Sam Costa Half Marathon (Read 852 times)

The morning began at 6:25 AM as my alarm sounded. I wasted no time, ate a breakfast bar, drank some Powerade, and hit the shower. I was on the road at about 6:50. I arrived, registered, got everything set, and then did a 1.25 mile warm up in the 38 degree weather. At 9 am, the gun sounded and we were off. I realized quickly that I had lined up way too far back in the pack and was dodging in and out of people. Finally, I gained some ground and broke free and settled into my pace of about 7:00. About .5 miles in I hear "Ryan?" I turn, surprised because I realize I came alone and know NO ONE in Indiana. It was Norm (CarmelRunner), who we'd emailed back and forth about meeting up. To sum it up, Norm exploded today and really pushed me. (He finished around 1:32:24, so congrats on that one Norm!) Mile 1 went through at 6:58. I'll admit, this somewhat scared me, but I was settled in, Norm was pulling me and we were engaged in really good conversation. Mile 2 was 6:59, Mile 3 was 7:00, Mile 4 - 6:58, Mile 5 was 6:55. I remember at this point my legs tightening a little, but nothing too bad. Mile 6 - 7:05, Mile 7 - 7:03, Mile 8 7:05 with a big boy's hill... Mile 9 - 7:04 - and then the wheels started coming loose. Norm exploded and I faded horribly. I tried anything to start picking it up here. I looked at people to chase down. I looked for some silver lining. The only thing I could think about was finishing. It hurt for sure. Gotta learn to pace a bit better I guess. Interestingly enough, I looked at 9.3 miles (15k) and I was two and a half minutes ahead of my former 15k time, so that was somewhat of a boost. Mile 10 - 7:14 - Not too much to worry about? Mile 11: 7:20 - I thought there was some sort of improvement here....eh. Mile 12: 7:32 - I started counting around here to see how many people would pass me. It sucked. I was feeling great, but you live, you learn. Mile 13: 7:35 - Another big boy hill. Great place for it, huh? Official time 1:34:21. I'll admit, I had 1:35 as a goal, but that was a goal I knew I could hit. There's a sense of disappointment that I didn't hit 1:33: xx just because I feel like I could have raced better. I find myself questioning if I had gone out at 7:09 pace what could have happened. Nonetheless, it was a great great great race with some rough hills. There were three that were pretty big. One at about mile 2 or 3. It was just long and winding, but nothing big. The big boy hill at 5 definitely hit me. And of course, like every good race, let's finish on a big hill.... Overall, I'm satisfied. I look at the past few years of my running and recognize that my senior year of high school, I couldn't even run a mile in 7:13 (my pace for today.) In fact, for one mile, it'd take 7:50 and then I was through. Since 2005, I guess I've logged about 3500 miles. This year, I'm on pace to log about 2500 as it is. I recognize that running is a life-time sport. Today wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. What factors played into it? Well, probably a couple of hills, shooting out too fast, and not taking a day off in 120 days. Could I have run faster on a flatter course? Most likely. But, this just gives me something to race against. This is where I'll compete for my next half marathon. Will I notice the people around me? You betcha, but in the end, my only competitor will be number 397 who ran a 1:34:23. That's what running is about. You challenge yourself. You log the miles. You make it hurt. When you run a great race, but not great on your standard, you pick apart what you could have done better to make the next race better. You enjoy the time on your feet. You enjoy the pain you feel at the peak of the hill. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you become a passionate, much better runner by beating yourself up. Sure, I've re-ran the race a million times today in my mind, but tonight, as I go to sleep, I recognize one thing: This is a lifetime sport. Racer number 397 will have nothing on the next number I wear.

Makers - Great report, and a great race, despite your mild disappointment. I had been reading your pace thread with some interest because your log looks great and the others were very encouraging. You are ahead of where I am, but I think I can still relate to your question. When you are still on a pretty steep slope of improvement, as you are, it seems like it's hard to pick a pace you are capable of, especially for a longer race. Go too easy, you'll never know what your potential is, but afraid to go out harder than you've ever gone because of the unknown. So I look at your race as an unqualified success. You pushed yourself, sort of crashed and still PR'd on a tough course. And now it's easier to tell where that line is, at least for now.

Great fight today Ryan. I say you still got the better of the course. It was nice to run with someone and share the experience. 1:34 is a super PR for the HM. I know you will flat crush 3:30 at CMM. And yes that hill for the last half mile just plain sucks.

I think you should be nothing but totally satisified and happy with this race. Yeah - a little behind what you wanted, but you also ran what you knew you could...... You did good ---- you were ready.... Great Job.....

1:34! That's great.

Makers Awesome job! A great experience for you and a PR. You always have to be happy with a PR and you said you beat your goal. Cool! Use this as a great learning experience because you could have run faster with a more conservative start. I do think sub 1:33 would have been possible with proper pacing. Carmel Runner may have hurt you this race. You shouldn't be pushed early in a half as you risk early anaerobic overload which leads to a uneneventful finish. A little story. I coach a runner (who is a friend) who has done this the last two halfs which I also ran. . I simply cannot get through to him and it frustrates the heck out of me to the point where I may quit coaching him because he does not listen. He has talent to run a sub 1:31 half but never finishes under 1:35. He starts aggressive and speeds up and slow down throughout the race. He has a little more talent/speed than me but and can outrace me in a 5K, I always finish about 4-5 minutes ahead of him when it should be very close. He is not as aerobically fit as I am which I am working on with his trainng so that he can improve his aerobic fitness for running, so I want him to start conservatively for the first mile like 7:20 pace, settle in and then finish strong. I want to avoid an early oxygen debt which occurred the last two he did. We both went into last years half averaging around 18 miles a week and a 5K at around 20 min. for him and 20:10 for me. He runs a lot of speed work without him thinking I know (again, why am I working with him?) . I run all easy pace (hammy issues) and an occasional 5K race.The 10K I have him by around 30 sec. so obviously he needs work aerobically. He again this past year insists on starting aggressively and ahead of me. I catch up to him by end of mile two and he is already sucking air. I scold him and he has a mind of his own. Below is my pacing and avg HR for this half. If I say so myself, this is smart pacing and smart racing on a windy 40 degree day. Start conservative (not slow), finish strong. He was with me until mile 7 and then his paces were 7:20, 7:30, 7:40, 7:55, 8:00, 7:55 and finishes around 1:36 I believe. He was fried and breathing extremely hard by mile 7. He had a miserable finish. Green Bay Half Marathon Time 1:32:41 Avg pace on Garmin 7:04 Avg HR 165 Mile 1 723 148 2 720 158 3 709 162 4 704 163 5 705 167 6 706 166 7 707 166 8 704 164 9 707 167 10 706 168 11 655 170 12 654 172 13 647 175 and sprint finish 2 years previously on 20 miles a week I finish in 1:30.50 (with race specific speed work). What I am saying is we both are running around the same 5K times (at least right now you could run 20 min I believe) and this is your potential down the road with smart and consistant training and smart racing. Keep at it. You will continue to improve as you get more fit and more race experience. Good job again on your PR, you should be proud and a lot to look forward to.

Great report, Ryan. Solid race too. You're one inspiring guy. I liked this best:

That's what running is about. You challenge yourself. You log the miles. You make it hurt. When you run a great race, but not great on your standard, you pick apart what you could have done better to make the next race better. You enjoy the time on your feet. You enjoy the pain you feel at the peak of the hill. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you become a passionate, much better runner by beating yourself up. Sure, I've re-ran the race a million times today in my mind, but tonight, as I go to sleep, I recognize one thing: This is a lifetime sport. Racer number 397 will have nothing on the next number I wear.

So I look at your race as an unqualified success. You pushed yourself, sort of crashed and still PR'd on a tough course. And now it's easier to tell where that line is, at least for now.

For now is the key phrase there, your consistency will mean a constantly shifting target. Keep that long term perspective and the forecast will include nothing but continuous improvement. Nicely done.