delicate flower
(Direct copy n'paste from L&O and I feel shame for the ho'ing)
Today is six weeks and one day out from the Philadelphia Marathon aka my goal race. Today's race was my final tune up race. I set my HM PR a month ago. Today I just wanted to run a good race, hoping to PR. It didn't have to be a big PR, but a PR would tell me my training is going well. It's worth noting that I ran a 10 mile race a week ago at an honest but not all out effort. I cut the miles a little this week and probably sacrificed a whole 20 miles for this HM. I don't think my legs were fully recovered from last week.
For the last few days, I've felt a little off and my runs have been sluggish. Turns out I had a cold coming on. I started to really feel it yesterday but was in denial. I spent a good part of last night tossing, turning, and coughing, and woke up really feeling it this morning. I got through the race ok today, but as I type this report I am rapidly declining. I don't know if the cold hurt me at all today, but it couldn't have helped.
Race weather was 48 degrees and a steady rain. Lovely. DW and I got there 90 minutes early and did our best to stay warm and dry. I ran a one mile warm up and felt pretty good, and reported to the seeded corral five minutes before gun time. I love starting up front. Saw a bunch of runners I know and exchanged well wishes.
My races recently have been a lot of fast starts and late fades, so I did my best to run smart today. PR pace was 7:14, so I tried to keep my paces between 7:10 and 7:15, figuring that might net me a one minute PR if I didn't fade. I felt good the entire race, and while the last few miles got hard like they should, I finished the race strong. My previous HM's this year were me hanging on for dear life the last few miles, but today I got faster and passed a whole bunch of people the second half. That felt great.
1- 7:05
2- 6:55
3- 7:07
4- 7:12
5- 7:26
6- 7:07
7- 7:05
8- 7:16
9- 7:13
10- 7:12
11- 7:19
12- 7:05
13- 7:06
.25- 6:18
This course measures long on my Garmin. DW and Cousin Rachel got the same distance. My Garmin half splits were 7:09/7:08. Pretty happy about that. My official pace was 7:13. BOOOOO! If my Garmin finished at 13.1 miles, I would have PR'd by 1:02. Dammit. I don't know how much this head cold or the weather conditions affected my race, if at all. I ran a good, steady effort and felt strong start to finish for the first time in quite a while. The faster/slower miles directly correspond to hills.
Results:
1:34:29 (9 second PR)
OA 229 / 5881
AG 21 / 361
I'll take it! DW ran a four minute or so PR (2:08). We got the hell out of town as soon as she finished because we were freezing our asses off.
Thanks for listening.
<3
Mile 12.5 and feeling good.
I thought I'd lose the arm warmers and gloves, but wore them the entire race. I was soaked. My friggin shirt looks like a dress.
I like the trinkets, and this is a nice one as these things go.
Runs4Sanity
!!!!First Post!!!!!
Awesome job! A PR is always great!
*Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*
PRs
5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace)
10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)
15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)
13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)
26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)
Sounds like a well run race with a negative split (per Garmin). Great job!
Why aren't you wearing the Hitogamis, you ho?!
Congrats on the PR. Just a tiny one, but I agree that must be a good sign that training is going well. Recover, train, then rock that bitch!
Those are beautifully executed splits, Baboon. Congratulations on the PR! Now rest a little and try to recover completely from that cold before your next quality run.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
coolstorybro: Around mile 3.5, a guy next to me asked what our pace was. His Garmin locked up and wouldn't unfreeze (must have been a 620 rofl rofl). We were holding a 7:00 pace through the race at that point, but I told him I was about to dial it back a little because I was ahead of pace. He thanked me, and off I went. About 20 seconds after I crossed the finish line, hunched over a railing and sucking wind, he came up to me, patted me on the back, shook my hand, and thanked me for running a strong, steady race. Turns out he ran a little behind me and paced off me the last 10 miles, getting himself a nice PR. I thought that was pretty cool and I was happy to help another runner get a PR.
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Perfect. In a steady rain, no less. Get your rest and kick the cold, things are looking good for Philly.
Congrats! Good job.
+1
Bounce.
+1 Bounce.
Since you asked, I had a packet of oatmeal, a banana, and a cup of coffee for breakfast. For in race fueling, I had a gel before the start and a gel at mile 6. I took one cup of water during the race.
Thanks, guys!!
Awesome! You ran a great race. I can tell you that it finally did stop raining, approximately four and a half hours after the start. I finished in 4:27:57....
I predict good things for you in Philly.
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Former Bad Ass
Well executed! Congratulations on the new PR!
Damaris
race obsessed
Well done Baboon!
Congrats again on the PR!