Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018 (Read 704 times)

Race Report - Queens 10K

Well, I didn't think I would be writing this race report, but as is rule (written by me), one must be written for a PR!

I had pretty low expectations during race week for this race. However, I did still prep like I normally do for a race (capped my long run at 12 miles the week before, limited my quality day to 3x1 mile cruise intervals, etc.) Low expectations were due to the course being weird with a lot of turns, the weather forecast, and my planned day at the US Open the day before the race.

Anyway, at the US Open, I did walk around as much as I expected, probably something like 10 miles. I also didn't get a lot of sleep given the train was at 6:40 to get out to the course. Luckily, it wasn't too hot that day, so I wasn't wearing myself out too much. I also avoided alcohol, which I was pretty damn proud of given it's pretty much expected that you go to the US Open to walk around the golf course and have a few beers.

After the race, I took the 2.5 hour train back to my mother in law's house, which is only about 2 miles from the course. My wife and I specifically told her we wanted bland food but what did she get? Spicy beef and peppers. Given it was a planned B race, I just sucked it up and ate it but really worried about the consequences the next day. Made sure to hydrate a lot as I was a bit dehydrated from lack of water during the day.

I woke up race day and completed my usual pre-race routine of a bagel and some gatorade/water mix about 2 hours before the race. Dropped the kids off at the pool as expected due to the spicy peppers. Anyway, took a Lyft over to the race site and waited by the port-a-potties to keep an eye on the lines. At NYRR races, the lines can go from 0 to 10 deep in literally 5 minutes. Usually they get to a point where they're over 30 deep and you are guaranteed to stand in line for 20+ minutes, so you have to plan all your hydrating and such that you will go to the bathroom before that happens, which means the last time you'll pee is about 30 minutes before the race. Of course, had to drop the kids off AGAIN and was paranoid that this would be the first time in my life I'd have to use a port-a-john during a race, but it was too late to do anything about that.

Got a little over a mile warm up in and didn't press it too hard given the temps and sun were already started to get a bit toasty. It turned out that it was 70/21 at race time with full sunshine. I got into the starting corral about 10 minutes before the race and didn't push too far to the front. I probably had about 300 people in front of me, which is exactly what I wanted, as I didn't want to push too hard at the start. I figured I wanted to go out around 6:10 pace and then see where it went from there.

We had a great rendition of the national anthem and off we went!

Miles 1-2: 6:08, 6:05

I made sure to stay pretty conservative out the gate. As usual, I planned for a negative split if I was going to PR, but I also didn't want to blow up too early given the heat. Things were more crowded than usual as the course is very narrow, so there was a lot of weaving, but I made sure to just slow down if needed to not waste too much energy bobbing around people. First mile came in at 6:08 and I was exactly where I wanted to be pace-wise. Second mile was also pretty uneventful. The course is dead flat except for one overpass, so it helped mitigate the ridiculous amount of turns.

Miles 3-4: 5:55, 5:56 (official 5K @ 18:51)

At this point, I realized that I felt pretty good. I remembered back to how I felt a couple of months ago during my last 10K. At that point, I was pretty much cooked at mile 3 and was just trying to hold on for dear life for the second half of the race. That feeling was not present this weekend, which made me realize that maybe I was going to be okay. I did the math wrong for gun vs chip time at the 5K marker and thought I was over 19:00 so I thought I had not shot at a PR so I wasn't really thinking about my time, but I knew that things were going pretty well.

Regarding the heat, it wasn't impacting me too badly. They had hoses spraying water at each water stop, which really helped. One thing I realized during this race, and especially during my recovery run the next day, is that it's not the heat that kills me, but the humidity. I've sort of always known this, but this race really hammered it home. I never felt like I was red lining from the heat, but that might be because the dew point was only 50/10 degrees. It just confirms something I've always thought: I'd rather run in a dry 90 degree heat than a very humid 75 degrees.

Miles 5-6.2: 5:55, 5:48, 5:28 (pace for last 0.2)

I've never been as happy with my pacing as I was during miles 3-5. To put up 5:55, 5:56, 5:55 is something I can be really proud of. During mile 5 though, I started noticing things getting rough. I started taking my anti-nausea pills getting ready for the inevitable sickness I would feel. The race had really separated at this point, where I was able to latch on to small groups at a time before separating. I must have passed at least 50 people at this point. During mile 6, I attached to this guy who was pushing a good pace. I kept visualizing that I was attached to a rope that he had around his waste, and he was dragging me along for the run. Yeah, maybe it's stupid, but for some reason it felt really easy to keep up with him. I did feel like he was running fast, but it didn't feel like I was working crazy hard. At one hairpin turn, I lost him though and was on my own. Those turns at 5:45 pace can be quite tricky! I noticed that I had to take them super wide, sort of like a race car, in order to not lose any speed.

At the mile 6 marker, I started to get really nauseous. This to me is always the sign that I pushed myself the right amount. If I start getting sick earlier than the last couple of minutes, I've pushed myself too hard. If I don't get nauseous at all, it means it didn't push myself hard enough. I made sure to give it my all for the last 0.2.

Final Time: 37:09, 23 second PR! 

Super happy with the race and new PR. I was absolutely drenched at the end of the race from sweat, so the heat definitely got to me, but it didn't impact me as poorly as I thought. I think I have a sub 37 in me during a much cooler day, but that will have to wait until either the end of this year or early next year, as now it's on to marathon training. I do plan on running a 5K on July 22, but that is actually right around the hottest day of the year here in NY, so not sure about what to expect. Also, I'll be 3 weeks into marathon training, so my legs probably won't be feeling too great. But, I like running races during marathon training to assess my fitness and keep sharp. They're also a good excuse for a down week as you can mini-taper into them.

I'll still be posting here during marathon training!

Thanks Jmac, nice race report - I enjoyed the read. Spicy food the night before - your mom in law really loves you

When is your marathon?

I have had the second overuse injury after using JDs half marathon plan. I like it because I understand it by now. But I hate it because my body cannot handle it, obviously. So I was planning to use it and do 1Q session per week instead of the 2 recommended ones. But obviously slowing down the paces could work too. I havent made up my mind and am currently just trying to get back at it.

JMac- great RR and I like the rule that says a PR on any distance merits a RR!  Your pacing looked great, I agree that humidity makes a much bigger difference than heat.  When I ran my 5k PR, it was in probably 20C but very low humidity and although I could feel the heat, I don't think it really impacted me much over that distance.  Conversely I have run halves in 17-18C but high humidity and they have felt pretty horrible.  Anyway great finish and I'm sure it was really satisfying nailing those paces over the last 3 miles and consistently reeling others in.

I'm not sure if I have a 100km week in me this year, maybe?  Not before my next goal race anyway, I've laid the platform now so will ramp up the intensity which probably also means keeping the mileage at a similar or slightly lower level.  There's a lot of racing between September and December but a few quieter patches so who knows?

Keen - nice week even if it was a bit quieter by your standards!  Amazing what a difference it makes being out in the country when it comes to the night sky, I always notice it at my parents place.

JMac - nice RR congrats on the PR ..impressive pace.

Keen - nice week.

Fuel has been mentioned a couple of times the last few days so I thought I would toss out a couple of question concerning both day to day fueling as well as fueling on the run.

• day to day what type of meals does everyone eat?  I have my fair share of beer and see it mentioned a lot here but not sure if that counts as a meal  .  I have trouble finding what I would consider healthy meals that taste good.  I end up eating a lot of chicken and frankly get tired of it.
• what type of fuel does everyone use on long runs (also what is considered a long run that you would use fuel).  I have trouble stomaching the Gels and Gu's if fact I just can't do it.  I do make a point to run my routes that pass water fountains just to ensure I am staying hydrated  but that is about it.  Most of my long Saturday morning runs are done on just a pre run bagel and a cup of coffee.

JMac - nice RR.  My next race is likely to be a half in August.

Keen - good week.

Mark - your moderate volume with significant intensity is working really well up to the half.  So don't chase a 100km week.

Piwi - that half was one I was expecting 1:35.  It was pre my Garmin, so the km markers indicated 1:31, which I thought might end in a bad fade or bad course marking.  But I kept my pace, so I must have gone past your son around 200 metres to go.

I would only take fuel for a very long run.

MJ - Marathon is November 4. The key with Daniels is to have a good base going in. Too many people try to complete his plans while also increasing mileage, which is just begging for injury. I would never do one of his half marathon plans without at least having a base of 40 mpw.

Keen - Nothing wrong with another down week. What's your mileage YTD? I assume you're significantly over 1K.

Rune - That's generally the case with Daniels. T, I, and R pace are perfect, but M pace is crazy. I think it really only works for sub 2:45 marathoners, and really only if you run 80+ MPW. For us normal folk, it's too fast. Try the 2.15 approach, it worked perfectly for my last marathon. Plus, it's better to run these M pace workouts too slow than too fast.

CFarr - I think probably the most important thing I've learned in marathon training is the following: DO NOT FUEL ON YOUR LONG RUNS. Eating a bagel beforehand is all you need for any distance. You need to teach your body how to utilize fat efficiently and cutting out fuel on long runs is the best way to do it. I've gotten up to 22 miles without fuel and have been fine. I actually only take fuel on long Marathon paced runs just to train my body how to intake gels when running at that intensity. I would also say that you should try some medium long runs (12-16 miles) with zero fuel in your system, ie no bagel beforehand. Of course, this is all for marathon training. For halfs, you will not bonk and fuel discussion are effectively useless for anyone running faster than 2 hours. Just eat whatever you want beforehand that makes you comfortable.

Ocra - Good luck

Piwi - Forgot to respond in my last post. Thanks for the kind words. I get nausea every single race, except marathons. If I didn't take these pills, I would vomit every single race I run. I come close to vomiting even with taking them. For race sizes, I came in 127th, AG of 33. However, 11K people ran it, so I'll take getting in the top 2%! Oh and also you get to write race reports for setting post 50 PRs!!