run-easy-race-hard
I've done the DNF before so don't sweat it. It's OK. If I may point out one thing from your report, it would be this: focus more on race nutrition. I noticed you consumed alot of junk during the race. During any long distance race your body needs the best nutrition. That's one item I've noticed from many MAFer's on this site. The nutrition just isn't happening. On the long runs and races you need quality products to fuel your body. May I suggest Hammer Nutrition? No, I don't collect a pay-check from them but I do use their products in training and racing and they make a radical difference. MAF will get you the training you need and Hammer will provide the nutrition. One more thought, you can consume the Hammer stuff and still have a bad race. That's another subject called overtraining and lack of tapering. runhard
Today I ran The Texas Half for the second year in a row. The race was held at White Rock Lake which is relatively flat. 1:47:12 is the time I ran this race last year. It was my first half marathon. 8:11/mile 1:44:14 was my PR which was set in May 07 in my third half marathon. 8:00/mile 1:39:39 is my new PR set today, my forth half marathon. 7:37/mile I found the original low heart rate thread in July 2006 and I've been training below MAF ever since. I don't do any speed work outside of races. I try to average one or two races a month. I use my heart rate to pace my training runs and my race pace. With thoughts of last weeks 10k I repeatedly reminded myself to start conservatively. I was able to stay below 145 for the first mile and I was just starting to maintain low 150's during the last part of the second mile. At mile 5 I felt good so I decided to start pushing things a little. Just before the water stop around mile 8 I took a gel. I've never taken gels during a race, in fact I usually just take water throughout with no problem. But I might run the Cowtown Marathon and I wanted to know if what worked in training would also work with running at a higher heart rate. No problems. At mile 10 I still felt good so I started pushing again. During mile 11 I passed the 11 year old that finished just a couple of minutes behind me. It was no easy pass; he looked like he was cruising. Miles 12 and 13 I was trying to get under 7:00/mile but just couldn't maintain it. Remember that little bit about running by heart rate, well in the last couple miles I just see how hard I can push and if I can hold it till the end. During the last .25 or so I was finally able to speed up, funny how people clapping and cheering you on can do that to you. Last year my time would have only been good enough for tenth place in my age group. This year it was good enough for third. Overall I finished 39 out of 509. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm still waiting to see the weather forecast before signing up for the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth. If I do run it the only goal will be to finish better then I finished my first (San Antonio 11/07). I call my first marathon a nutritional failure. Naturally I have a strong desire to "correct" that.
StacyI make no apologies for my liberal use of smiley icons. http://www.BlakeHillHouse.com
Shiksa: Thank you as well. I took a peak in your log and read your 11/11/07 First Annual Way To Go Mom 1/2 Marathon notes. The day I was falling apart in San Antonio you were crying in the rain. I liked your race report a lot better then mine.
I forgot I put that all in there. That was a good day. It was a tough day, but a good day. I'm planning on running a "real" 1/2 in November of this year. The baby was too little this past November so I had to make my own. My guess is that this year's won't be quite so dramatic. Reaching a goal just feels so wonderful doesn't it? Sorry about San Antonio. I was going to peek at your log, but couldn't view that date for some reason. Clearly, that experience taught you something, and you moved on in a big way. Congrats again!
. Geez, I can rattle on. Not due to age. My wife of over 4 decades has always told me I am waaay too wordy. Have recovered great. New goal: Tallahassee 50 miler in December--haven't run an ultra since 1993 (8:59--age 50 on the TLH ultra--flat/fast road course). If all goes well I want to run a 100K in March--'09 in Jacksonville, FL. The sickness continues. Thanks for letting me unload. I am a believer in MAF trainning. I am going to do about 4 months--I am going to up my MAF to 138 or so. Can't get too locked to formulas. The old 220- age(64) would have me at a 156 max. Good luck with that. Keep running. Nick