Beginners and Beyond

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Half Marathon RR -- The tale of 6 lousy seconds (Read 105 times)

outoftheblue


    Today I ran the Modesto HM, which was my goal Half for the year.

     

    Short version:  I went in with a stretch goal of breaking 2 hours, a realistic/good goal of breaking 2:01; and a fall-back goal of beating my PR of 2:03:23.   I finished with 2:00:05 and am happy with the time, but less so with my timid pacing.   My splits are at the bottom if you want to skip all the blather.

     

    Long version:

     

    Background and Training.  I started running in earnest in 2010 and in Nov 2010, I raced my first HM and finished with 2:04:20.   Golly, I thought, I will be breaking 2 hours in no time.   Since than, I’ve learned a few things. First, ramping up too fast is a recipe for injury and I spent most of 2011 hurt.   My HMs during this period were 2:13, 2:09 and 2:12.   After I got and healthy, I learned a second, sad truth – I’m just not very fast.  I was pretty fit when I took up running, so my first race was fairly close (I think) to my potential. Increasing my miles was not corresponding to big leaps forward on race day.  My next HMs were 2:04:25, 2:07:00 and 2:03:23. I seemed to be stuck in a big, fat rut.

     

    Before I threw in the towel, I wanted to really go for it. I committed myself to following Pfitz’s “up to 50” mpw HM plan.  Wow, was it tough.  I had run 50 mpw before, but not with speed work, time trials, etc. thrown in.  But, I followed it like my dog follows a bone and completed every workout.  The plan took me to the very edge of what I felt I could do without injuring myself.

     

    The Plan Going In.   As the big day drew near, I revised my “sub-2 or bust” strategy.  I felt I had trained too hard to have my success or failure turn on an arbitrary number.  Plugging a recent 10K race and a time trial into McMillian, put me right around 2:01:30 as a projected HM time.   I felt if I could break 2:01, it would be an excellent result. My other thought was that in my last HMs, I had noticeably faded at the end.  This time, I decided I wouldn’t press so hard at the beginning, but try to be more conservative to leave enough for a strong finish.

     

    The Race.   I couldn’t have asked for better weather – 50 degrees and a light breeze.  The course accurately advertises itself as fast and flat.   My only negative was that the race is 1 ½ hours from my house and starts at 7, so it was a very early morning.   Trying to choke down coffee and granola at 4 a.m. left my already nervous stomach not feeling so great.   But, I got there in plenty of time, picked up my bib and did a mile warm-up run. I had planned on strides, but half-way thru my first one, I got a side-stitch (dang you stomach!), so I opted to do them all easy and then got in the starting chute at the 9 mm pace sign.

     

    Off we go.  It was fairly congested for the first mile but I resolved to not panic over my pace.  At around 1/2 miles, I looked down to my Gamin and saw I was running a 10 mm pace.  Uh oh, maybe I shouldn’t have been quite so cavalier.   I started paying more attention and hit mile 1 at 9:33.  Well, that hadn’t been quite the plan.  I quickly shelved thoughts of sub 2 and concentrated on finding a sustainable pace.

     

    The next miles flew by and I felt like a found a good groove until around mile 8.  It was there that I could feel the first beginnings of  fatigue.  Mile 8-10 have always been mentally tough for me and have usually heralded the start of The Fade.  Looking down at my Garmin after 9 miles, I could see my pace had dropped to 9:25.   Not this time, I told myself.  I forced myself to pick it up.  Crossing the 10 mile marker, I could see that I was on pace for at least a sub 2:02 so that was helping my motivation.

     

    At mile 11 we climbed over a freeway overpass that is jokingly referred to as “Mount Modesto.”  Coming down the “mountain” something just clicked in me. I felt pretty good for mile 11 and I told myself to forget the pacing and run it in as hard as I could. At one point, I saw I was at my 10K pace and wondered how long I could keep it up.   But, all of Pfitz’s diabolical mile repeats at 10K pace did me in good stead; it hurt, but it was the kind of hurt I was used to.

     

    Crossing the finish line, I could see the main clock 2:00:45.   I took a few more steps and remembered to turn off my Garmin, which now said 2:00:15.   I hustled over to the results booth to see what my chip time was.  2:00:05.   Soooo close.  How I wished I could run that first mile all over again!   But,  I’m a believer now, in the methods and ways of Pfitz.  I only wish I had more confidence in the training and myself going it and could have paced myself a little more evenly and aggressively. Yes, it was fun to finish so strong, but I knew it meant I had left time out there.

     

    If you’ve read this whole thing, YOU deserve a medal. Here are my splits:

     

    Split

    Pace

    1

    9:33

    2

    9:14

    3

    9:09

    4

    9:11

    5

    9:09

    6

    9:09

    7

    9:15

    8

    9:09

    9

    9:17

    10

    9:14

    11

    9:13

    12

    8:44

    13

    8:40

    14

    7:27

     

    .

    Life is good.

    hog4life


      Congrats on the PR! That was so close to sub 2, you'll get it next time.

      FreeSoul87


      Runs4Sanity

        I definitely know the feeling of frustration when I felt I was too timid on my pacing for races, good job none the less!!!

        *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)

        Jack K.


        uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

          So close!!! Oh man, that was close. Don't be too hard on yourself, I don't think you did anything "wrong." even you train like that again the sub 2:00 is yours. I have a 10 week HM plan if you want. I think it's out on the internet. It's the Ryan Hall 10 week plan. I've used it twice and had good results and it's not 50 mpw.  Great rr, by the way, and I did read the whole thing. Smile


          delicate flower

            D'oh!  So close!  It certainly looks and sounds like you could have picked up six seconds in there somewhere.  Still a good race though, OOTB.  Great job, and a nice PR to boot.  Hey, in the HM I ran in September 2012, I wanted to break 1:45:00.  I ran 1:45:00.  One stinkin' second.

            <3

               But, all of Pfitz’s diabolical mile repeats at 10K pace did me in good stead; it hurt, but it was the kind of hurt I was used to.

               

              Love it.

               

              Great job, OOTB.

              Zelanie


                Beautiful splits and a super strong finish- nice!  I know the feeling of not seeing the improvement in leaps and bounds.  I ran my first HM last year and was lucky enough to get sub-2 the first time out.  But since then it seems that I'm going to need to fight for every additional minute of improvement- no more beginners' luck for me!

                 

                Yes, it does sound like you left some time on the course with that start, but now you know what you can do!  I love how you were able to fight back in those middle miles when you felt like easing off the pace.  That can be so tough where there are still miles left to go.

                 

                I'm glad you enjoyed the Pfitz plan.  I'm still tentatively planning on using his plan for my first marathon this fall.

                MothAudio


                  I wasn't aware of your half history. I think you did great, to put all those disappointments behind you and fight thru a tough schedule to come soooooo close to your goal. Ironically, I ran the 1st mile of my last [serious] half like you - 30 seconds too slow! I was shocked when I saw that split but was able to dial into my goal pace immediately. Can't explain it, as I'm a fast starter, I think I was enjoying the moment too much and overestimating my speed. Fortunately it didn't cost me. Be proud.

                   

                  Where's my medal?

                   Youth Has No Age. ~ Picasso / 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974 / profile

                   

                  onemile


                    Ooh, 6 seconds - that's annoying!  But with how strong you finished it's not going to be hard for you to drop that plus some.

                    outoftheblue


                      Hoglife and FreeSoul -- Thanks for the nice words.  I do feel I can there but I'm getting impatient!

                       

                      Jack K -- Thanks, I looked at Ryan's 10 week plan just now.  I'm a little bemused by the concept of running by time, rather than distance.  I'm afraid I wouldn't get very far on my long runs, but I guess the point is that the plan self-tailors to your speed and abilities.

                       

                      Phil -- Yes those couple of missed seconds can be heartbreaking.  I don't know why I care so much about beating certain numbers, but I do.  My first marathon clocked in at 5:00:01, so I have a history in these things!

                       

                      Jay -- Glad those mile repeats were worth something!

                       

                      Melanie -- Thanks, and also thanks for vouching for the Pfitz plan;  the fact you used it so successfully was one its draws for me.  I can't wait to hear how you do on your race in a coupe of weeks!

                       

                      Moth -- Yeah, it's been a frustrating history, but it's made this improvement all the more satisfying.  Funny you did the same thing on your Half.  I wish I could say it didn't cost me.

                       

                      One Mile -- Thanks!

                      Life is good.

                      Rondog65


                        Congrats on the PR!!  Be proud of what you accomplished and I believe you will get your elusive goal of subbing 2 hours.

                        Ron's PRs 5K 24:14 (12/07/2013); Half Marathon 1:53:33 (5/26/2013)

                        LRB


                          Hindsight is not always 20/20 and in fact can sometimes be misleading.  Change one variable in that first mile and your ability to run and sustain 10k pace late in the race may have been severely diminished or worse, completely inhibited.

                           

                          I believe the bigger picture here was the fact that you had a race plan and you executed it.  Your trepidation notwithstanding, you also exorcised some demons that may have had you questioning your ability to achieve your goals.

                           

                          As it is, you should feel a huge sense of relief and maybe now you can target a more aggressive goal (perhaps even a 1:55), and if you somehow miss it your secondary goal of a sub-2:00 would be there for the taking.

                           

                          I think you did great, but eying the golden carrot is completely understandable.  That carrot is closer to you now than it was 12 hours ago.

                          MothAudio


                            Moth -- Yeah, it's been a frustrating history, but it's made this improvement all the more satisfying.  Funny you did the same thing on your Half.  I wish I could say it didn't cost me.

                             

                            To be exact, I set my Master PB by a mere two seconds. So it almost cost me!

                             Youth Has No Age. ~ Picasso / 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974 / profile

                             

                            workinprogress11


                              First off, congratulations on a great PR!  The next one should definitely get you your sub 2. With that being said, I understand how frustrating it can be to be soooooo close to your stretch goal and miss it by so little. A good point was made above that if your first mile had been faster maybe things would have been a bit slower later. You could analyze the race 8 different ways, but you'll never really know what could have been. Just take this as a really nice PR and a step on your way to crushing the 2 hour mark.   Great job!

                              PADRunner


                                That's got to be tough to be so close, but you had a great race and beat your goals and a new PR. Congrats.

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