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I cannot say for sure, but Shane was not a member in mid-May. He would have had to have joined by June 1 to qualify for this year's Grand Prix. (Becky has not given me an updated database since mid-May.)
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
I might be running scared this fall. I have been doing speedwork--not all out, but averaging more than twice a week for the past month I suppose. Yet, Joe is catching up to me. I ran 19:32 at Chaptico, and he just ran 19:49.
Wow, I didn't realize Joe ran that fast cause he didn't mention his time in his post. Chaptico probably a slightly tougher course than the Pet Day course, but Joe is really coming on.
Your ability to run a 5:51 3rd mile at Chaptico (even if slightly downhill) tells me you're in a better spot by quite a bit still. Your recent mile race time is better and I'm confident your endurance is better.
Your 3x1200 workout last night also says to me you are in better shape. I don't think I could do that. It's possible I could do it, but I don't usually go that hard in a workout. This is a case of where running workouts by myself mean a different result than if I ran them with people.
I think you'll find it easier to run in the fall than the summer and I won't be surprised if you improve over the next month or two.
FWIW, I think the incline at Chaptico has significant effect; my first mile was a LOT slower, going up it.
I had a forgettable half marathon at Fort Eustis yesterday. My goal was to break 1 hour 27 minutes. I ran 1 hour 31 minutes. The heat and humidity were the main factors in my struggle, though I think I had also overestimated my fitness. After being cool all week, unfortunately, it was warm, sunny, and humid. It was about 80 degrees yesterday and the dew point was close to 80 degrees.
I went out at the pace I was hoping to run. I didn't really go out too fast. My problem was that by mile 5 I couldn't hold my target pace. In addition to the heat two other things affected my performance. First my legs were tired going into the race. Second I picked the wrong clothing for the race and was experiencing some painful chafing. I don't think the chafing really affected my performance, it just cause added discomfort. The tired legs were a bit of a factor, though I think the heat and humidity were my main factors.
I saw the splits in your log yesterday Phil; the pace slowly climbs. I figured, that did not go too well...
Alison Parris ran 35:20 in a 10k this weekend. Molly Huddle ran something nuts like 31:21. Alison finished pretty near to several bigtime NCAA competitors from the last few years.
I thought Alan had said she was racing that, but when I followed the letsrun link this weekend, I could not find the results.
My goal for LPR10 was to run on the faster side of 1:10. I put a strong effort into that race. While in some regards the 1:08:25 I ran doesn't seem fast it was at a pace appropriately shy of my recent 10k pace at Chaptico, so a good translation of my fitness to a slightly further race distance.
This past weekend I didn't intend to race the Baltimore Half Marathon, but instead use it as a brisk long run. I hoped I could run swiftly out the gate and maintain something under 8 comfortably, preferably a 7:30 pace. I was elated to find this doable. The undulating pavement took its toll on my legs over the 13 miles, but my aerobic system never felt challenged. During the final couple of miles I had enough in the tank that I could have gone faster or continued for a few more miles. I held back enough to ensure I never crossed the lactate threshold barrier. When I finished the race I felt great except for some sore legs. The run amounted to an ideal 13.1 mile steady state.
My result helped me really appreciate Phil's half marathon. He ran quite a bit faster per mile, so certainly a faster pace than my recent 10 miler where I felt I was really hauling. Phil's 10 mile split was 1:04:36. He even ran faster than my Chaptico 10k pace.
I signed up for the Race 13.1 Half Marathon after I had the disappointing Fort Eustis Half Marathon. Last week, the Race 13.1 director emailed the runners to inform us the Half Marathon was cancelled, but they had worked out an agreement with the Crawling Crab Half Marathon which was being held on the same day located about 20 minutes down the road that we could transfer into that race. Thus I ended transferring into the Crawling Crab Half Marathon. A nice feature was I got two free tee shirts, one from the Crawling Crab Race and one from the Race 13.1.
As for the race itself, I went in hoping for a sub 1:27. I had that very disappointing 1:31:30 at Fort Eustis where due to the heat, humidity, and tired legs I prettty much just wilted in the second half of that race. Yesterday the racing conditions at the Crawling Crab Half Marathon were almost perfect. Temperatures in the mid 40's at start time and mid 50's at the finish. It was a little bit breezy as most races along the water tend to be, but I didn't think the wind was as bad as it tends to be at the Shamrock Marathon. The course was flat, not completely pancake flat, but no large hills and just some rolling hills here and there. I did not taper for this race. In fact, I ran a lot of miles last week.
The first few miles of the race felt very easy aerobically. I think I ran appoxmiately a 6:34 mile (my watch said 6:37, but I always start my watch with like 3 seconds left in the countdown so I never have a situation where I think I broke some minute barrier according to my watch only to not break it). I then ran 6:20 which surprised me. The miles didn't feel great as my legs were not fresh, but aerobically the 6:20 didn't really bother me. I also probably had a bit of a tailwind for mile 2 even though I wasn't aware of it at the time. I then ran 6:27. My fourth mile was a bit faster 6:20, probably because I was catching and pasisng another runner. I still wasn't sure if I would hold up. By then I was a little bit aerobically winded and my legs were still tired.
Between miles 4-9 I ran 5 miles of which the slowest was 6:29 and the fastest was 6:24. The fastest mile was pushed by the #2 female runner passing me. Aerobically I was fatigued, but pretty steady in my fatigue, I was not really deteriotating. My legs were the same way. They had been tired from the very start of the race but were not deteriotating. Midway through mile 10 I hit my first head wind that was to dog me for the next 2.5 miles. My pace slipped to 6:34 for mile 10, 6:45 for mile 11, and 6:52 for mile 12, at mile 13 we turned out of the head wind and I bounced back with a 6:33 mile. I think some of the pace drop was the wind, but some of the pace drop was fatigue, but its hard to say how much each one accounted for.
As the race came to end, I was definitely happy to be done. The slower miles near the end knocked me out of my "good vibes/I am doing well" feeling to more of "I just have to hold" on type mind set,, so during the last 3 miles I was just looking forward to be done. Around mile 11 a friend caught me and he paced me in for the last two miles. He ran about a 1:24 but started back in Corral 4. He actually missed the date to register for the race, so he pirated the race, but having somebody to run with when I was fading some did help. Overall I finished with a solid 1:25:23, a new PR for me. I would have loved to break 1:25 but honestly after Fort Eustis my goal was to only break 1:27 so I was happy.
I was also happy that my parents were visiting and got to see me race.
While I still have speedwork left on my schedule this was my last all out race before Richmond, so this is my last good indicator of fitness. Based on this I think 3:05 is certainly realistic at Richmond, but getting in the 3:01 or low 3:02's range in order to actually get into Boston will likely still present a challenge based off this Half Marathon as I would guess right now, I am probably in 3:04 type range, so I still need to improve these next four weeks rather than just maintain. I am really going to watch my diet in the hope that I can lose two to three pounds which would take a minute off my marathon time right there. The other thing I am not sure about is how much faster I could have run yesterday with fresh legs. My guess is about 5 seconds faster per mile (or 65 secons for the entire race), which would have put in the 1:24:18 range.
You have your weight down as 183. I have a hard time believing that is what it is currently. Let me know on Wednesday what you weigh after you've had a couple of days for swelling to go down.
My goal for LPR10 was to run on the faster side of 1:10. I put a strong effort into that race. While in some regards the 1:08:25 I ran doesn't seem fast it was at a pace appropriately shy of my recent 10k pace at Chaptico, so a good translation of my fitness to a slightly further race distance. This past weekend I didn't intend to race the Baltimore Half Marathon, but instead use it as a brisk long run. I hoped I could run swiftly out the gate and maintain something under 8 comfortably, preferably a 7:30 pace. I was elated to find this doable. The undulating pavement took its toll on my legs over the 13 miles, but my aerobic system never felt challenged. During the final couple of miles I had enough in the tank that I could have gone faster or continued for a few more miles. I held back enough to ensure I never crossed the lactate threshold barrier. When I finished the race I felt great except for some sore legs. The run amounted to an ideal 13.1 mile steady state. My result helped me really appreciate Phil's half marathon. He ran quite a bit faster per mile, so certainly a faster pace than my recent 10 miler where I felt I was really hauling. Phil's 10 mile split was 1:04:36. He even ran faster than my Chaptico 10k pace.
Baltimore is tougher than Richmond in terms of the course. What do you think you could have run if you raced Baltimore? I am guessing based off the tougher Baltimore course and your recent 10 mile time, something in the 1:31's.
Was your race cancelled Joe?
Yep, canceled.
I could run a 5k this weekend, but I think I should probably focus on training and doubling, so we'll see.
I think there is a 5k on 7 November that may be part of the CBRC race series. If so, I'll try to run that if I can.
Then there is Richmond.