RunningAHEAD - Topic: A2A Half-marathon RR

pfriese

posted: 3/31/2010 at 1:05 PM

Race: Arbuckles to Ardmore Half-marathon
Location: south central Oklahoma
Bonus: point to point, net downhill half-marathon on a straight course with the wind at my back.
Additional bonus: watch Spareribs finish.

I had a goal of beating 1:45 and beating 2 of my much younger friends. The start of the race was 13 miles north Ardmore in the Arbuckle Mountains, with pretty much a straight south course into Ardmore, finishing in the football stadium after a lap around the track. The first 3 miles were fairly steep downhill, with the next 6 miles a very gradual downhill to flat. The next 3 miles were gently upsloped, then once around the track to the finish. Of course, I started out way to fast with the steep downhill, but was able to reign it in a bit on the gentle downhill (still too fast). I pulled away from my friends in this section. About a mile into the gentle uphill, I really began to slow and was running out of gas. At mile 11, I saw a sign held by spectators at the side of the road that said "run Doc run" and thought this would spur my friends on as they are both doctors. Then the spectators started yelling one of my friends names, I yelled how far back was he and they said "right on your heels"

. I tried to increase pace, but both friends caught up to me, with one passing me looking very strong. I was able to stay slightly ahead of the other. At a bit past the 12 mile marker, the friend who had passed me was at the side of the road trying to stretch out a cramp, he had me beat until he got that cramp. I started to pull away from my other friend and ended up finishing ~30 seconds ahead of him and a couple of minutes ahead of the other friend who had the cramp. The pressure of racing and competition really helped. Final time 1:43:49, and ~ 2 minute PR.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:32
Mile 2 - 6:56
Mile 3 - 7:13
Mile 4 - 7:30
Mile 5 - 7:40
Mile 6 - 7:26
Mile 7 - 7:36
Mile 8 - 7:54
Mile 9 - 7:51
Mile 10 - 8:24
Mile 11 - 8:17
Mile 12 - 8:13
Mile 13.1 - 8:37

After the race, I had a great cinnamon roll (a volunteer had home-made over 1000 of them for the race finishers the day before!), visited with friends (including Tim/wa5yom), changed clothes, watched other runners finish and waited for Spareribs to finish. Tim had kept track of SR on the course, so he knew the approximate time that SR would be entering the stadium. We were ready for him as he entered the stadium with Tim giving him a ^5 before entering the stadium. We went into the stadium and LGRAW running club (AKA the SR fan club) along with The Saint were there in full force cheering him on to his victory lap around the stadium and finish. You could tell he was savoring every step around the track. I was able to say a quick hello/congrats to him before heading back home.

Everything came together for this inaugural race in Ardmore; the weather, the volunteers, the spectators, and the racers. I'll definitely have this on my "like to do again" list. Beating 1:45, plus my 2 friends was great. The highlight though was seeing Rib's marathon finish.

Paul

MTA: Ribs' RR has much more detail.

Paul's blog

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 3/31/2010 at 3:32 PM

Paul - SMOKIN'!!! Congratulations on your 2-minute PR - that's huge!

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

Spareribs

King of PhotoShop

posted: 3/31/2010 at 4:03 PM

I mentioned this to you offline but i'll say it here again, my biggest regret was that I didn't have the presence of mind to come up into the stands and chat a bit. I was so out of it at that point and the Saint and the volunteers were all telling me to walk around, drink water, keep moving, put on a shirt, get my free finisher's shirt, sit down, lie down or something else. So I'm sorry we didn't catch up.

The Half start was about 2-3 miles in front of our start, so you guys sure got punished early on those down hills. I think that your 1 and 2 miles were about our 4 and 5 and it was very tough to rein it in there.

A truly wonderful PR for you, and I imagine you aren't finished with them. Spareribs

perchcreek

i'm lovin' it... MM#1949

posted: 3/31/2010 at 4:18 PM

Paul.. that sounds like the PERFECT day!! Congratulations on the PR.. 2 minutes is HUGH!!

Way to out psych and out run your competitors!!

We all would have like to be there to see Ribs enter the stadium.. priceless.

Perch's Profile "I don't know if running adds years to your life, but it definitely adds life to your years." - Jim Fixx "The secret is to make in your mind possible what was not possible before. The secret is to make easy what was difficult, instead to make difficult what really is easy." - Coach Renato Canova

Tramps

posted: 3/31/2010 at 4:45 PM

Great job on that huge PR, Paul! Sounds like the whole day was a huge success!

Be safe. Be kind.

hopeful4ever

Mr. Chip & Mizz Rizzo

posted: 3/31/2010 at 4:46 PM

Congratulations Paul on your big PR and beating your two friends!! Watching Ribs finish his marathon was priceless indeed.

Mmmm - cinnamon rolls!! I can't belive someone baked 1000 of them - what a great voluneer!

~Mary

"My sunshine doesn't come from the skies,
It comes from the love in my dog's eyes."

~unknown

http:www.rawleypointkennel.com

evryday

posted: 3/31/2010 at 5:03 PM

NIce going Paul. Perfect tune up for OKC.

And the PRs just keep coming. Congrats!

Quit being so damn serious! When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. "Ya just gotta let it go." OM

enkephalin

posted: 3/31/2010 at 6:09 PM

Congrats on the PR and running down your two friends. Seeing SR there at the finish must have been exciting.

"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

tselbs

posted: 4/1/2010 at 11:27 AM

pfriese, congrats on meeting your goals, a PR and beating your friends. It's neat you saw ribs, The Saint, way5mom, and other friends. It is amazing that someone would be willing to bake 1000 cinnamon rolls. They sure would be good at the end of a race.

TomS

SteveP

posted: 4/5/2010 at 4:58 AM

Holy Moly, that's a strong race you ran.

SteveP

Masters Running

A2A Half-marathon RR (Read 224 times)