out for 2 recovery miles.  Pfitz is a tough taskmaster, and I didn’t want to leave too many of this week’s miles for tomorrow.  I passed one other woman who was doing a cooldown, so we congratulated each other.

                   

                  I was running my recovery at very easy effort, but faster than what I’m “supposed” to run recoveries at, so I suspect I left time on the race course.  I’m also wondering if I just don’t have the willingness to suffer that is needed to run a strong 5K.  I feel like I ran it well, and was consistent considering the course, but definitely didn’t find that final gear, or pain cave, or whatever you want to call it.  I’m hoping it’s just that I enjoy longer distances better.  There is a joy in pumping out a last fast mile in a LR that I just haven’t found in racing a 5K.

                   

                  They did have a sports massage booth there, so I took advantage of it.  I had one of those “you know you’re a runner when” moments when I realized I was lying there getting a butt massage in public, but it was so worth it!  I had told the guy I thought I had tight hamstrings, but he said actually my hamstrings were fine.  He found a lot of tightness in my hips, though!  He did some pressure point stuff and I could actually feel the muscle release all the way down my legs into my feet.  Very nice!

                   

                  My next race is a 10M in March.  I’m actually thinking that distance may suit me better!  I guess I will see!

                  buchy2009


                  Bjørnmannen

                    Here is my race report for the New Orleans RnR Half Marathon on February 24, 2013!


                    Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k

                      Zel: great race report and a good time, as always faster than I can do, which always impresses me!

                       

                      Here is my race report for the New Orleans RnR Half Marathon on February 24, 2013!

                      "There is something deeply satisfying about turning it up and leaving nothing in the tank at the end" I can certainly relate to this and agree heartily since its how I finished my last half. It felt good to turn it up after not being able to do that in Dec at my previous race. And don't sweat the slow, I'm slower than you are! My half pb is 2:55 - you got out there and got'er done! that's what counts. It takes mental toughness to be on your feet that long and don't down play it. Congrats on a super race!

                      bob e v
                      2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?

                      Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full

                      Break the 1000 mi barrier!

                      History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.

                      RunTomRun


                      Wickedly Average

                        Zel - love the 'executive summary'! Smile

                         

                        My race report for the Gate River Run 15K:

                         

                        http://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/92035b635b6e499fa678a632b992778d/0

                         

                        Although it may not sound like it, I'm very happy with my time on this one. Smile

                        Tom (formerly known as PhotogTom)

                        5K - 25:16, 10K - 55:31,  15K - 1:20:55,   HM - 1:54:54

                        daneda


                          RTR - super impressive 10min PR! Way to go!

                           

                          Buchy - Nice job on the PR! Especially considering you almost didn't make the race!  The jumbotron finish sounds cool... unless you are someone who has an awful finish-line face Big grin

                          Zelanie


                            Finished my first 10 mile race today, and am very pleased with the result.  I wrote a longer RR in the Beginners and Beyond group if anybody's interested.

                             

                            Mile 1- 8:50

                            Mile 2- 8:41

                            Mile 3- 8:41

                            Mile 4- 8:40

                            Mile 5- 8:44

                            Mile 6- 8:32

                            Mile 7- 8:47

                            Mile 8- 8:36

                            Mile 9- 8:18

                            Mile 10- 8:16

                            Final 0.01 (hehe) 0:06 (7:06 pace)

                             

                            The first few miles were a study in watching my Garmin and trying not to run too fast.  And watching a nice sunrise over the Willamette river as we crossed.  The middle miles were still pretty easy, but I did have some time to still worry that somehow I might self-destruct at some point in the future.  Had to keep reminding myself that I was running pretty easily and felt good now, and not to worry about later.  Let myself pick it up towards the end (except, apparently, for mile 7, but who needs that mile anyway?).  Had enough left to ham it up for a few photographers towards the last mile, crossed the bridge again, and finished strong.  I definitely would have had 3 more miles at that pace in me today, and that's without a taper.

                             

                            Love, love, love the feel of racing above LT distances compared to 5Ks and the one 10K I've run before!

                            HappyFeat


                              My race report for the Gate River Run 15K:

                               

                              http://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/92035b635b6e499fa678a632b992778d/0

                               

                              Although it may not sound like it, I'm very happy with my time on this one. Smile

                               

                              I'm thrilled for you!  What a great accomplishment.  Congratulations!

                              Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                              Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.