Sub 2:00 Half Marathon thread (Read 2396 times)

Tara - thanks for the advice on the Garmin.  I tried everything and it is just dead.  It was a refurbished watch as I had problems with my first one, so I sent it in and for $60 they replaced it.  Im going to call them today.  Grrrrrr.

Pc - congrats on a great race, and for completing all of your goals,  I'm pretty much shot after any hard race; I can't eat anything but my little oyster crackers and drink coke for many hours afterwards.   I really don't think there is a way to avoid it... I've tried... I think it's just the way I am made.   I don't think feeling a bit light-headed after the race is cause for concern (unless it were to continue for too long).

Npaden - wow! That is a really great picture!   I think in all my years of running, I've had, maybe, two decent photos.  I don't even try anymore.   That race sounds really great.  I was just talking  to my friend about getting away from the big city races, and looking for smaller events.   One reason is the cost, and another is the crowds.  I think there are a lot of races/places to discover.

wolfie - good luck with your turkey 5k.  Make sure to rest your legs well before and I'm sure you will roast it!   Haha.

Zelanie - it is great to see you are doing so well with training.  Good luck!  The online challenge sounds great but I'm not really consistent with logging my miles.   I was doing well before my world blew up... Maybe this is what I need to get back on track.

miele -  oh, you are just going to do so great and your races!  Look at dem miles!!!!   6-8 gels sure sounds like a lot.   I think I had 5.  I worry about too much sugar in my stomach making me sick.  Of course, I think my system is more sensitive then most (normal) runners.    Enjoy the eating.  Get some apple cider donuts before they're gone!   And pumpkin bagels... And cranberry bread... Oh how I love this season!

Lurch -  I can (kind of) understand the struggles with the long miles, being in your head can be tough.  That is how I suffered after losing my dad, still do.   The thoughts just pour out, and the emotions follow so quickly.   Sometimes one can't just tune out and run.   But then, after the run, there can be a feeling of calm.   I hope that you find your solution.

me -   I survived.  Thanks to all for the well wishes.  Here is a summary...

I awoke at 1:30 am.  My bro was picking me up at 3:20 and we planned to get the 3:45 train into the city.  From there, we had a mile walk.   Thankfully, it was not a cold morning, a bit damp, and my layers of throwaways worked well.   We arrived at 4:45 (race officials suggested a 4:30 arrival) for a bag check before entering the starting area.   We waitied 20 minutes before the check began (only clear bags, given at expo, were permitted into the area).

Then it was a visit to the bathrooms, check our gear, get in line for the bathrooms again, then sit.   I found a cell phone with money, license, credit cards in an arm band on the ground.  The phone was locked so couldnt call it's home.  We sat in that area and hoped the owner would retrace his steps.  30 minutes later I heard a man (it was still dark) ask someone if they had found a phone.   I jumped up, and asked, "are you Daniel?"  Oh he was so relieved, and we were happy to have helped.   Then back to the bathroom line for one last time before going to corral.

I found the 4:15 pacer and started getting ready by setting up my ipod, and removing some layers.  The pacer, btw, was not good!   I started ahead of him, fell behind at mile 2 when a woman running next to me saw a friend, raised her arms and bonked me in the head. Seriously, it was a dizzying knock and I had to walk for a minute.  I didn't enjoy the first half as it was CROWDED with half and full runners combined.  And all I could think about was catching that darned pacer.

I was using my friend's Garmin 10. She is a slower runner, and must have set her pace in the watch bc the entire time the watch screen showed the pace to let me know I was ahead of pace.   I liked that because all I really needed the watch for was pace.   I was running about 9:20 trying to catch the pacer, thinking I was going to regret this, until I saw him at a hairpin turnaround at mile 11.  I ran at about an 8:20 pace to catch up.  I did, and thought I could relax now at a comfy 9:45 pace.   I couldn't keep up with him!!!!   My watch was jumping at 9:20 to 9:40 and he was just going ahead.   I decided to let him go at mile 16 and just run myself, kissing that 4:15 goal goodbye.

Physically, I felt fine for most of the race.  Pace on my watch was sometimes 9:10, sometimes 9:25, sometimes 10, so I had no idea where I was, or now I was doing.  Pacer Man was nowhere to be seen, however I did notice many of the people who started with him were no longer with him.  

At mile 23 I was feeling my legs and decided that when I saw my friend at mile 25, I would allow myself to walk with her (I do walk the water stations) and i just focused on that small break I would have...and it worked!  I got to mile 25, she was holding her sign, and I just said, "walk with me".  She did.  Gave me a sip of her water, talked to me, saying all the right things, telling me to run when I was ready.  So I took off, them noticed the watch had died.  

Finished the race, met my brother, sat for a while to let the nausea subside enough to tackle the mile long walk back to the train.  As we walked, I turned on my phone to check the email tracking updates I had signed up for.  According to them I finished the marathon in 4:14:50!!!!!  I am so happy.  Despite the lack of training (and stupid, dumb, annoying, no good pacer man) I was able pull myself up and run.   Thanks, again, for the encouragement.   

Edith!!!-  Congratulations!  Unbelievable how you were able to pull that off after the pacer screwed up so badly (letting him go probably saved you from certain doom).  I'd say 'feeling your legs at mile 23' is just about the best place to feel your legs.  Not at mile 16, for instance.  That's the one thing I hate about big races...all the people!  And there are so many stupid, inconsiderate, selfish, rude people who do things that are downright dangerous to others around them.  I've never gotten bonked on the head, though, but almost got an elbow in the face.  Pissed me off.  I'm sure Daniel was greatly relieved to have his stuff back.  That would've ruined his whole race.  All in all it sounds like you were pretty strong throughout the whole race.  Excellent considering recent events and how your training was affected.  How did your brother do?  So happy you got your goal!!!  That's a pretty substantial PR, isn't it? I know it must've been an emotional roller-coaster but you persevered.

Back later for personals...

EdithRevisited – congratulation in running a great race! 8 min PR, what what? 

Bluerun – how was the volunteering at the race?

Lurch – its great that your training is going well.

Zelanie – 77 miles! Did I read that right? It’s exciting that your team is doing well in the mileage challenge. How many total miles have I already ran in 2013?

Miele – great progressive long run. Another runner with 77 miles for a week! that’s awesome. What’s your goal for 10k race?

Wolfwalker23 – excellent training 5k! Good luck with the race.

Me – had fun running with friends on trails on the weekend. A friend of mine rolled his ankle, but fortunately it’s not too bad and seems like he would be back running in a couple of weeks. Ran for total 4 hours for the entire week.

Edith - Congrats on the PR!  Maybe you should be the pace group leader next time?

miele - How's it feel to have that last long run under your belt?  Also . . . 77 miles?!?  Sheesh that is a lot!  If you take it easy until your marathon that's the sort of work that I think can really pay off.

npaden - Eight bucks for a chip-timed race is inconceivable to me.  Agreed about running pictures: finding one that doesn't either make oneself look haggard or goofy is a challenge.  I wasn't planning on ordering any of the ones from my recent marathon, but when I looked them up online, my decision was only confirmed!

As for me, I'm not sure what's next.  I know I can do a better marathon than my first; I'm just not decided on when I should give it another shot.  The big, local marathon here is March 16 (which would give me ~15 weeks to train), but I'm still undecided.  Maybe if friends from work decide to jump in I'll give it a go (and maybe they won't bail out at the last minute this time!).

Edith-  Congrats to your brother, too!  You both did incredibly well under the circumstances.  And why is this the first I hear of apple cider donuts?!?!  I'm not a big donut person but those sound delish.  I'm planning to have 1 gel 15-20 minutes before the race then 1 gel every 4 miles.  I read somewhere that later in the race, when the body is fatigued, it's a lot harder for the body to process the gels so it's actually better to start a little earlier.  If my stomach is feeling OK I might take a final gel at 23.5 miles (don't know if that's too late in the race to do any good, though).  Fortunately I've been able to handle GUs pretty well.  Knock on wood.

hector-  My plan for the 10k race is always the same...don't go out too fast!  Like clockwork, it always fails.  The plan is flawless but the execution is lacking.  Have you tried your new shoes, yet?  Altras, right?

pc-  I was soooo happy to be done with that final LR.  We actually went out and celebrated the final LR that evening.  Greek food.  And a lot of it!  I say don't wait for your friends to do the marathon.  Just sign up and do it!

Nathan-  I'm hoping my legs will feel as good and fresh as you say they will.  Right now they're tired!  But they've been constantly tired for about 3 weeks now.  I would do a double on Mondays.  The 6 or 8 the plan called for and then 4 with the group in the evening.  In the high mileage weeks I did run 4.5 or so on Wed. and made sure I had a 2 mile warmup and cool down on the strength and tempo days, Fri. and Sat. stayed the same as the plan and then the LR maxed out at 18.5.  I'm feeling really confident about this training cycle and I might ask you and everyone else to talk me out of doing something crazy on race day.  2,013 sounds perfect for 2013.

Zelanie-  I've got my log private, too.  At least I think I do.  But that's just because I'm a 'private' person in general not because I'm discouraging mileage espionage.  I'll check out the 2014 in 2014 game.  Sounds intriguing.  Let us know tomorrow how your team did.

Rick-  Sorry you're going through tough times.  Could it have anything to do with the holidays?  Seems like a lot of people suffer from depression around this time of year.  Hang in there.  I know you've got a good support system in your family so you know you're not alone.

blue-  9 miles without hurting is fantastic!  Ok, so you felt old and decrepit but nothing actually hurt, right?  There's a local race company which has only trail races and I'm thinking of volunteering for them starting next year.  Met someone in the running group who does it and he says it's a lot of fun.  Maybe it's a good way to get into some trail running, too.  Guess I'll need some trail running shoes for that.

me- Ran 11.5 today with 4x1.5 at what averaged out to be 8:35.  Faster than I should have run.  The one thing about this plan is that, like I mentioned to Nathan, my legs have been tired every day for weeks now but I can still hit my paces without dying.  I find this to be a great confidence booster knowing I can run on such tired legs.  Now only easy running until the 10k on Sunday.  I'm also cutting back on mileage a little more.

Edith -- I really enjoyed the race report. I'm still at the point where miles 11 - 13 in the half marathon feel like death, so reading marathon reports puts me in awe.  Even more so with such a good time and major PR!

blue-  20% increase in bone density is huge!  Whatever you're doing to help that along just keep on doing it.  Those were some smokin' intervals!

Pandora-  Hi!

Zelanie-  Tomorrow's the big day!  You're going to do so well...I can feel it!  Good luck and have fun!  And congrats on your team winning.

me-  Taking a day off today.  Ran 10 yesterday and will run 4-5 tomorrow.  I think I'll only get in 46 miles this week which is a big drop from 77.  I'll have to figure out what to do for mileage next week since I've thrown the schedule off balance now.  Should I go with the 55 miles as per the plan or keep tapering off?

Good luck Zelanie!